We live in a time that challenges our connection to place.
Are we to all live in ubiquitous “No places” and virtual communities.
Or
Live in communities tied to real places
Social Habitat is an association of independent architectural, design, planning, and community development professionals who live and work in the Northern Rivers region of NSW and are committed to social justice outcomes in the built environment. We form teams around the specific requirements of a project, and only involve people who will be able to directly enhance the outcomes of a project.
Our work focuses on place making, low cost and affordable housing and the research, design and development of new types of sustainable settlement particularly focused on rural and regional Australia. Our approach assumes five important inter-related themes:
1. Every project has an existing community of stakeholders and they have knowledge and resources. Our task is to effectively draw out these resources in a process of negotiation and planning with all the stakeholders involved.
2. Every place has unique characteristics, natural, cultural and historical that we respect and actively work to integrate.
3. Humans are a part of the natural environment, so we work toward reducing our ecological footprint and living in harmony with nature.
4. We have a commitment to working with Indigenous Australians, in order to harness their unique understanding of the environment and for social justice reasons.
5. We employ transparent and accountable processes and the outcomes we achieve will be socially just.
Social - United, living with others – pertaining to society as a natural condition of human life
Habitat - the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other – The area or environment where an organism or ecological community normally lives or occurs
Important Project Links
Northern Rivers Regional Housing Strategy
Medium density housing on Christmas Island
Micro Enterprise Villages and Place.ppt
(link to small presentation)
Interiors of Recently completed Multipurpose Hall at Cape Byron Rudolf Steiner School, Ewingsdale (near Byron Bay)
Key words – Intentional Community, Transitional Towns, permaculture, Micro Enterprise Communities, Co-housing, Small is beautiful,