Bowden’s 6 Star Green Star Communities certification has been renewed for another five years, reinforcing the project’s reputation as a persistent leader in innovation and one of the most sustainable places to live, work and play in Australia.
From the outset, Bowden has strived for world leadership in environmental sustainability, setting an ambitious 5 Star Green Star mandate at project inception for all individual buildings within the community’s boundary. That early benchmark was surpassed by Renewal SA when it achieved a 6 Star Green Star Communities rating for the entire project back in 2016.
The Green Star certification is a trusted, nationally-recognised sustainability tick-of-approval developed by the Green Building Council of Australia which measures five key criteria - Governance, Liveability, Economic Prosperity, Environment and Innovation. Bowden scored highly with 77 credits across the board out of 100, achieving impressive maximum scores in Innovation and Economic Prosperity.
Bowden is believed to have the highest concentration of Green Star-rated residential buildings within a single development nationally.
Bowden Park. Image credit: Jessica Clark
From the beginning in 2008, the low-impact development’s master plan has embedded sustainability principles. Leading the way was The Prince’s Terraces - the first townhouse development in Australia to receive a 6 Star Green Star rating for a building. The 12 homes, built with local, low-carbon and natural building materials, utilise passive design principles to minimise energy usage for heating, cooling, and lighting, boasting a 40% carbon footprint reduction.
Bowden’s most recent development, Nightingale Bowden, completed in 2022, has also achieved nation-leading levels of environmental sustainability with 5 Star Green Star and 8.2 NatHERS ratings for its 36 zero-carbon apartments.
The cutting-edge sustainable and affordable development includes a shared rooftop space, productive gardens, solar power, and rainwater harvesting, as well as access to the precinct’s shared cars and speedy connections to the Outer Harbor greenway and Bowden Railway Station.
Renewal SA’s commitment to the environment is further demonstrated through the large-scale remediation of the former Brompton Gasworks site which is now underway.
Industry-leading developer MAB Corporation and its environmental remediation team will remove source contamination from the 5.81-hectare site on Chief Street as part of its redevelopment and adaptive reuse into a thriving mixed-use precinct.
The Gasworks development also aims to achieve a 6 Star Green Star community rating and, in a South Australian first, all power across the project will be delivered via 100% renewable energy provided through rooftop solar.
Renewal SA Executive Director, Residential Project Delivery and Assets, Shane Wingard said master planning was key to achieving leading sustainability outcomes.
From inception, Bowden was envisaged as a transit-oriented project with excellent connections to surrounding community facilities and local shopping with cycling and walking trails complementing the existing street grid pattern
Shane Wingard, Executive Director, Residential Project Delivery and Assets
“With less car parking and a variety of alternative transport options in close proximity to amenities, 20 per cent of Bowden residents opt for more sustainable transport.”
Uniquely, 28 convertible shopping trollies have been allocated for shared use between each apartment building at Bowden and to each townhouse upon request. Providing a convenient means for residents to transport goods while walking, catching public transport, or cycling with the help of a handy trailer attachment, promotes healthy and active transport, whilst supporting greater use of local retailers.
Engagement of key businesses and surrounding residents to Bowden has been crucial to mobilise such initiatives and drive a community-focused ethos that places people at the centre of the suburb’s every design choice.
Bowden is home to several community gardens - a combination of leased and communal plots, managed by the community which boosted ‘Liveability’ scores.
The Park Terrace Community Garden is permanently established in the parklands, and a pop-up community garden, in the heart of Bowden, is currently set up on short-term vacant land with transportable garden beds, which will be relocated to the permanent parklands garden when scheduled development begins.
In addition, an indigenous food garden flourishes after being established with the assistance of a Kaurna school at Wardli-ana Tapa Reserve.
The well-connected community is linked by three well-lit pathways maintaining end-to-end visibility for pedestrians and cyclists accessing the adjacent parklands via arterial road Park Terrace, which carries more than 55,000 vehicles per day. This also amplified ‘Liveability’ marks.
Resident of five years, Gayle Polley said being part of such a vibrant and diverse community, that values sustainability, was a drawcard.
“The Park Terrace Community Garden satisfies any need for a large yard and being able to partake in the joys of growing and sharing the produce with others is an added bonus. There is also such a welcoming vibe from Plant 4 and the other local retailers that we always find our preference is to shop or dine locally,” Ms Polley said.
“The high standards of energy efficiency, water conservation, and waste management in each and every development showcases the best practices of urban design and sustainability. The tram and proximity to the city mean that there are some weeks our car doesn’t venture out of the car park.”
