Jarrod Lucas has a passion for building, being a qualified carpenter whose practical experience has shaped his understanding of how thoughtful design can enhance the built environment. His hands-on background allows him to bridge the gap between construction and architecture, creating designs that are both innovative and achievable. With a strong focus on environmental responsibility, Jarrod is dedicated to crafting spaces that work in harmony with nature. He enjoys working with natural materials to create earthy, warm, and timeless environments that connect people to place. Always learning and evolving, Jarrod strives to push creative boundaries in sustainable design.

Jarrod Lucas

 

Project: Northern Residence Manor House Australia is in the midst of a housing crisis, with demand for affordable and sustainable homes far exceeding supply. Suburban areas like Western Sydney must adapt by embracing multi-dwelling housing that balances density with livability. The brief challenged students to respond to this issue by working within the NSW Low Rise Housing Diversity Code, tripling or quadrupling suburban density while ensuring sustainability, inclusivity, and long-term resilience. The Northern Residence Manor House is located on a corner site within the Werrington micro village masterplan, east of the WSU Werrington South campus. With direct access to a primary road, a secondary road, and a rear laneway, the site offered unique opportunities for orientation and circulation. The name Northern Residence reflects the deliberate orientation of all four dwellings to the north, a design strategy that prioritises natural light and solar performance over alignment with the primary road. This approach ensures each dwelling enjoys abundant daylight and a consistently bright, livable environment throughout the year. At the heart of the design is a central courtyard, the organising feature that all dwellings open onto directly. This shared space fosters community interaction and creates a strong sense of connection between households. At the same time, privacy is carefully layered: the ground-floor residence includes its own private yards, while the upper-floor dwellings feature individual balconies. To further enhance comfort and livability, each dwelling is oriented to achieve at least 270-degree views, maximising natural light, cross-ventilation, and outlook. To manage the site’s gentle slope, the eastern dwelling’s ground floor was stepped down, aligning with the terrain while maintaining consistent first-floor levels across the development. Circulation is organised around the courtyard, which faces north and is accessed solely from the secondary road with separate entrances addressing the primary road and the rear laneway, activating the site edges. The manor house form ensures efficiency of footprint while creating four unique but connected residences that respond to suburban scale. Demographic research informed four distinct households: Dwelling 1 accommodates a couple; Dwelling 2 houses a family of four, including an elderly, visually impaired member, with accessible features integrated into the layout; Dwelling 3 is for a family of four; and Dwelling 4 supports a single mother with two young children. This mix ensures inclusivity, adaptability, and real-world suburban relevance. Sustainability is embedded through prefabricated Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT), chosen for its low embodied carbon, rapid assembly, and renewable life cycle. Complementary strategies—including light-coloured finishes, shading, and greenery—reduce heat gain and enhance comfort. By addressing Code requirements while responding to its corner condition, laneway access, and sloping topography, the Northern Residence demonstrates how multi-dwelling housing can positively influence the other 95% of housing—delivering scalable, sustainable, and community-focused suburban living. This strategy directly contributes to tackling Australia’s housing crisis by providing a replicable model that increases density, improves livability, and embeds long-term sustainability into suburban housing.