Whatley

A simple and elegant design on a complex site.

This site included a series of easements, conditions and constraints which significantly influences the design of the building and the location of outdoor spaces and detailing. The solution required consultation with Western power over a three-dimensional easement formed by the arc of a wet power lines in extreme winds and included the civil works for a sewer realignment and manhole recommissioning. The triangular site tapers on two ends with a fatter middle, the longest side was contiguously piled to deal with 5 adjacent lower zoned neighbours and includes a sewer easement and man hole. Traffic stacking and movement was also a critical design consideration which influenced the design of the entry spaces.

The upper levels of the building folds around the broad point of a tapering power easement. The base is face brick, referencing domestic construction and forms the straight line which expresses the folded form over. The upper levels continue to soar over an entry space, elevating these apartments away from the street and the rail line and creating a dynamic building form that faces the street. A warm timber element creates a strong entry space and draws the tenants and visitors into an entrance lobby level. The front courtyards are raised slightly from the street to provide privacy and reduce noise to these lower level apartments.

The complexity of the site, the cost of civil works, easement protection and traffic management have all been integrated into a successfully delivered commercial outcome and $2,700 /m² represents excellent value for money for this project. The project included a remarkable efficiency through minimising common area which was necessitated by the complex site and conditions. The typical floor includes common area of 33m² which serves 760m² of gross floor area, or 650m² of saleable area, representing 5% of a typical floor plate. 

Coordination with the consultants lead to a successful and painless delivery of the project which this included a forward works civil package and concurrent approvals with council and Western Power.

The orientation of Mt Lawley blocks leads to difficulties in delivering good access to North light for most of the apartments, particularly on this unusually shaped block, with only a short side facing North and the longest side (away from the R20 housing) facing directly West. Despite these significant constraints, the apartments achieved an average NatHERS rating of 7.4, with the highest rating of 9.3. We believe this to be an excellent result.

The completed project is a gateway to a re-invigorated Bayswater precinct. The council supported the development, and its significant concession to planning requirements, as they saw the opportunity and delivery of an iconic sculptural form at this threshold entry. The building successfully delivers on the faith placed by the local authority in this project.

PROJECT SUMMARY 

A simple and elegant design on a complex site.

The upper levels of the building folds around the broad point of a tapering power easement. The base is face brick, referencing domestic construction and forms the straight line which expresses the folded form over. The upper levels continue to soar over an entry space, elevating these apartments away from the street and the rail line and creating a dynamic building form that faces the street. A warm timber element creates a strong entry space and draws the tenants and visitors into an entrance lobby level. 

The completed project is a gateway to a re-invigorated Bayswater precinct. The council supported the development, and its significant concession to planning requirements, as they saw the opportunity and delivery of an iconic sculptural form at this threshold entry. The building successfully delivers on the faith placed by the local authority in this project.