Taupo Design Competition

Taupo, New Zealand
Lot 60 Design Competition

A residential/mixed-use precinct which encourages sustainable community development, through shared activities towards self-sufficiency, and a focus on local places and production. Compact development and high quality streetscapes and infrastructure create an active, vital public realm. The integrated, cohesive site layout, is responsive to local conditions, and allows each component to be part of a larger continuum, and to contribute to and benefit from the shared environment.

A new development with sustainability and community at its core, which sets a new benchmark for residential design in Taupo and beyond, must set itself apart, and be identifiable and recognizable as a unified whole. Its residents will embrace the opportunity to participate in practices which ensure the ongoing protection of the fragile and precious natural environment surrounding the town.

This design reflects sustainability principles in its structural, philosophical and participatory foundation, rather than merely relying on technological and constructional systems, although each dwelling is configured for optimal climatic benefit and minimal negative impact.