Image Credit : a+ design group
Project Overview
Our vision was to create a residential development that provides a sustainable, vibrant and diverse living environment. The design development of the proposal has evolved through detailed contextual analysis of the surroundings, resulting in simple, yet elegant built forms that sit harmoniously within the existing context but add visual interest to the façade. The site consists of four very different but related buildings on the waterfront of the Cooks River. The basis of the proposal is to provide a new standard in high quality residential development. This project is a positive contribution to the public domain, ensuring a modern and dynamic development is created and provides a benchmark for architectural design in the locality.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Tony Leung, Karen Chow, Sean Regan, Chuan Fu, Bing Qi, Peter Petrovski
Project Brief
The largest building follows the river line and acts as a lynchpin, punctuating the corner and enhancing the points between the water, the recreational green space and the train line. Further along the water’s edge is our smallest building, a design reminiscent of European canal housing with its three storied garden terraces, light filled from with their large windows and rooftop skylights.
Situated behind these terraces are two distinctly different apartment buildings, again with their own personalities, they articulate the architectural language with their differing heights and hierarchy, designed to create visual interest and prevent overshadowing of the park, river and residents.
The proposed landscape design is an integral part of the overall design intent.
Provision is made for a multitude of large canopy trees within common areas around the perimeter of the site, contributing to a green presentation to the public domain. A boardwalk and bicycle track runs along the entire waterside and from this back entry point we have created a small moat and boardwalk to reflect our riverside home theme.
Project Innovation/Need
A major issue was rainwater running off and polluting the river; we created a strategy to harvest and channel this rainwater. We’re filtering it through a series of terraced bio-gardens, cleaning and purifying it before it goes back in to the river. In the long term this will help to contribute towards maintaining marine and biological life.
There was also land between our development and the neighbouring project that couldn't be utilised. Being so close to the train station we turned this land in to a public car park for commuters.
Design Challenge
There is a 100 year high water table for this development and we needed overcome this by raising our buildings. Although overall they’re taller we didn’t want them to dominate the site, so to break down the overall look and feel of this effect, we placed them on a band of grey plinths, above this sit our contrasting light white buildings. The massing was broken down further by creating building forms that vary greatly in shape and sizes, softening our architecture.
Sustainability
The interior corridors utilise natural light and cross ventilation. As shown in our photography, visually these atrium spaces have the added benefit of stunning hidden linear architecture.
Our landscape design incorporates a terraced wetland system within the communal open space, storing water for reuse as irrigation, and capturing and treating overland flow before it discharges into Cooks River.
Architecture - Residential - Constructed
This award celebrates the design process and product of planning, designing and constructing form, space and ambience that reflect functional, technical, social, and aesthetic considerations. Consideration given for material selection, technology, light and shadow.
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