Australia’s building and construction industry has long grappled with the complexities of integrating advanced technology into residential developments.
Traditionally, these building services are installed and implemented by up to four groups of sub-contractors that ultimately deliver overly complex, inefficient ecosystems that result in higher costs and increased carbon footprints.
The smart solution is the ‘consolidation of infrastructure’, which involves streamlining multiple building services, such as internet, security, and building automation, into a single, cohesive system. This not only reduces the services spatial requirements but also allows the realisation of sustainability, cost and resident benefits.
Nightingale Village, developed by Nightingale Housing, was able to redefine sustainable living through the integration of this cutting-edge smart technology. The $150-million precinct consisted of six architecturally distinct buildings and embodied the developer’s principles of social, environmental, and financial sustainability.
Through its partnership with technology providers net360, Nightingale Housing was able to deliver a seamless, sustainable and technologically advanced living experience while staying true to their core principles.
The net360 approach significantly reduced Nightingale Village’s infrastructure footprint, eliminating 25km of copper cabling and 5km of PVC conduit, and prevented the release of 20 tonnes of CO2 during construction.
“Having net360’s innovative expertise and support was instrumental in meeting the ambitious efficiency targets of the project,” Nightingale chief executive Dan McKenna said.
The deployment of net360’s technology not only minimised environmental impact but also enhanced operational efficiency. By eliminating the need for disparate infrastructure, the solution reduced ongoing property maintenance, subscription fees and servicing costs, saving the owners corporation thousands of dollars annually.
“We don’t just deliver Australia’s leading gigabit internet, we deploy a high-grade access network capable of delivering hundreds of digital services into each dwelling”, net360 chief executive Dan Paolini said.
“Our dark fibre network eliminates technical debt, leverages economies of scale and maximises the developer’s technology investment. It enables sustainability goals through infrastructure reduction. Its Australia’s first true digital building experience, enabling and unlocking a plethora of smart services.”
Residents of Nightingale Village all benefit from gigabit internet with download speeds 10 times faster and upload speeds 20 times faster than the industry baseline. This premium-grade service, backed by net360’s dark-fibre network, ensures market-leading stability, buffer-free streaming.
The precinct is among the top 1 per cent of buildings in Australia to provide full 1Gbps/1Gbps speeds, setting a benchmark for connected living.
The innovative design also future-proofed the precinct, allowing residents to connect over 2500 IoT services without additional cabling or disruptive works. Residents can also subscribe to more than 40 net360 products, including video conferencing, smart apartment security, appliance automation, and lighting control, enhancing their living experience.
“Residents now live in beautiful, sustainable, high-performance homes that foster community connection,” McKenna said. “A hallmark of great design lies in the seamless features that go unnoticed—such as premium internet services, access control, intercoms, CCTV, and community Wi-Fi—all integrated through a single, future-proof and scalable fibre network.”
Rather than taking up “zero cost telecommunication builds which usually result in sub-par infrastructure or uncommercial activation fees for the residents”, Paolini urged developers to look to innovation to reduce telecommunications deployment costs.
Efficiencies are available by “implementing a high-end telecommunication network that can deliver multiple services over a single integrated system, collapse unnecessary onsite infrastructure, and deliver a superior living, breathing adaptable development that is indefinitely futureproofed.”
The Nightingale Village project aimed to be an example of how modern developments can achieve environmental, social, and financial sustainability. It hoped to set a new standard for urban living, demonstrating that innovative technology and sustainability can go hand in hand to create a better future for residents and the environment alike.
Mission accomplished, says McKenna.
“Collaborating with net360 has been a great experience because it shares Nightingale’s ethos: building homes for people, not for profit, with sustainability through reductionism at the core,” he said.
“Together, we’ve embraced this approach, streamlining services to reduce costs while maintaining high standards of service and quality.”
The Urban Developer is proud to partner with net360 to deliver this article to you. In doing so, we can continue to publish our daily news, information, insights and opinion to you, our valued readers.
