The terrace home is back!

Modeled on the traditional terrace concept, the Primo range have adopted all the comforts and functionality of modern living.

The Primo range has loads of natural light, open plan living space and courtyard spaces for entertaining
The Primo range has loads of natural light, open plan living space and courtyard spaces for entertaining

Max Pirone, the General Manager of Design & Product Development at the ABN Group, gave the PEET Project Tonic team an insight into their latest terrace homes in Ellenbrook, the Primo.

Modeled on the traditional terrace concept with a 5 metre frontage and 150sqm sized block the Primo range have adopted all the comforts and functionality of modern living, with loads of natural light, open plan living space, storage and courtyard spaces for entertaining.

Priced at about $270,000 the initiative addresses the issue of affordability in the increasingly hard to get into Perth housing market. Jared Stone, Sales and Marketing Manager for Homebuyers Centre, indicated that despite the medium density tag and compact living, the interest was strong not only for first home buyers but also for people keen to down size.

Interestingly the medium density terrace house has a chequered history. In the mid 19th century terrace houses were built extensively in the major Australian capital cities to accommodate a booming population. By the 1890’s many of the terraces were slums, and by the 1920’s they were generally banned, paving the way for the great Australian dream of the quarter acre block. Even with the gentrification of many inner city terrace areas, there are certainly some lessons to be learnt to avoid past mistakes and build better and more resilient communities.

PLACE Laboratory’s specific interest is the terrace house’s setting and how urban design better influences living outcomes. With a higher suburban density comes a greater importance on the quality of public amenity. Streetscapes, parks, spaces for different groups, playgrounds, footpaths, trees and mix of different housing types all contribute to a good public domain outcome. These concepts are broad and widely agreed, but sometimes difficult to achieve. Visiting the Primo first hand enabled us to assess directly how we can hone our skills in creating community robust enough to endure change.

The Primo is located in ‘The Green’ a semi-urban village close to the Ellenbrook town centre. The terrace houses themselves have been built fronting a local park and within 100 metres walking distance to public transport. Clearly these positive place making contributors have assisted the ABN Group in choosing these sites for the terrace homes – something vitally important if you want to offer small blocks without backyards or enough space for more than one car. Our obsession with huge blocks and houses may well be challenged with a re-invention of an old favourite.