Yesterday I had the chance to visit The Paddock Eco Village in Castlemaine, and it’s one of the most thoughtful housing models I’ve seen in Australia.
What makes it interesting isn’t radical architecture — it’s how the neighbourhood is organised.
By clustering homes more closely together, a large portion of the land becomes shared productive landscape: gardens, habitat, and communal spaces. The homes themselves are comfortable, efficient and all-electric — but the planning allows the whole community to benefit from better environmental performance, efficiency, amenity and connection.
Another clever idea is the shared guest house, which residents can book at very low cost when family or friends visit — meaning homes don’t need to be oversized just to accommodate occasional guests.
It’s a model that seems both practical and aligned with many people’s values.
Great to see projects like this being explored!
Project team — The Paddock Eco Village, Castlemaine
Development: Neil & Heather Barrett
Architecture: Crosby Architects — Geoff Crosby @crosbyarchitects
Landscape Architecture: Emergent Studios — Matthew Hamilton @emergent_studios_design
Town Planning: Conceptz Town Planning — Alex Winfield
Civil Engineering: Vivid Civil Engineers — Geoff Clark
Sustainability Research: Dr Dominique Hes
Energy Advice: Renew — Damien Moyse
Legal: Bracken Legal — Ian Bracken
Thank you @raa_regionalarchitecture for taking us there!
#architecture #housingdesign #futureofhousing #regionalhousing #sustainablehousing #cohousing #clusterhousing #ecovillage #communitydesign #neighbourhooddesign #masterplanning #siteplanning #passivedesign #sustainableliving #gooddesign #buildbetter #australianarchitecture #regionalarchitecture #castlemaine #centralvictoria #architectsofinstagram #designthinking #betterhousing
4 months agorewardcharacterdesigns
Pretty much how living used to be?? Small multiple dwellings. Authorities are hamstrung by planning legislation and lack and creative thinking or thought process which has removed all soul from housing. Feels deliberate to remove us from people and connection with each other, earth and being self sustaining communities
4 months agokatrinalogan_
Compare this with the suburban ghettoes being created all around this part of Castlemaine where ten years ago there was forest - out of sight from the main road but visible on google - land that should never have been re-zoned without public consultation. The Paddock is a great concept but what’s really going on in Castlemaine is pretty sinister.
4 months agofarlstar
Yesss! You should see the new developments in Perth, barren cookie cutter terrible homes that don’t have a single tree nearby so will guzzle power to cool them all summer
4 months agobeausgarden
Come visit the Aldinga Arts Eco Village if you’re ever in Adelaide. It’s over 20 years old now but very similar concept
5 months agotoolz
Yes! This is a pretty standard design for Europe- my cousin lives in a 6 townhouse version with a big shared backyard between the 6 (fenced). More sense of community, less social isolation, kids can play with their neighbours in the shared space - everyone gets access to the shared spaces - it’s a no brainer. We need more developments like this in the cities not just the regions!
5 months agotracy.cumming
Edna Walling was designing this and living like this in the 1920s. Checkout Bickleigh Vale on the outskirts of Melbourne.. and many other locations since forgotten. A woman with, talent, drive and not oft remembered for her forward thinking.
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