Suttons Zetland
Suttons Zetland
A large residential development consisting of a mid-rise apartment building and thirty townhouses developed around the principle of ‘building more with less’.
Location
Ngemba, Baakindji, Murrawarri, Kunya Country Zetland, NSW
Client
Meriton
Completion
Ongoing
Collaborators
Mako Architects Djinjama
The development includes an ensemble of fine grain elements; neighbourly buildings, green pedestrian corridors and permeable edges.
Considering sustainability holistically, we have strived for a best practice approach with a core principle to build less, with exposed structure and fewer finishes. We aim to minimise carbon in both construction and operation and have sought to be considerate in our use of materials, to celebrate simplicity and to reflect the colours and textures of the landscape in the materiality of the built forms.
The mid-rise building is permeable and rational in structure, featuring a ‘wet’ glazed brick base, continuous balconies and colourful reveals. Fronting a new Zetland Avenue pocket park and cognisant of the point where structure meets the ground, nine generous circular columns hold the northern perimeter with soft landscape permeating the edges.
The terraces are sensitive to their street address, from avenue to laneway and responsive to orientation and aspect. Each provides flexibility in their planning to accommodate various household types and sizes.
A simple material palette adopting raw finishes and textural articulation has been favoured across both building types incorporating profiled off form concrete, glazed white roof tiles, textured render and local clay bricks.
From the introduction of endemic street corridors recalling the Wallum Sand Heathlands, to the implementation of carbon-conscious initiatives and the use of Country-inspired materiality, the design strives to give back to its environment, delivering more with less in a gesture of built reciprocity.
A City of Sydney Design Excellence Competition Winning Scheme.
This diagram shows the diversity of housing provided in this one development, from
townhouses, maisonettes, and apartments to multi-gen apartments.
The hammered texture column is expressed like a core sample of the earth, with a glazed base ‘wet feet’ that recalls the original swamp landscape.
Urban avenue terraces, park terraces with leafy views and quieter terraces facing small
residential streets create a diverse mix of housing based on outlook and location.
A ‘dry creek bed’ watercourse expression is celebrated with dwellings floating above a rich landscape that invites local birds, frogs, and insects. Permeable paving and laneway edges complement visible watercourses and provide a buffer to dense endemic planting, and the original swamplands are recalled through Sandstone lined planted swales.
A new diverse neighbourhood is created, supporting growing density with green amenity and
providing passive surveillance to this inner-city Suburb.
Team
Credits
Visualisations
Choi Render