The only way is up
Revised R-Codes came into effect in Western Australia in April 2024. According to the State Government, these changes were brought in to enable the provision of smaller and more accessible housing to meet the changing needs of WA’s communities.
Oswald Homes Designer, Franco Ranallo, expects to see the revised R-Codes subtly impacting home design in WA in 2025.
“There was a new version of the R-Codes launched earlier last year, and for certain sites with medium- to high-density zonings, there are significant changes required to comply with the new design guidelines,” Franco explains
He believes custom-home designs in higher-density areas will begin to “come out of the ground” in 2025, with a greater emphasis on the likes of:
- Functional outdoor amenity areas
- Support tree retention and re-establishment
- Sustainable housing – natural ventilation and winter solar gain requirements
- Adequately sized rooms and storage space
- Appropriately scaled development/s with respect to building bulk and scale
“The above are just key components, but there are additional requirements currently and going forward, there will be even further design guidelines to adhere with,” Franco says.
“The new codes are aiming to push development of sites upwards, rather than spreading across the footprint of the home on its site. Which, to me, makes a lot of sense from a design perspective, so now the key ingredient will be the associated costs.
“This is where we have a responsibility as a building company to support communities, by raising awareness of good design principles.
“Hopefully by doing so, Oswald Homes will be promoting quality housing designs that make a positive contribution to the West Australian community in return.”
