The Princes Terrace Adelaide not only reflects the much-loved terrace homes that have featured throughout Australian history, but also builds on that heritage by creating a series of terraced homes that are environmentally friendly and sustainable.

The philosophy behind the design was to blend rich, local heritage with contemporary living.

"We wanted to build for today with a strong focus on sustainability and the environment, while recalling traditional Australian terrace architecture. This exterior is not only decorative, but it is functional in creating a more sustainable home," David explains.

Redefining sustainable living

Located in the burgeoning community of Bowden, the Princes Terrace Adelaide features eight three-bedroom townhouses, and four coach mews units - a reflection of the areas architectural legacy.

A former industrial site, Bowden is undergoing a radical transformation that is redefining sustainable living in South Australia.

The development has gained national recognition for Renewal SA's bold action to mandate all new buildings within the community to achieve a minimum 5-Star Green Star rating. Renewal SA has also achieved a 6-Star Green Star - Communities rating for the entire precinct.

"Defence Housing Australia is passionate about building sustainable, thriving communities, and this starts with housing," says Jan Mason, DHA's Managing Director.

"For our Defence families, this means passing on not just financial savings that come with more sustainable design, but a healthy and active lifestyle that will provide a better future for their children."

Built for performance

The Princes Terrace Adelaide project has been designed to be extremely climate responsive and ensure comfort for residents.

Starting with sustainable design basics, each dwelling has been orientated to maximise natural daylight and to passively heat and cool throughout the year. Shading devices and balconies have also been optimised to allow the sun in the winter and shade in the summer. All dwellings have also been designed to promote natural cross ventilation for cooling in the summer, as well as ensuring healthy airflow.

The building fabric - walls and roofs - will be well insulated to ensure comfortable internal temperatures as well as efficiency of air conditioning systems. Double-glazed windows are also specified throughout for energy efficiency and acoustic comfort. The project will use mainly low energy heating and cooling systems, like ceiling fans in summer and fireplaces in winter. While the need for air conditioning has been reduced, highly efficient zoned systems can be switched on during peak Adelaide temperatures.

Each dwelling will also have a 1.5kW photovoltaic array installed on the roof, helping to reduce energy use during the day.

The result? A building that uses 50 per cent less energy and produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions than a standard Australian residential dwelling.

"From early stages in the project design, the team utilised computer simulation and holistic design analysis to inform the building form and sustainable performance. Spending time on this analysis early in the design allowed us to test many scenarios, to ensure the future home owners benefit from the most appropriate construction," says Deborah Davidson of dsquared Consulting, the project's sustainability consultant.

Local and low carbon materials

Local, low-carbon building materials are a hallmark of the Princes Terrace Adelaide, such as locally made concrete with blast furnace slag content (as waste product), local granite and bricks re-used from old Bowden industrial buildings. All timber used in the project will also be from certified sustainable sources. Procuring high-quality, durable and sustainable materials locally has necessitated extra flexibility during the design process.

"The design initially called for black granite benches, however Adelaide's local granite is red in colour. We worked closely with the design team to make this change - and as a result, we have a material that is not only attractive and locally-sourced, but generates fewer emissions during transport to the site," says Jan Mason.

"Using natural, locally-sourced materials also supports a more sustainable supply chain - so this project is helping to build skills and opportunities locally."

The project is also undertaking a full lifecycle assessment to measure the total environmental impact including the embodied energy in materials in construction, energy use in operation and impact at end of life.