Principles

Holistically sustainable

Sustainability is often considered an optional expense — something that gets added late in a project, if the budget allows. Nightingale designs each building with a holistic approach to sustainability, following basic principles of passive design and material reductionism.

We work hard to reduce the energy consumption, carbon emissions and waste in the construction, operation and maintenance of each Nightingale building. This starts in the demolition phase (where any existing structures on site are dismantled and salvageable materials are recycled where possible) and extends all the way to the chemical-free, natural detergents that are bulk-bought for use in communal laundries.

Nightingale recognises that we’re in a climate emergency. We’re committed to only delivering all-electric, fossil fuel-free homes and commercial spaces. To reduce the embodied energy footprint, we work with recycled, natural and locally-sourced materials where feasible.

Year-round comfort

Nightingale apartments are designed to be energy efficient, which means that residents are cooler on hot days and warmer on cold days.

High thermal insulation, passive ventilation, solar shading and thermal modelling enable most of our buildings to forgo air-conditioning, leading to an average NatHERS (?) rating of at least 7.5 stars (often more), which is well over the current regulatory requirement of 6.

A place to be neighbourly

We want people to feel connected to their neighbours, and their neighbourhood. Nightingale homes are only sold to residents and community housing providers — not investors.

Our buildings offer generous communal spaces, such as communal laundries, productive gardens and outdoor cooking areas, so that there are more chances to meet a neighbour and develop a sense of community.

At Nightingale, we often say ‘We build the garden beds, you grow the garden!’ This is true literally, but it’s also a metaphor: a building can only provide the conditions for connection to take place; it’s the residents themselves that make it a thriving community.

De-prioritising the car

Living sustainably also means having your lifestyle within reach. That’s why we locate buildings in well-appointed urban areas, accessible by public transport, cycling routes, car-share and other local amenities.

The Green Travel Plan (?) is integrated into the contract of sale. For example, we partner with organisations like car-share provider GoGet and eBike service Lug+Carrie to offer affordable, convenient alternatives to private car ownership, thereby reducing the impact of car dependency on our neighbourhoods and our planet. Each building also offers generous bike parking facilities that are easy to access and encourage the use of active transport.

Staying in touch

We understand that buying ‘off the plan’ requires a leap of faith. At Nightingale, we enjoy ongoing engagement with purchasers throughout the entire construction process. We facilitate regular meetings (often on Zoom, sometimes in person) to provide updates and photos from the construction site. There is plenty of time to meet future neighbours or ask the architects questions. We also try to facilitate visits to the site at key milestones of the project.

Good housing is fair housing

At Nightingale, we believe that the residential property industry can and must do more to address housing inequality and insecurity. As such, we aim to pre-allocate up to 20% of our homes to community housing providers, who give affordable, long-term leases to vulnerable members of our community.

Escaping the rental market

As an opportunity for first-home buyers to break free from the rental market and own their home, Nightingale includes so-called Teilhaus apartments in many of its buildings.

Teilhaus apartments are space-efficient, small-footprint homes that maintain functionality through joinery and flexible spaces. Read more about Teilhaus apartments here.

Giving back

We believe developers have a responsibility not just towards the residents of a building, but those in the surrounding urban setting. That’s why the design of every Nightingale building aims to give back to the local environment — for example by creating connected communities, active street frontages, generous greenery and open spaces, tactile pedestrian experiences for passers-by, and commercial spaces for values-aligned businesses.

Don’t take our word for it

Many Nightingale buildings have been recognised for their innovative approach to sustainability, community and affordability through local and national awards. View a list of all awards here.