Nightingale Bowden in South Australia.

SA’s first carbon neutral apartment block reaches completion

Adelaide’s first fully sustainable, affordable apartment building, Nightingale Bowden has begun welcoming residents just in time for Christmas, marking the successful completion for the landmark project at Bowden in South Australia.

The 36-home building on the corner of Second and Drayton streets is fossil fuel-free and exceeds a 7.5-star NatHERS rating thanks to its industrious design. Half of the one-and-two-bedroom apartments were sold to owner-occupiers as affordable housing through HomeSeeker. The other half were made available as affordable rental properties through Housing Choices South Australia, with those tenants expected to move in early in the new year.

This unique combination of sustainability and affordability was made possible through an innovative partnership between Housing Choices South Australia, Renewal SA, SA Housing Authority and not-for-profit, Melbourne-based innovator Nightingale Housing.

Designed to support community connections through shared spaces, Nightingale Bowden features a communal rooftop recreational space complete with barbecue, seating and garden beds. It will be filled out over time with a veggie patch and beehive. The building also includes solar power, rainwater harvesting, extensive bicycle storage and is near shared vehicles.

Constructed by locally established builder Hindmarsh and designed by award-winning sustainable architecture firm Breathe, Nightingale Bowden acknowledges the area’s industrial past with a sawtooth profile peeking out above the roofline, and copper motifs across the façade.

More than 500 construction jobs were supported during the development of Nightingale Bowden and six work placements were created for secondary school students.