Wilya Janta is an Aboriginal-led organisation dedicated to bringing culturally safe and climate-appropriate housing to remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. Established in 2023 by Warumungu Elders, the organisation centers Aboriginal voices in housing design and creates homes that listen to Country and to the people who have cared for it for over 60,000 years. The aim is to produce homes that are safe, functional, and culturally empowering.
CSHP emerged from the 2013 Future of Sustainable Housing in Cambodia competition, which attracted more than 600 registered entrants. Three winning designs were constructed for low-income families on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.
Housing NOW is a low-cost modular bamboo housing initiative developed by Blue Temple in Myanmar to provide rapidly deployable, dignified housing for displaced and underserved communities.
Traditional stilt housing represents a long-established vernacular response to living in flood-prone and water-based environments in Myanmar.
Tarayana Foundation's flagship housing programme reduces housing vulnerability among disadvantaged rural communities in Bhutan. Rather than applying a standardized house type, interventions respond to local site conditions, vernacular architecture, available materials and community needs.
ADB-supported affordable rental housing programme designed to provide 1,000 units for low-income and vulnerable households across six Bhutanese locations.
The LIFT House is an amphibious housing prototype designed for low-income communities in flood-prone Dhaka
A community-based cyclone-resilient housing model developed by Friendship and HBRI for vulnerable communities in coastal Bangladesh. Unlike conventional cyclone shelters, each house functions as a normal family residence during everyday conditions and a mini cyclone shelter during disasters
Khudi Bari is a lightweight, modular dwelling developed for landless and climate-vulnerable communities living in Bangladesh's shifting char landscapes. Its bamboo space-frame structure is connected using specially designed steel joints, allowing the house to be assembled, dismantled and relocated without specialist equipment.
Quick deployment housing typology developed by UN Habitat for families who lost their houses due to flooding, storms and cyclones.
Rather than resisting floodwater through permanent elevation, the dwelling is designed to rise with increasing water level
The BRAC Climate-Resilient House is a two-storey, 708 sq ft dwelling designed for climate-vulnerable coastal households. It functions as a normal family home during everyday conditions while serving as a mini cyclone/flood shelter for approximately 35–40 people during disasters.
BRAC redesigned and redeveloped over 500 homes in the aftermath of a devastating fire in Korail earlier this year. It was a collaborative effort that was successful only through a partnership with the government and stakeholders in the private sector, along with development partners like BRAC.
This indigenous-led, culturally appropriate social housing in Australia was developed specifically for Aboriginal Elders. The house itself is made using timber frame with steel roof and baked brick infill for the walls.
Wilya Janta is an Aboriginal-led organisation dedicated to bringing culturally safe and climate-appropriate housing to remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. Established in 2023 by Warumungu Elders, the organisation centers Aboriginal voices in housing design and creates homes that listen to Country and to the people who have cared for it for over 60,000 years. The aim is to produce homes that are safe, functional, and culturally empowering.
Australia · Australia · On-ground typology
Wilya Janta is an Aboriginal-led organisation dedicated to bringing culturally safe and climate-appropriate housing to remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. Established in 2023 by Warumungu Elders, the organisation centers Aboriginal voices in housing design and creates homes that listen to Country and to the people who have cared for it for over 60,000 years. The aim is to produce homes that are safe, functional, and culturally empowering.
The design responds to climate with breezeways, cross-ventilation, and orientation to capture cooling winds. Mudbrick walls made from anthill and spinifex provide thermal mass and improve comfort within the lightweight structure. Outdoor areas include a bough shed, vegetable garden, pond, and grassed play spaces for children. An outdoor kitchen with an open fire forms the communal heart of the home, celebrating traditional cooking and cultural practice, while mudbrick windbreaks protect these outdoor spaces from prevailing winds.
The design was guided by cultural protocols, environmental conditions, and the financial and logistical challenges of remote construction.
These verandahs support cultural avoidance practices by allowing people to move freely. Bedrooms are oriented east–west in line with Warumungu sleeping traditions, while two living rooms provide space for different kinship groups. Multiple bathrooms, accessible both inside and outside, offer privacy and flexibility for visitors. Universal access is built in, with ramps, wide doors and accessible bathroom allowing elders to age on Country.
The design is rooted in cultural and environmental requirements of the region, made with locally available materials making them highly scalable.