Wilya Janta (Standing Strong) housing collaboration is a groundbreaking project working to develop culturally safe and climate-appropriate housing for remote Aboriginal communities in collaboration with Aboriginal Housing Northern Territory, Emergent Group, Julalikari Council Aboriginal Corporation, Original Power, OFFICE, Troppo & King & Wood Mallesons.

Wilya Janta is born from the long standing injustices remote Aboriginal communities face when seeking housing and the project responds to the genuine needs of both community and climate. Following years of failure in public housing policy, and a longstanding history of misrepresentation in the public housing system, Wilya Janta is working towards a model for remote housing which centres First Nations perspectives in the design and construction process. In the words of Warumungu elder Patricia Frank Narrurlu ‘homes we can design as we want, to suit our environment and our culture’. The project redefines not only access to housing in Aboriginal communities but reimagines the landscape of housing in remote Australia, informing how design and urban planning can respond to the fluctuations and instabilities of a changing climate.

Since 2021 the project has been working towards the realisation of two display homes to be built in Tennant Creek, showcasing the results of a 4 day workshop with the Warumungu community, and an intensive design process led by both Warumungu elder Norman Frank Jupurrurla, his family and Dr Simon Quilty. These will be the first-ever display homes for First Nations people in the Northern Territory and will be solar-powered, well-insulated, water efficient and constructed with bricks made locally from anthill and spinifex. The design includes features that accommodate cultural needs, such as shaded outdoor kitchens, places to sleep outdoors to catch the breeze, and windows and doors that are designed to allow for maximum airflow in all climatological conditions.

This text was the result of online research from sources such as the Wilya Janta (Standing Strong) housing collaboration website and the websites of the various project partners.