Prefab Start: Atlas and Tetris Expedite 12-Storey WA Project

Perth builder Atlas and national developer Tetris Capital are using prefabricated systems to complete a 12-storey affordable housing project six months earlier than conventional building methods would allow.

Ground has been broken on the Housing Australia Future Fund project at 6 Homelea Court at Rivervale that will use prefabricated structural systems manufactured by Atlas Precast at Naval Base, a seaside industrial suburb in southern Perth.

The build-to-rent development is designed for priority groups including frontline workers, Indigenous people, seniors, and women at risk of homelessness.

Julian Ambrose of Atlas Group said the housing challenge in Western Australia was as much about speed of delivery as it was about funding.

“Every month we cut from a construction program is another month sooner that a nurse, teacher or a family in housing stress has a secure home,” he said.

“By manufacturing the structural elements off-site, we can build with greater speed, consistency and cost certainty.

“This project is proof that modern construction can make a real difference to how quickly we respond to housing need.”

The 171-apartment project is the first where Atlas’s hollowcore and precast systems have been deployed on a HAFF project in WA.

Located 5km from the Perth CBD, the building will comprise a mix of one and two-bedroom apartments.

The project will also be the first Atlas Building and Atlas Precast have delivered housing together on a HAFF project in WA.

“WA has a significant pipeline of affordable and social housing that needs to be built, and the question is how we do that as efficiently as possible,”Ambrose said.

“This project demonstrates that prefabricated construction is a practical, proven solution ready to be applied at scale.”

▲ Prefabricated systems are being used to accelerate construction of the 12-storey affordable housing tower at Rivervale.

The project is being led by Tetris Capital, a specialist affordable housing developer headquartered in Melbourne. Atlas Building was appointed design and construction contractor, with Atlas Precast supplying the prefabricated structural components.

Tetris Capital executive director Brodie Commens said the project would help address Perth’s critical shortage of affordable rental homes.

“It’s progress towards more affordable housing in Perth’s inner suburbs, where people in frontline services are increasingly being priced out of the private market,” he said.

Non-government social housing manager Home in Place will provide tenancy and asset management services when the first apartments are available to tenants. Atlas anticipated this will be in early 2028.