A Sustainable Community Development
Our Vision
“ELYSIA”
- First “Net Zero” Project
- Yangan, QLD
- “Your Mountain Retreat”
Yangan is a small inland community in the Southern Downs region that is suffering from regional decline, like many other small towns throughout Australia. There are a lack of employment opportunities and many people are choosing to move away to larger cities or coastal regions. There are also minimal accommodation options for tourists, with most choosing to stay in Warwick. Hence, Yangan is facing considerable economic, employment and growth development challenges, now and in the future.
Our vision is to provide a new Sustainable Community development that serves to benefit the community, tourism and employment opportunities for Yangan. The development will promote a stronger sense of community within the area by maximising choices and opportunities for various aged and abled residents and visitors, from the young to the elderly.
This will be achieved through the construction of various short- and long-term accommodation options to allow for a mix of different lifecycles and target markets for the area. This is combined with external spaces and community buildings that are architecturally designed to maximise social interaction. In particular, the sustainable B&B apartments will allow for maximised flexibility in terms of different accommodation types within the one building module.
Sustainable Community Principles
1. DIVERSE COMMUNITY LIFESTYLE
‘Elysia on Yangan’ is a cutting-edge Sustainable Community development that serves to benefit both the community, tourism and employment opportunities for regional villages. Elysia is focused on various short- and long-term accommodation buildings designed to allow for a mix of different lifestyles and to combine with external spaces, productive sensory gardens and community buildings intended to maximise social interaction. The site will include various visitor, short-term and permanent car parking options to cater for visitors and permanent residents. Accessibility throughout the site will ensure legible, safe access and promote a healthier and more active and engaged community lifestyle.
2. INCLUSIVE & SUSTAINABLE
Elysia is immersed in design-led development principles, utilising sustainable principles such as:
- Energy Efficiency – Architecturally designed dwellings will create a variety of living spaces in built form which integrate within the landscape. The proposal will exceed all environmental and energy code requirements and will promote less energy consumption through self-sufficiency.
- Conservation and re-use of water – On-site collection and storage of rain water and stormwater will enable this development to become self-sufficient for supply of water to the site. This will be achieved through the recycling of reclaimed water on site for re-use to the toilets and landscaped evaporative coolers.
- Improvement of the natural environment – Our ecological response to this site will ensure this development enhances the existing landscape.
- Waste minimisation – The community management plan will provide dedicated common recycling areas enabling greater efficiency to onsite collection recycling within for site needs.
The following table represents an approximate outline of a set of benchmarks submitted as sustainability targets for the development of Elysia:
| BEST PRACTICE BENCHMARKS | PROJECT AIMS |
| Recycled Water Harvested Back to Site – 60% | 90% |
| Nitrogen & Phosphorous – 50% | 70% |
| Sediment Reduction – 80% | 100% |
| Natural Cooling – 30% | 100% |
| Solar Power – 55% | 95% |
| Mains Water Use Reduction – 40% | 60% |
| Open Space – 30% | 72% |
| Site Building Coverage Footprint – 40% | 28% |
| Impervious Areas – 50% | 20% |
….
3. OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL AGES
Elysia serves to increase social connectivity and interaction between both residents and visitors. The development will furthermore not only protect but enhance the social fabric of the community due to the mix of both the elderly and the young. Permanent residents will have a watchful eye out on the community whilst short term guests/tourists in the B&B and short-term visitors are out exploring the local area or at work.
4. SHORT-TERM & LONG-TERM CHOICES
Elysia provides short- and long-term accommodation choices, as well as permanent residents. Choice of B&B accommodation and Studios for short-term and Townhouses and Units are targeted to permanent residents.
Choice for:
- B&B Apartments & Studios – weekly or seasonal workers, families on vacations, visiting home community, couples or singles, tourists.
- Townhouses – permanent accommodation for couples, families or friends.
- Units – accommodation to cater for the elderly as they retire so that they can remain within their valued lifetime community as well as for singles or couples.
5. STRONGER BLENDED COMMUNITY
Elysia promotes a stronger sense of community by maximising choices, opportunities and diversity for various aged and abled residents and visitors from the young to the elderly.
- Stronger sense of community
- Maximising choices
- Rich knowledge and experience transfer
- Various opportunities
- All abilities, the young, the elderly and visitors
Elysia, by Recipe Housing®, is designed to maximise physical and visual connectivity to enable the harmonious mix of shared public domain where protecting private and semi-private spaces throughout the community. The flexibility of apartment options allows dual key access to promote more social gathering spaces in between each apartment, which will serve to cater for groups of friends or families that visit this exciting, engaged community. The shared community building provides a diverse facility for various types of community events, functions, or valued community gatherings.
