THE IMPORTANCE OF PROVIDING A DIVERSITY OF HOUSING CHOICES TO THE MARKET IS REFLECTED IN THE SUCCESS OF A RANGE OF DEVELOPMENTS IN THE UDIA AWARDS PROGRAM. IN TERMS OF MEDIUM AND HIGH DENSITY DEVELOPMENT, THIS YEAR’S AWARD WINNERS OFFER PERTH’S GROWING APARTMENT MARKET SOME QUALITY OPTIONS.
There is certainly an increasing appetite for medium and high density living options in Perth from a variety of buyers. Average household sizes are shrinking and there are many people looking for a home that suits their individual lifestyle needs.
Spring View Towers, the 2015 High Density category winner, is located in the Springs Rivervale Precinct. The precinct is a major urban renewal project located in close proximity to the existing Crown and Belmont Park entertainment precincts as well as the future Burswood Stadium. Like all successful medium and high density category winners the location allows for convenient access to public transport as well as other services, entertainment and public open space.
Due to the reduced private areas that can come with apartment living, the shared amenity provided within the building as well as amenities in the surrounding area become increasingly important. Therefore, the developers have provided outstanding features including a pool, residents’ lounges, gym, sauna and barbecue facilities. The judges were also impressed by the design of the outside surrounds which flowed into neighbouring parkland.
The joint winners in the Medium Density category reflect how good design principles can improve the general atmosphere of a building. Monarc Apartments in Highgate and North One in Subi Centro both feature an open central core that allows strong natural light and cross ventilation. The awards judges liked the ‘fresh’ feeling this design feature provides as opposed to long internal corridors.
The developers of Monarc Apartments were also focused on ensuring the building complemented the surrounding suburb. In particular, the vertical planting or ‘gro wall’ achieves a great sense of integration with the ‘leafy’ feel of the area and the red brick and metallic cladding complements the heritage of the locality.
North One, which features a number of one bedroom apartments, has a focus on high standard shared areas including the open roof top terrace with cinema, high-end kitchen and lounge.
As medium and high density living evolves it is important to keep abreast of new and innovative development techniques and trends. I will be bringing more of these ideas to this column next month following UDIA’s forum where topics include convertible apartments and micro lots.