"We have a lady who was completely housebound in her previous property because of growing mobility problems," Housing Trust CEO Michele Adair said.

"She literally hadn't been able to get in or out of her apartment because it had stairs."

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Now, the woman lives in an affordable, newly-built ground floor residence that has just won a national award.

Correa Gardens won the Affordable Residential Development prize at the Urban Taskforce Australia 2022 Development Excellence Awards. This put the 34 homes on the site of a former primary school alongside billion dollar developments such as Quay Quarter in Circular Quay and BLUE at Lavender Bay, where units sell for $10 million.

Ms Adair said the accolade highlighted that the best designed buildings do not have to be the most expensive.

"It proves, once again, that affordable rental housing can be recognised by industry peers as being beautiful and functional places that add quality to communities and be available to people on low to moderate incomes."

Internationally, some of the globe's most iconic architecture originated as affordable housing projects, from the Barbican Estate in London to Le Corbusier's Unité d'habitation in Marseille. Locally, Ms Adair said the legacy of poorly designed buildings in the mid 20th century had tarnished the public's image of what affordable housing could be.

"It really does help break down the stigma that affordable rental housing is no longer the hideous red brick, disgusting buildings of the 50s and 60s," Ms Adair said.

"That hasn't been the case for many decades and winning awards like this continues to prove that from the outside and from the inside."

The 34 units that comprise Correa Gardens include a number of terrace-style dwellings made up of one and two bedroom units and four bedroom townhouses. The houses are designed to be accessible, with level entry, and provide shelter for up to 70 people.

Aesthetic choices have been made to fit the project within its context and interiors are designed to be comfortable with high ceilings to maximise light and air flow. Car parking spaces are also electric-vehicle ready.

"We've designed the buildings for the future, not just for today," Ms Adair said.

Built by Traders in Purple, the project was a partnership between the NSW government and the Housing Trust.

Having worked the room at the awards night, Ms Adair said there was energy and commitment from the development sector to build more affordable housing and it was up to governments to demonstrate a similar level of involvement.

"It starts with the attitudes that our local councils have, and the courage to embrace design ideas and buildings that do embrace both the local area and precinct, but also embrace diversity of built form and style."

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