East Village
Located near the heart of Fremantle, East Village at Knutsford includes an apartment building, 36 townhomes and a terrace development site.
At DevelopmentWA, we saw the opportunity to transform the former 1.5ha industrial area into a green residential development that championed innovation in WA’s housing industry. With a target of 80% reduced mains water consumption, each of the all-electric, water efficient three and four-bedroom townhomes have a 7,000 litre underground rainwater tank. The tank is plumbed to the hot water heat pump system, toilets and washing machines. If the tank is empty, there is an automatic switch over to mains water.
A shared strata bore scheme supplies locally sourced groundwater for the irrigation of public and private spaces at lower cost and lower emissions than mains water. The use of groundwater is balanced by local infiltration of rainfall which is harvested via swales, rain gardens and permeable paving. Large rainfall events are directed to underground galleries to recharge the aquifer.
The East Village at Knutsford includes an apartment building, 36 townhomes and a terrace development site.
Prior to redevelopment, the former industrial site was barren so establishing a shady tree canopy and creating high amenity shared green space and streetscapes was a priority to provide a cool, walkable environment. The hydrozoned exotic and native verge gardens include productive fruit and nut trees. Harvesting the trees provides residents with an opportunity to connect and enjoy. Tree selection also includes deciduous varieties to ensure buildings have access to winter sunlight. Small areas of turf are included in public access ways, verges and streetscapes, and local wildlife is supported by a broad selection of native plants.
It's not just waterwise initiatives that make the development sustainable with reduced running costs. Climate-responsive design of the townhomes will reduce energy consumption for heating, cooling and lighting purposes. The second floors are designed to capture winter sunlight, making them thermally comfortable. A 6.6 kilowatt solar PV system is installed on the rooftop of each townhome to provide the household’s energy. Any surplus power charges a shared battery and, if the battery is fully charged, the energy is exported to the grid. Any backup grid energy is supplied from renewable sources.
Communal seating and barbeque facilities are designed to bring neighbours together while the fruit and nut trees provide residents with more opportunities to interact.
East Village at Knutsford was awarded Waterwise Development of the Year at Water Corporation’s Recognition Event in May 2024. The development was also awarded the One Planet Living Global Leader by Bioregional in 2020.
What's next?
Solar energy generation, power and water use data is collected through a visual sub-metering system. The data will be used by residents to monitor their use, costs and credit gained from recharging the shared battery. The data will also help researchers through a collaboration with Curtin University. The project has also previously been awarded a Smart Cities and Suburbs grant to investigate governance systems for shared energy and water resources.
EVK and the wider Knutsford Regeneration Precinct is one of the case study sites in the RACE for 2030 CRC 'Pathways to Net Zero Precincts' research project led by Curtin University.