Digital toolkit to assist tropical housing design

Cairns Regional Council will develop a digital toolkit that will lead to more climate-appropriate housing design within the region.

The Designing for Density in the Tropics toolkit concept has received grant funding under the Queensland Government’s Innovation and Improvement Fund

Building on Council’s Tropical Urbanism Policy, the project will deliver a suite of online resources to assist developers in designing housing for the tropics.

Mayor Bob Manning said the toolkit would make it easier for proponents of residential developments to access pre-lodgement information and support, resulting housing that is appropriately designed for the tropics.

“We are continually looking at how we can make people’s interaction with Council more efficient and more productive,” Cr Manning said.

“Through this toolkit, property developers will have improved access to information that will help them to design homes that are more sustainable, cooler, and are suited to our tropical climate.

“It will place emphasis on the principles of our Tropical Urbanism Policy climate and will help anyone who is building a house to gain a better understanding of tropical design and how to achieve a successful outcome.”

The toolkit will include a suite of site designs and tropical design solutions that can be readily applied to projects. It will address various density requirements and provide options suitable for different lot sizes and

The Designing for Density in the Tropics toolkit will be developed using a $105,000 grants from the Queensland Government’s Innovation and Improvement Fund.

The toolkit will be developed with input from the local development industry.