SUSTAINABILITY AWARD

Challenge

It all began with a single wheelchair user’s voice: “I’ve given up on even going to the grocery store just two blocks away.” The user had given up on simple tasks like going to the local grocery store because he was self-conscious and had difficulty navigating obstacles: Even a small bump on the road represented a major headache.

Impact

With the world’s population over the age of 60 drastically increasing over the next several decades, 900 million people worldwide in 2017, and expected to more than double to 2.1 billion people by 2050. There is a huge opportunity and need to address current and future mobility challenges.

Solution

Conventional powered wheelchairs position the user to sit in a passive posture. With its unique form, WHILL gets the user to be in a more active position. The intent is to fundamentally change the attitude of the user and perception of surrounding people through an active design language. Wheelchairs usually have about an inch of ground clearance due to its small front casters, making it difficult to maneuver curbs at store entrances and sidewalks. WHILL incorporates large omni-wheels to navigate across obstacles while maintaining a tight turning radius. Rollers on the omni-wheels allow it to glide sideways for increased maneuverability.

AWARDS

AWARD FOR SUSTAINABILITY

PUNTUKURNU AMS HEALTHCARE HUB ARCHITECTURAL

COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL

DESIGNED BY Kaunitz Yeung Architecture David Kaunitz, Emma Trask, Marni Reti

COMMISSIONED BY Puntukurnu Aboriginal Medical Service

DESIGNED IN Australia

The Good Design Award for Sustainability is awarded to an entry that represents the highest level of excellence in sustainable design practice and is limited to only one recipient that in the judge’s opinion; will have a positive impact in promoting excellence in sustainable design. Also winning Best in Class in the Architectural Design category; this innovative building showcases a high level of excellence in sustainable design practice. Sensitively co-designed with the traditional owners of the land; this healthcare facility is in one of the most remote and hottest towns in Australia. The rammed earth cladding improves building performance and significantly reduces the embodied energy of the building – which would have otherwise been clad in materials transported from Perth 1400km away. The landscaping comprises 4000 endemic plants; and a 150kW rooftop photovoltaic array produces 100% of electricity use. This reduces the recurrent running costs of the building; significantly enabling funding to be directed to better healthcare for the community.

Sensitively co-designed with the traditional owners of the land; this healthcare facility is in one of the most remote and hottest towns in Australia.