New South Wales Sites
NOVA APARTMENTS
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Landscape Architect: mcgregor+partners
Location: 52-112 Joynton Avenue, Victoria Park, Zetland, NSW
Summary
Located on the Victoria Park Stage two site in Green Square, Zetland, on a 6265m2 site, this green roof project consists of 119 apartments in four separate buildings arranged around two large common courtyards.
The design for the central communal courts is a complimentary response to the overall Victoria Park open space strategy. The location of NOVA between the Central Park and Tote Park ensures that the larger active space requirements of the projects’ residents are met.
The NOVA communal courts have been developed with the aim of satisfying the more intimately scaled community needs of the residents. The two courts are characterized by bold contemporary patterning, which can be read at ground level or from the overlooking balconies. The communal courts are arranged as a graphic sequence of ‘rooms’, which segment the central open space in a linear manner.
mcgregor+partners won the competition for the Landcom Victoria Park stage land 2 sites with architects, Turner Associates and the developer Waltcorp. Having had involvement in the project from masterplan conception to final site design has allowed the delivery of innovation by the team across all areas of sustainability.
The courtyards for NOVA were designed as “pairs of gardens” and are characterized by willowy Eucalypts in grass mounds, waves of native grasses and gravel paths. A grass and stone garden were created to reference the pre-existing ecology and the geology of the site. They are intended to be modern evolutions of the Sydney Bush School of design underpinned by principles of endemic biodiversity.
The oval mounds are designed to create maximum soil depth for tree growth and to allow roots to spread. The courtyards were designed with an internal circulation system with the gardens/public spaces separate from the housing to make a physical separation. The body corporate maintains the gardens and has kept plant replacements to the original design. The residents love the gardens and are making the place their own by adapting their private courtyard spaces.
Courtyard and garden areas in this project are located over the basement car park on a concrete roof structure. The structural slab was carefully coordinated by the landscape architects to ensure structural and services integration.
The central court is flanked by individual patio courts. Depending on the unit configuration a front and rear court is provided to each unit which links either to the street or the central courtyard. These internal court yard entries are designed with a sequence of turns and small level changes to create a varied and tight scale entry to each unit through the garden.
The hierarchal journey from the street through the main gates, into the communal courtyard, and then into the garden courts was important. The pedestrian approach through each of the four main portals into the central area is different in character and identity.
The landscape design philosophy was founded on a desire by our team to create an affordable, contemporary living environment that maximised the environmental and spatial potential of the courtyard for residents.
introduction / overview / images / location / Projects
2008
