Australia’s first HIA Greensmart Estate, Bingara Gorge in semi-rural NSW, makes an environmental statement with natural clay bricks from Boral Bricks .
Located an hour southwest of Sydney in Wilton, New South Wales, a new and green residential community is taking shape.
Named after the remarkable scenery of the nearby Nepean River, Bingara Gorge has been accredited as the HIA’s first Greensmart Advanced Estate.
In addition to its choice of materials, the ESD principles incorporated include a storm water re-use strategy, a private recycling sewerage treatment plant, construction waste minimisation and large tracts of bushland.
By 2020 this $1 billion master-planned estate created by developers Lend Lease Delfin is expected to house more than 3,500 residents.
Order Architects has completed one of the first priorities – a Sales and Information Centre that clearly needed to set a high benchmark.
Architect Kim Crestani said, “Our vision was to create the effect of a ‘cellar door’ in a quaint country winery to set the scene for the entire development.”
“We agreed that robust, quality brickwork would complement the recycled timber boarding and other structural materials to achieve a very high quality landmark building.”
The architectural team chose Boral Escura Smooth Face clay bricks in Choc Tan, because they blended well with the landscape, did not need rendering and had other environmentally responsible features including longevity and thermal mass.
The sharp edges and refined texture of the product played a key part in contributing to contemporary appeal within a country context.
