This week on the Barry Street blog, we sit down with Jack Bourke from Bourke Builders. Bourke Builders are a local construction company that have been building homes and working across a range of local projects for the past 30 years. Last year, Bourke Builders were awarded the contract for the Barry Street Project, and their crew have been working hard to bring these accessible homes to life.
Jack Bourke, who we were lucky enough to speak to recently, has played a pivotal role throughout the Barry Street Project – which had its official opening on Friday the 17th of June. In Jack’s words, he’s been “off the tools mostly”, as he managed the Bourke Builders crew throughout the project. As we spoke with Jack, one of the key things we wanted to learn was, what are some of the main differences between these units and the standard home. That is, what makes these units accessible? Well, Jack has the answers!
Some of the key design differences we learnt about were:
– Automatic doors for bathrooms
– Zero threshold entries to the front and back of the units (AKA flat entrances)
– Fire Services in each of the units
Of course, these are just a handful of the interesting accessible aspects of these new homes. More details have been shared in previous blogs, and we’ll delve deeper as we continue this series and speak to the key people involved in the project.
Speaking to Jack, it’s clear that he and the Bourke Builders team understand how significant this project is for the local community – especially people with disability. Jack says that providing accessible housing options like the Barry Street units, “gives the clients a better quality of life. It’s a much more user-friendly space to live in…”
Jack and the Bourke Builders team were thrilled to be awarded the contract for this job last year. They loved that CLRS and the Barry Street Project were supporting local business, especially in a post-lockdown world. Jack says, “It’s great to be involved in a community project like this as a local builder. We’ve been in Echuca for over 30 years…”
Initiatives like ‘The Opening Doors Project’ are only possible through your support, so liking, following, sharing, and commenting are all fantastic ways to help spread the word on social media.
The projects are also dependent on fundraising, and wouldn’t be happening without the generosity of the community.
You can support the ‘Opening Doors Project’ by making a donation at https://www.givenow.com.au/clrs where all donations above $2 are tax deductible. You can also support by participating in or supporting the Johnno’s Run fundraiser.
Please continue to follow along with progress and fundraisers being shared across the following platforms:
- Facebook ~ https://www.facebook.com/CLRSopensdoors
- Instagram ~ https://www.instagram.com/openingdoorsprojectclrs/
- Youtube ~ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwZi2fvGc57pdt6UMCsl8iw
If you’re new to the Barry St Blog series, we’d love for you to go back and take a look at our previous blogs and videos:
- AN INTRODUCTION TO ‘THE BARRY STREET PROJECT blog = https://clrs.org.au/an-introduction-to-the-barry-street-project/
- MAIN PREPARATIONS DURING THE DESIGN PERIOD blog = https://clrs.org.au/main-preparations-during-the-design-period/
- THE ROLE OF THE BARRY STREET USER GROUPS blog = https://clrs.org.au/the-role-of-the-barry-street-user-groups/
- WHY IS THE OPENING DOORS PROJECT SO IMPORTANT? blog = https://clrs.org.au/why-is-the-opening-doors-project-so-important
- CONSTRUCTION UPDATE WITH KYLIE BRUNS blog = https://clrs.org.au/construction-update-with-kylie-bruns/
- Leah Taaffe (CLRS CEO) gives an overview of the Barry Street Project video = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWjs7uDY4rs
- Opening Doors – Barry Street Project – Meet Alex Crabtree from Cerno video = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-QmTEnH3uw
- Opening Doors – Barry Street Project – Annie’s Insights video = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxUB-yM5hOk
- Opening Doors – Barry Street Project – Meet Alastair video = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_KJCAbtGGA
- Opening Doors – Barry Street Project – Meet Fiona video = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGfPxwHWXy8
- Opening Doors – Barry Street Project – Chatting to Kylie video = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HagLuwI2wyk
- Opening Doors – Barry Street Project – Meet Jack Bourke video = https://youtu.be/PSdQYnothEk
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