Better by design: Culture at the heart of remote housing in the Northern Territory

By  Amy Edwards 9 June 2025 6 min read

When Warumungu Leader Jimmy Frank Jupurrurla talks about his ideal ‘castle’, he doesn’t describe a huge lavish home.

“We need verandas and air flow through the house and a place for gathering around a fire at the front of the property,” he said.

“Part of our culture is we have smoking ceremonies outside to get rid of bad energy. We light the fire outside and the smoke needs to drift through the house to get rid of the bad spirits.”

For Jimmy it’s not the size of the house, but the dream that’s big.

And now his vision of a home that incorporates traditional customs and values while being centred around Aboriginal family dynamics is about to become a reality. 

Jimmy is the Chief Cultural Officer for Wilya Janta – an Aboriginal non-profit collaboration jointly building a pilot house in Tennant Creek, about 500 kilometres north of Alice Springs where temperatures can range from 12 degrees in winter to over 40 in summer. Wilya Janta, meaning standing strong, aims to involve Aboriginal community leaders in the design of their own homes, as well as engaging the expertise of leading architects and health professionals. CSIRO is providing advice on energy and thermal efficiency. Following the completion of the demonstration home, Wilya Janta aims to build more homes using the same collaborative model.

“I’ve been part of this journey building and designing our own houses, working out what’s more suitable for our culture and using the landscape,” Jimmy said.

“I’m also supporting my brother and family. It’s a project I’m passionate about.”

Due for launch later this year, the demonstration house will be for Jimmy’s brother, Warumungu Elder Norman (Norm) Frank Jupurrurla.

Norm, who has raised six children, has been on dialysis for 15 years and is always anxious about running out of power. Thousands of Aboriginal households across the Northern Territory access electricity via a pre-paid power card meter on community or government-owned homes, which disconnect when credit runs out. To add to this pressure, the cost of living in Tennant Creek is high due to its remote location.

Housing and health challenges in Tennant Creek

Simon Quilty is the Chief Operating Officer for the Wilya Janta housing project. Improving Aboriginal health outcomes for people like Norm has been the driving force behind his involvement.

“I spent a fair bit of time in Northern Territory as a kid. I was fascinated by the Aboriginal kids I played with, and I found it a magical experience,” he said.

When Simon grew up and chose to become a doctor, he knew he wanted to return to remote Northern Territory one day to work. In 2012, he began acquiring his cardiology skills as a general physician at Katherine Hospital.

“I probably diagnosed more rheumatic heart disease than any other doctor in the world over that time,” he said of working with Aboriginal communities in the Katherine region.

“The conditions of housing were driving every aspect of problems in the town.” 

Simon said rheumatic heart disease caused by streptococcus was a huge problem, made worse by Aboriginal people often living in cramped conditions.

“Rheumatic heart disease rates in Australia are 5 in every 10,000 people, it’s more than 3000 in every 10,000 people in this region, all caused by overcrowding. The design of Aboriginal housing in remote Australia is terrible for health, social and cultural outcomes,” he said.

Simon wrote his PhD on heat, health and housing in the Northern Territory. His friendship with Norm and his family goes back years.

“He is a knowledge holder and a wise person and is regarded as a very culturally important person in the Northern Territory,” Simon said of Norm. 

“He has a photographic memory, extensive knowledge of totems, songlines, ceremony, the ecosystem and the environment.” 

As well as aiming to improve health and cultural aspects, CSIRO is ensuring the house has a high thermal performance.

7-star energy ratings for Aboriginal homes

Anthony Wright, CSIRO’s Energy Performance group leader, said the energy-efficient demonstration house was designed to run for a day or two without mains power – which would eliminate the power card issues. 

CSIRO modelling and design advice will help to ensure that the house remains cool in summer, for as long as possible, without air conditioning and minimise the power needed if air conditioning is used. The house will have a 7-star energy rating providing thermal comfort and lower energy costs equivalent to those expected in new homes in major capital cities.

“One of the main goals is we need to make sure elderly people aren't dying prematurely from extremes of temperature, and that medicine can be stored,” Anthony said.

Horizon Power is donating a large solar and battery system. There are also several philanthropic organisations, academic institutions and medical research organisations supporting the project.

The layout of Norm's house

Norm’s house is the pilot and will feature two shaded, outdoor kitchens so families can cook simultaneously, as well as disabled access bathrooms. This is especially important in the wet season. Tennant Creek’s wet season is not as intense as regions further north. Aboriginal people come to Tennant Creek during this time for various reasons, including cultural practices, seasonal movement and access to resources.  

When family and friends come into town from more remote locations houses can get overcrowded, often with 12 to 13 people using one kitchen and one toilet. The house will feature big, deeply shaded pantries with good ventilation to keep food cool, even if there is a power outage which is unlikely because power will come from rooftop solar and the endless sunshine in Tennant Creek.  

Heavily shaded, wide verandas will be built around the house, allowing people to sleep outdoors. The house has also been designed with two outdoor areas with a fire pit to allow Norm’s family to smoke the house for ceremonial reasons and to have wind breaks for different external kinds of gatherings.

Termite mounds: an unlikely building material

The house will be constructed of prefabricated steel-framed modules made in South Australia and trucked to Tennant Creek. Mud brick internal cladding, sourced from Tennant Creek’s own termite mounds, will be used on the walls to mitigate diurnal temperature fluctuations.

“The Waramungu people had a mud brick machine that wasn’t working. The Wilya Janta project has inspired people to get it working again and work the bricks into the design of the pilot house,” Anthony said. 

The soil in Tennant Creek is ordinarily too crumbly to make mud bricks, but the termites collect only the clay for their mounds, making them a great source of material for mud bricks.

“They regrow the mounds fast too, so it’s a pretty renewable resource,” Anthony said.

The University of Sydney will evaluate the cultural and health outcomes of the pilot house, considering the impact on familial relationships, health outcomes and custodianship. CSIRO will conduct the environmental and energy monitoring.

“It's a little project that could have really profound effects, particularly if we can keep the snowball rolling and build house two and house three,” Anthony said.

“Hopefully we can give Aboriginal people an opportunity to inform the design of their own houses to meet their cultural and family needs, reduce overcrowding and eliminate rheumatic heart disease.”

For Jimmy, the project has always meant more than simply building a house to withstand the 40-degree days, and weeks, and to accommodate a large extended family. He believes it must have meaning and act as a meeting place for generations. 

“This is how we can preserve and practice our culture,” he said.