by The EnvisionaryIn the near future, we will be living in circular economy-led sustainable apartments, with sustainable housing in luxury, budget, and portable offerings.
Client: Warrina & Greening Australia (Adapteco Brand) Location: Melbourne, Australia Challenge: To rebrand a landscaping company as sustainably-minded, and to concept bespoke sustainable complex plans for their private client range
The Background
Adapteco was a large project. It was for a company in Australia that was seeking to develop forward-thinking, sustainable premium apartments. My role as an in-house freelancer at partner company Greening Australia was to originally help with sustainable landscaping initiatives, but after a talk with a partner client of theirs, Warrina, it led towards this innovative concept project.
Australia hasn’t been known for its environmentally-focused ways so Greening Australia (primarily a tree planting company) proposed an initiative to seek sustainable living concepts for a variety of different dwellings.
This included sustainable premium apartments, budget accommodation, and hybrid movable accommodation, all with the focus on creating a greener future.
Warrina, whose background was in planning and maintaining luxury estates, joined the initiative to direct sustainability in luxury estates as it was seeking to move in luxury sustainability (I didn’t know there was such a thing to begin with).
On the one side, the company was already associated with a green outlook in how they landscaped estates, gardens, and private features for clients, but they were also quite a forward-thinking company in knowing that sustainability was vitally important for their future and wanted to get ahead of other landscapers and 3D plan developers who were still focusing on luxury items no matter their impact on both the environment and societies capital outlook.
They felt that people with money would be interested in bespoke sustainable builds because generally those who can afford it want to have something others can’t afford. The cost of installing such specialist and sustainable-led solutions weren’t exactly cheap yet so the target market of luxury ‘adaptable’ homeowners was a profitable testing ground.
The Branding Solution
The initial work with Warrina was about rebranding their name. They had a longstanding name, Warrina, which had local trust but wasn’t associated with sustainable materials. It also benefited Greening Australia if the name was associated more with sustainable thinking.
Warrina wanted to direct sustainable luxury estate plans in Melbourne, but a rebrand would allow them to be associated with the green-thinking initiatives around all of Australia, plus branch further than just their luxury angle if needed.
When discussing with Green Australia the types of green-project initiatives that they wanted to raise awareness in, they mentioned budget as well as luxury, and movable as well as stationary apartments. In other words, adaptable homes and spaces that would be eco-friendly.
This led towards first developing a housing name that would match these initiatives, and I came up with Adapteco (meaning adaptable, eco-friendly, sustainable), and then proceeded to work with booth Warrina and Greening Australia on a partnership rebrand (see the Adapteco identity development here).
The identity is essentially a green leaf with a house within it, but for Warrina the key was to be associated with luxury brands, and for that, the leaf would be bordered in gold. Warrina would become the ‘premium’ side of the Adapteco initiatives backed by Greening Australia.
The Apartment Concepts
It was never planned that I would become part of the conceptual 3D planning process, but being part of the rebranding led me towards offering certain conceptual ideas when thinking about a branding name.
I had no prior experience building 3D models so had to learn on the job quickly, but the client wanted me on board and was happy as long as I could demonstrate the adaptable apartment concept ideas I suggested through a presentable (enough) 3D model.
This project was a catalyst into more sustainable and future-led, and social innovation projects afterward, but at the time it was a fresh learning curve.
I became part of a team developing some 3D-plan concepts on how a sustainable premium apartment block of the future could function.
Some of the conceptual solutions I developed were utilised, others weren’t, but it led towards a much greater understanding of sustainability and how workable solutions could (and couldn’t) be utilised in many ways.
When considering a luxury apartment complex that can sustain itself in the long run you would consider the materials used within the apartment, the adaptable nature of features within the apartment and complex, the car park EV charging point efficiencies, energy-saving devices, a self-generating energy exercise facility when working out, an in-house smart farm to grow your own produce etc.
Whilst the conceptual stage can lead towards lots of green light ideas, it was equally (or more) important to work out how this would improve sustainability without the effort or cost being more than the output.
Whilst I didn’t lead this project I certainly learned a lot moving forward to leading projects later.
A CASE STUDY FROM:
