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GUEST OBSERVER
Applying the cognitive neurosciences to architecture and real estate development may raise some eyebrows and creates a certain amount of scepticism.
However, some solid peer-reviewed studies give reason to believe that, one day, these disciplines might be more closely aligned and complimentary than we thought. Let’s go back in time by way of illustration.
We’ve spent more than 99 percent of our entire time on the planet not in a building, but in a savannah, sojourning for millennia in the unstable worlds of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. This big fat brain of ours was thus forged outdoors, scrambling around Africa in small bands. Such pre-history affected the way we interacted with our environment. Still does. We’ve not spent enough time in civilization to outgrow our Darwinian reflexes. 
There are two ways to illustrate how this might inform the design of buildings, from workplaces to retail environments.
The first comes from something that’s been researched famously: the impact of natural environments on behavior. Well-regarded data shows that exposure to natural elements—trees, running water, even pictures of trees and running water—provide benefits ranging from shortened hospital stays for adults to increased academic performance for kids. Researcher David Strayer uncovered a 50 percent boost in problem-solving abilities after test subjects sustained a 72-hour exposure to nature. This makes perfect sense, given that 99 percent history part. The brain sees natural elements and says “I’m home.”
The second illustration also concerns evolutionary history. Most of us think humans were among the Pleistocene era’s biggest chickens, ones who got beat up a lot in the hardscrabble African plains. Just look at human fingernails and remember we competed against African lion claws for survival space. Not exactly a fair fight. With a founding population measured in the low hundreds, we almost didn’t make it.
The will to survive 
But we did make it. One reason was our ability to use our obese brains to respond and develop preferences for specific types of physical surroundings. We needed to survey the vast flatlands quickly, which might involve scrambling up a cliff, looking in the distance for sustenance and predators, formulating acquisition and avoidance strategies.
But we couldn’t stay up there forever, given our extreme physical vulnerability. We also had to be able to hide quickly. Developing simultaneous preferences for expansive space and enclosed shelter was thus fundamental to our survival.
The late geographer Jay Appleton proposed years ago Prospect-Refuge theory, which embraces this history: “People prefer environments where they can easily survey their surroundings and quickly hide or retreat to safety if necessary,” he wrote.
Designing modern buildings
How might these translate to architectural design? For companies, what kinds of spaces can get the best from your employees?
Many people want creative, friendly spaces to be competitive in the global world of 21st century business. Yet most don’t take into account the intersection between Darwin and Appleton. Designers end up either creating prospect or refuge, but never deliberately putting both together in dynamic, accessible tension.
Is that imbalance toxic? Could be. Open office spaces are a form of prospect, closed rabbit-warren offices are a form of refuge, and in isolation from each other, neither perform very well. Open offices often raise stress hormones. Closed environments don’t allow much collaboration.
These are questions behavioral researchers need to tackle in collaboration with architects, even given this evidence, because the real answer concerning toxicity is “we don’t know”.  If the data showed that such asymmetries were counter-productive, however, monolithic designs should be binned.
The pessimist in me says it’s still too early for brain science to be prescriptive. But that doesn’t mean we don’t know enough to collaborate, to design behavioral experiments capable of inserting bricks and mortar into the pages of On the Origin of Species. The optimist in me says we know just enough to fill up a blog.
While architects and developers are not neuroscientists, everybody involved in the design ecosystem should know something about how the brain works.  Better informed they might make better business and design decisions.
This article appears in <a href="https://www.jllrealviews.com" target="_blank">JLL Real Views</a> 
Dr John Medina is a developmental molecular biologist focused on the genes involved in human brain development and the genetics of psychiatric disorders. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller “Brain Rules”— a provocative book that takes on the way work and school environments are designed; a fellow of architecture firm <a href="https://www.nbbj.com/news/2014/6/19/nbbj-launches-new-partnership-program-with-leading-researchers/" target="_blank">NBBJ</a>; and holds an affiliate faculty appointment at the <a href="https://depts.washington.edu/bioe/" target="_blank">University of Washington.</a>
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Understanding how our brains work makes for better buildings

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Palace Cinemas has announced it will open a multi-screen complex on the fringe of the Sydney CBD.
The cinemas will be at Central Park on Broadway.
Palace Central will be Palace’s fifth cinema in NSW. It also recently announced a new Double Bay location.
“The most impressive thing about the Central Park location is that it’s so accessible to the people of Sydney; it’s become a major thoroughfare and a new community that we’re delighted to be a part off,” says Benjamin Zeccola, CEO of Palace Cinemas.
The 14-screen complex, which will be located on level three of the centre.
The cinema will be the new home of the Italian Film Festival and the Latino Film Festival.
Designed with a bar, the complex is scheduled to open in late 2017.
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Palace Cinemas to open on Broadway

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Stockland's chairman, Graham Bradley will step down at the October AGM with Tom Pockett to take on the role.
Pockett joined the Stockland board in September 2014 after 12 years as the chief financial officer at Woolworths.
He was previously deputy chief financial officer at the Commonwealth Bank and before that finance roles at Lend Lease and Deloitte.
Bradley has been a director of Stockland since 2004 and its chairman since 2005.
Bradley's time on the board has seen Stockland's market capitalisation rise from around $6.6 billion in 2004 to around $11.75 billion.
Stockland's annual shareholder meeting is on October 26.
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Stockland select Tom Pocket as Graham Bradley's replacement

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The Simonds home building family, founders of the listed Simonds Group, are preparing to buy out the company with outside assistance from the Roche family.
Simonds are set to leave the ASX boards after an unhappy experience as a listed company since late 2014.
An email was sent to staff on Tuesday flagged a potential change. 
Its shares were placed in a trading halt. 
Simonds' family vehicle and Roche Holdings settled on a 40¢-a-share deal under which a company owned 51 per cent by the Simonds family and 49 per cent by the Roche family would buy all outstanding shares of Simonds Group.
The price represents a 38 per cent premium to the 29¢ price at which the shares last traded before going into a trading halt on Tuesday afternoon.
It gives the company a value of about $57.5 million. 
Gary Simonds retained a 37 per cent stake after listing the company he founded in 1949.
Simonds has seen its share price fall as low as 27¢ from the $1.72 price initial float.
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Simonds home building privatisation on the agenda

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The former 4800-square-metre Killara estate of the long-time home of radio broadcaster Ron Casey has been listed for sale at $7.8 million.
Casey sold the five-bedroom residence with a swimming pool and tennis court in 1998 for $2.67 million to Yat Sun Chan and Daisy Shuk Han Leung, who owns the outdoor adventure gear company World United.
The Hong Kong-based owners, however, have reportedly left the property unoccupied for the past 10 years since they returned to China.
<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-east+killara-123295646" target="_blank">Clara Chan, of Everest Realty</a>, has the listing.
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$7.8 million Killara estate listed by absentee Chinese owners

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/64600/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
The Victorian government has announced it will permanently ban unconventional gas, often produced through the controversial process of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking”.
Legislation to implement the ban will be introduced this year.
This ban follows a 2015 report on unconventional gas. Following extensive review, committee members were split over whether to implement a full ban or extend the moratorium on onshore gas development by five years.
The ban announced by the government won’t apply to offshore gas. The government will also legislate to extend a moratorium on onshore conventional gas until 2020. Any future decision to approve onshore conventional gas exploration and production will be subject to review by an expert panel.
So will the ban make a difference?
Where did the ban come from?
The moratorium has been in place since 2012. It applies to all types of onshore gas (tight, shale, coal seam and conventional gas) and to any approval for fracking, exploration drilling activities and the use of chemicals us in fracking.
Last year the Victorian government examined the ban and consulted farmers and other landholders, environment and community groups, the gas industry, gas market analysts, hydrogeologists, manufacturers, tourism operators, local governments and the general public.
The final report was the product of more than 1,600 submissions over a six-month period, as well as the findings of the Victorian Auditor-General Report on Unconventional Gas.
The rationale for the ban comes from two core factors. The first is the significant degree of community concern about the social and environmental impacts of onshore unconventional gas, particularly those associated with hydraulic fracturing.
Secondly, the future economic benefits connected with unconventional gas development did not appear, from the findings of the reports, to outweigh those risks. Indeed, the final report found that it was unlikely that strong unconventional gas reserves were present in large commercial and extractable qualities in Victoria’s brown coal fields.
On the other hand, any development would be highly likely to have a dramatic effect on the region’s agriculture and tourism sectors.
Can fracking be permanently banned?
The existing regulatory framework does not recognise any ban on onshore unconventional gas. Indeed, the provisions in the Mineral Resources Sustainable Development Act explicitly include exploration and mining licences for coal seam gas projects.
However, these regulatory frameworks are being completely overhauled. It is clear that the new provisions will introduce a permanent prohibition on unconventional exploration and development in Victoria. The scope and nature of the ban will depend upon the wording of these provisions.
Any law that is introduced cannot be overridden at the national level because the ownership and management of all onshore minerals and hydrocarbons, including gas, are vested in the state.
Pros and cons
The ban will end the strong environmental concerns that continue to exist around unconventional gas production. It will also alleviate some of the emerging conflicts over land allocation and water usage that have emerged between regional food, tourism and energy sectors.
The ban will also ease climate concerns connected with the generation of energy from fossil fuels. In Australia, fugitive emissions from coal mining, oil and gas production account for approximately 8% of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Gas extraction, whether conventional or unconventional, can result in significant methane seepage. To date, very few baseline studies are available to compare seepage from drilling and fracking with natural methane seepage.
The ban is likely, however, to have a negative impact on supply, which may affect domestic gas pricing. This is particularly the case if the moratorium on onshore conventional gas production continues and no policy is implemented requiring gas producers to reserve a percentage of produced gas for domestic usage.
The 2015 Gas Market Report, released in March this year, showed that the nexus between international gas prices and east coast LNG production for export, domestic demand and domestic gas prices has become increasingly complex.
Theoretically, eastern Australia has enough reserves to supply the domestic and export markets for the next 20 years. But if the market is divided into the north (Queensland and Cooper Basin) and the south (Victoria and New South Wales) there is unlikely to be enough reserves in the south to meet forecast demand, particularly following the ban.
This will inevitably require the development of more gas reserves in other areas of the south, or imports from the north. If international gas prices and demand support more east coast LNG production, things will get worse as this supply will not be available in the north.
Victoria will, however, continue to utilise gas exploration and production in offshore gas wells in Bass Strait. There are 23 offshore platforms in the strait and ExxonMobil has held these titles for many years.
The offshore gas wells have traditionally supplied most of Victoria’s domestic gas market. Consequently, if the ban did apply to offshore gas exploration and production, it would have a profound effect on domestic gas supply.
Such a ban is, however, unlikely. First, it could not apply to offshore wells located beyond the territorial sea because these come under Commonwealth jurisdiction.
Second, a ban could not be applied retrospectively. Hence it would not affect established offshore title holders who have been supplying the domestic gas market for many years.
Samantha Hepburn is director of the Centre for Energy and Natural Resources Law, Deakin Law School, Deakin University and author for The Conversation. She can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/samantha-hepburn-5327" target="_blank">here.</a>
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Victoria bans fracking, but leaves questions over gas supply

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/63125/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
We often take for granted our access to vast quantities of inexpensive goods manufactured overseas.
And we often overlook the unassuming innovation that has made this global industrial revolution possible: the shipping container.
While the shipping container was conceived in the 1950s by American businessman Malcom McLean, it was only widely adopted after the US military used containers to supply its war effort in Vietnam in the 1960s.
After the Vietnam war, container ports were built in Japan and then the rest of the world. Old ports, such as in New York, were devastated, while ports such as Oakland, in California, became the new centres of globalised shipping. 
With containerisation went the old wharf-side communities of dockers and labourers, previously employed to hoist cargo with ropes and pulleys. This fundamentally changed not only the urban fabric of port cities but the very dynamics of globalisation.
With more than 18 million in the global fleet, shipping containers have become an ubiquitous icon of globalisation.
At the same time, shipping containers have become a surprising part of modern urbanisation, infrastructure and the built environment. Here, their boxy and bland uniformity has become a tableau for creativity, innovation and experimentation.
Plug-in cities
Container architecture has roots in both mid-20th-century modernism and an entirely different approach to architecture and urbanism that emerged in the new millennium.
Antecedents to today’s container architecture can be seen in Yona Friedman’s La Ville Spatiale, the work of Japanese Metabolists, such as Arata Isozaki, and the Plug-in City of Peter Cook and the Archigram Group.
These architects imagined vast mega-structures to support countless mobile, transportable and containerised units.
In the early 2000s an entirely different approach to architecture and urbanism was emerging. This DIY and experimental approach had more in common with Christopher Alexander – architect and father of the Pattern Language movement in design and construction – than high modernism.
It is also extremely diverse, including parklets, tactical urbanism and the pop-up retail phenomenon.
The shipping container slotted into this movement nicely. Whether it’s a container bar, a pop-up retail shop or beer garden, a garden shed, a prepper’s bunker or entire university dorms, the shipping container has become a common feature of the modern built environment. 
Plug-and-play infrastructure
Much has been made of the use of containers in architecture, even though their suitability for long-term living is widely debated. Less explored is the way containers and containerisation have been transforming infrastructure.
There is great need for easy access to infrastructure, from medical facilities to water treatment around the world. The shipping container is an appealing option, being rapidly deployable, scaleable, transportable, plug-and-play and a turn-key solution.
Again, the military has been at the forefront of many of these innovations, as have the oil, gas and mining industries, where containers are used for housing, sanitation, cooking and power generation.
But innovative approaches to containerised infrastructure are rapidly expanding outside the military and energy sectors.
Interest in containerised green energy is growing. In fact, fully containerised biogas plants using methane generated from landfill or agricultural waste are a mature industry.
Containerised solar and wind power generators are also generating a lot of interest. Green Tech Africa, for example, is aiming to provide solar power to sub-Saharan Africa through systems including containerised solar power and storage systems.
At least two companies – Uprise Energy and Natural Power Concepts – are developing portable wind turbines that deploy from containers. This, in turn, has attracted interest from Oshkosh Defense and the military.
All in a box
Innovative approaches to containerised infrastructure have expanded outside the energy sectors.
Clinic In A Can builds fully equipped, customisable, solar-powered containerised clinics. These clinics have been deployed in the developing world, remote areas and in disaster relief missions.
At least one hospital in the US purchased Clinic In A Can’s isolation unit to cope with potential patients infected with Ebola or another highly infectious disease.
A more surprising use of containers is food production. Motivated by the farm-to-table ethos, the owners of The Farmery, a food truck in North Carolina, partnered with Williamson Greenhouses to develop the Crop Box.
This is a complete hydroponic growing system using super-efficient LEDs. It can produce the equivalent of one acre of lettuce inside a single container. Students at Stony Brook University are using a similar system, built by Freight Farms, to grow over a thousand heads of lettuce a week for the campus.
Farm From a Box offers a different business model and vision. They have packaged the core components and tools needed to set up the equivalent of a two-acre farm in a single turnkey farm kit in a shipping container.
Farm From a Box
Water purification and sewage treatment are another two infrastructure services that have been containerised, with systems on offer from many companies.
Residential-scale treatment facilities such as one offered by Biokubeseem like they might offer an attractive solution to cities such as Rio de Janeiro with well-publicised sewage treatment problems.
Containers are also providing scaleable solutions for digital infrastructure as well, from solar-powered internet cafes in refugee camps and developing cities to the rapidly growing market for data centres in the developed world.
These are just some of the innovative and emerging infrastructure services that are being containerised and deployed, not only in the developing world, but in our own backyards.
This isn’t the containerised vision imagined by Archigram or the Metabolists, but it certainly is reminiscent of it, in a Through the Looking Glass way. Not a plug-in city built around a centralised infrastructure, but plug and play infrastructure providing real solutions for a rapidly urbanising planet.
Morgan Saletta is from the history and philosophy of Science and Department of Management and Marketing, University of Melbourne and an author for The conversation. he can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/morgan-saletta-138289" target="_blank">here</a>.
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How shipping containers are changing infrastructure: the plug and the play city

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Just as the filming for the Real Housewives of Sydney starts, cast member Lisa Oldfield, the wife of former politician David Oldfield, has registered to purchase a luxury Fiji beachfront villa.
Lisa said the couple loved Fiji, having honeymooned there after their wedding in 2001. 
“Fiji is just paradise,” she said of her likely investment purchase in the Nanuku Auberge Resort villa offerings.
Her love of the tropical South Pacific location extends back to her childhood holidays.
Lisa spent many a holiday - 19 to be exact - with the first at just eight months of age.
She's keen for her children to also holiday there too.
"My kids Harry and Bert were just there with my parents – they’ve been there three times already.”
The boys last went there with her parents, Richard and Christine when Lisa was rushed into emergency surgery for a back problem. 
“Nanuku’s buddy system for kids is amazing,” the Northern Beaches based Oldfield said.
“The boys had one who took them looking for frogs and lizards and doing all those things that little boys like to do.” 
Located in Viti Levu, the villas are priced from A$680,000 in the Nanuku Auberge Resort which will be officially launched next month in Sydney through Reece Coleman's The Agency.
The Auberge Beach Villas are part of Fiji’s largest beachfront freehold property development. 
Nanuku Auberge Resort is selling beachfront homes being developed along the shoreline directly adjacent the existing resort at Pacific Harbour.
There are also homes that range upwards of $A3.1 million. All residences are being designed by Grounds Kent Architects, the Perth-based firm behind some of Asia’s best hotels. 
"Buyers can rest assured their villa investment is secure due to the development’s freehold status and debt-free funding of the construction by the developer," Reece Coleman said. 
The private airstrip is a 30 minutes flight from Nadi International Airport and 45 minutes from the capital Suva. 
Nanuku’s restaurant is overseen by the Melbourne-based Jacques Reymond. 
Homeowners will be able to dine on a menu overseen by Melbourne chef Jacques Reymond. 
Oldfield is part of The Real Housewives upcoming Sydney series which will be aired next year. The other six housewives include model turned Billicorp South Sydney commercial real estate agent Krissy Marsh and Frenchs Forest ARIA-award-winning pop singer Melissa Tkautz.
This article was first published in the Sunday Telegraph.
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Lisa Oldfield seeks Nanuku Auberge, Fiji purchase

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<div class="column">But economic growth is pretty good, the economy has rebalanced without the (“inevitable”) recession, the worst of the mining bust looks to be behind us, public infrastructure spending is ramping up, consumer and business confidence are around long term averages, share market profits have likely bottomed and Australia stacks up well on social considerations.</div>
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 These are all reasons to be reasonably optimistic about the Australian economy and Australian assets. </div>
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Introduction 
Ever since the mining boom ended several years ago it seems a sense of gloom has pervaded debate regarding Australia. There is constant talk of recession whether we don’t do something (like control the budget) or even if we do nothing (with reports titled “Australian Recession 2016 – Why it’s unavoidable and the quickest way to protect your wealth”). This sense of gloom makes me wonder whether it could be harming us – by dulling innovation, investment and a “can do” spirit. This note looks at seven reasons for optimism on Australia. 
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There is always something to worry about 
To be sure Australia does have its problems. Unemployment at 5.7 percent and labour underutilisation at over 14 percent are too high. Housing is too expensive, the Sydney and Melbourne property markets are too hot, we are likely to see an oversupply of apartments and household debt levels are very high. The biggest boom in our history has ended, hitting investment and national income. Given this the $A is arguably still too high. Profits of listed companies fell around 7% over the last financial year. Wage growth and inflation are arguably too low for comfort. And we seem to be in perpetual political grid lock with a difficult Senate and no political ability to control the budget and undertake hard economic reforms. 
But these worries are well known and have been done to death. Of course there is always something to worry about, but the endless whinging we hear in Australia leaves the impression we are in a constant state of crisis &amp; distracts from the good news. 
Seven reasons for optimism on Australia 
There are in fact several reasons for optimism on Australia. 
1. First, economic growth is pretty good with the economy expanding 3.1 percent over the year to the March quarter and looking similar for the June quarter. This is in line with Australia’s long term average. It’s also way above most other advanced countries. Latest annual GDP growth rates are 1.2% in the US, 1.6% in the Eurozone and 0.6% in Japan. Of course I could add that the economy hasn’t had a recession in over 25 years, but that one gets a bit overdone and owes a little bit to luck with statistics!
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2. Second, the economy has rebalanced. The slump in mining investment and national income due to the collapse in our export prices has been offset by a surge in housing construction, solid consumer spending, a pick-up in services exports and a surge in resource export volumes. 
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As a result of all this, post mining boom weakness in WA &amp; NT is being offset by strength in NSW and Victoria as the much talked about two speed economy has just reversed. 
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The bottom line is that the recession many said was inevitable as a result of the mining bust hasn’t happened.
3. Third, the worst of the slump in commodity prices and mining investment looks to be behind us. After sharp falls from their highs around the turn of the decade global prices for iron ore, metals and energy have stabilised as greater balance has started to return to commodity markets and the $US has stopped surging higher. While a new commodity price boom is a long way away the stabilisation should help our terms of trade and national income.
Furthermore, after falling for three years from a peak of 7 percent of GDP, mining investment intentions indicate that mining investment will have fallen back to around its long term norm of around 1-2% of GDP by mid next year. Reflecting the slump in mining investment, engineering construction has now fallen back to near its long term trend indicating that the wind down in the mining investment boom is almost complete and that it will be less of a drag on growth next year. This is important because the slump in mining investment has been knocking 0.5 to 1 percentage points of annual GDP growth over the last three years. 
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4. Fourth, public infrastructure investment is ramping up strongly. This is partly driven by former Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey’s Asset Recycling Initiative that is seeing new state infrastructure spending particularly in NSW and the ACT financed from the privatisation of existing public assets. The upshot of a fading growth drag from mining investment and rising public capital spending is that it will offset the inevitable slowing in housing construction that we will see next year.
5. Fifth, despite all the gloom consumer and business confidence are actually around their long term averages. Would be nice to be higher but it ain’t bad.  
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6. Sixth, share market profits have likely bottomed. 2015-16 was not great for listed company profits with earnings per share down around 8% driven by a 47% slump in resources profits and a 4% fall in bank profits. But it is notable that 62% of companies have seen their profits rise on a year ago and the typical or median company has seen profit growth of around 4%. 54% have seen their share price outperform the market the day results were released which suggests results haven’t been worse than expected. While aggregate dividends fell 10% mainly due to a cut in resources company dividends (which were never sustainable anyway), 86% of companies actually increased or maintained their dividends indicating that the median company is doing okay. 
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Overall profits are on track to return to growth in 2016-17 as the slump in resources profits reverses (thanks to higher commodity prices, cost and supply controls) and non- resource stocks see growth. 2016-17 earnings growth is expected to be around 8%.
7. Finally, there are lots of social reasons to be optimistic about Australia. For example, we are living longer, healthier lives – in fact we rank 4th in the world in terms of life expectancy (at 82.8 years). Our cities regularly rank amongst the world’s most liveable cities - with Sydney and Melbourne at 10 and 15 respectively according to one survey. Unlike many developed countries our population is still growing solidly and we seem to do a better job at integrating immigrants than many countries. We are not wracked by the problems of a sharp rise in inequality seen in the US and UK. Despite the usual post-Olympic whinging we outperformed all the other top 10 2016 Olympic medal winning countries with 1.2 medals per million people (with the UK being the closest at 1 and the US at just 0.4).
Implications for investors
While the RBA may still need to cut rates again to help push inflation back up and keep the $A down, there is good reason for optimism regarding the overall Australian growth outlook making our call for one more rate cut a close one. Either way it’s unlikely that Australia will need zero interest rates or quantitative easing. But the key for investors is that there is reason for optimism regarding the outlook for Australian assets (Sydney and Melbourne residential property aside). Shares are due a short term correction with the next few months seeing various global event risks, but the broad trend is likely to remain up. 
 
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://plus.google.com/110172465327488162875?rel=author" target="_blank">SHANE OLIVER</a> is head of investment strategy and economics and chief economist at <a href="https://www.ampcapital.com.au/home" target="_blank">AMP Capital</a> and is responsible for AMP Capital's diversified investment funds. 
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Seven reasons for optimism on the Australian economy: Shane Oliver

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GUEST OBSERVER
As you all know, over the past couple of years, there has (quite justifiably) been a great deal of attention given to the implications of the first recommendation of the Financial System Inquiry (FSI): that APRA should set capital standards such that Australian authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) would have capital ratios that are seen to be ‘unquestionably strong’.
Since that recommendation was published, much has been written about what it means – and given that it will be a little while before APRA is in a position to make a final determination on how we best meet this recommendation, no doubt much more will be. Today, I’ll simply repeat the point I’ve made previously: that the steady accumulation of capital remains a sensible course of action for most ADIs.
It’s always important to remember, though, that a stable and resilient banking system is not just delivered by more capital. Capital adequacy is a relative concept – is capital adequate relative to risk? When we judge a bank’s capital to be high or low, or something in the middle, we are making a judgement that takes into account a range of issues that impact on bank risk profiles: funding and liquidity, asset quality, governance, risk management and risk culture, to name a few, all come into the equation in some way or another.
We also need to remember there are no guarantees. No level of capital (short of 100 per cent equity funding) can provide creditors with an absolute guarantee against the possibility of bank failure. To pick up today’s theme, we can’t always ‘bank on capital’: something can always go wrong.
To attempt to provide the community with an iron clad guarantee that nothing can go awry would require severe limitation on the risk-taking ability of the banking system, and prevent it from fulfilling the vital and productive roles that it plays in intermediating between borrowers and lenders and facilitating the smooth functioning of payments throughout the economy. Put simply, a zero failure regime is not desirable.
Inevitably, we need to find a balance1. One implication of that is, even once we define and achieve ‘unquestionably strong’, we won’t be downing tools. In a world of fractional reserve banking, ‘unquestionably strong’ will never equate to ‘invincible’.
That in turn means we need to think about failure2. And when I use the word ‘failure’, I’m not just talking about a classic case of insolvency or bankruptcy, but using it more broadly to capture situations in which the on-going viability of one or more financial institutions is in serious jeopardy. 
The failure of a bank is not like the failure of a bakery. The potential for contagion to other financial firms, not to mention the widespread adversity it can impose on the broader community, means the failure or near-failure of a bank is no run of the mill matter. So, if we start with the proposition that failures are inevitable, then I’d suggest the regulatory system needs to be assessed against two benchmarks: are failures nevertheless sufficiently rare, and do we have mechanisms to handle them adroitly when they occur? 
If the answer to both these questions is yes, then community confidence and trust in the financial system is likely to remain high.
With that in mind, we can think of two basic types of failure: orderly and disorderly. 
To the extent we have failures, orderly failures are what we aspire to. Orderly failures will typically have been anticipated, produce no loss to protected beneficiaries,3  and be managed in such a way that the firm’s critical functions are maintained without disruption while the situation is resolved. (Shareholders and other providers of capital of the non-viable firm may very well lose out along the way, but that is their lot in life). 
To the extent any failure can be regarded as a success, then an orderly exit from the industry in this fashion is what we should strive for. For example, a firm that identifies it is approaching non-viability or a strategic dead-end, and seeks to merge with a stronger and more viable entity (sometimes with a nudge along the way from APRA) is a far from uncommon event in the Australian financial system. To the extent such exits can be classed as failures, or at least near failures, they are often so orderly that no one notices them.
Disorderly failures, on the other hand, are to be avoided. Disorderly failures will be those which catch everyone by surprise, impose significant losses on those who the regulatory framework seeks to protect, and/or involve significant disruption to the smooth operation of the financial system, and economic activity more generally. HIH Insurance would be the classic of this genre.
So what can we do to maximise the probability that failures will be orderly, rather than disorderly? I’d suggest there’s a number of preconditions that the public sector needs to put in place:4
<ul>
<li>active supervision is at the heart of identifying the risk of failure early – it will be hard to anticipate problems if there is no one looking for them in the first place;</li>
<li>powers to intervene must exist – this is critical to being able to address small problems before they become big ones;</li>
<li>a willingness to intervene is also critical – powers are of no value if there is no capacity or willingness to use them when needed5;</li>
<li>planning and preparation – ideally, contingency plans will have been prepared and tested in ‘peace time’ rather than thought up on the run in the midst of a crisis;</li>
<li>a capacity to maintain critical functions – an orderly resolution of a failure may take time, yet critical functions need to be maintained in the meantime; and</li>
<li>there will ideally be a safety net or backstop to provide additional confidence at a time of uncertainty – which will help avoid actions that are individually rational but collectively damaging (the typical case being a bank run). </li>
</ul>
APRA, along with our colleagues amongst the Council of Financial Regulators, has spent a great deal of time in recent years looking in a fairly hard-nosed way at how well Australia stacks up against these preconditions. The conclusion was somewhat mixed: there are no glaring deficiencies, but a number of areas for improvement.
The importance of active supervision, and a willingness to intervene where appropriate, were some of the hard lessons that APRA took to heart following the HIH episode. Justice Owen found APRA under-resourced to identify problems, and slow to respond to them once found. These were fair conclusions, and APRA worked hard under my predecessor to build both its capacity and conviction. Fifteen years on from HIH, efforts to further improve our supervision – to identify risks early and respond promptly – remain at the forefront of our latest strategic plan, and I expect they will always feature prominently in APRA’s priorities.
When it comes to powers to intervene, the FSI’s Final Report noted there are some gaps and deficiencies in the Australian statutory framework for crisis management and resolution when compared with international standards.6 This includes the need for such things as broader investigation powers; strengthened directions powers; improved group resolution powers; enhanced powers to deal with branches of foreign banks; and more robust immunities to statutory and judicial managers. In his speech last week, the Treasurer noted the Government’s intention to make improvements in this area, which we see as a very valuable (and low cost) investment in the stability in the financial system.
Crisis planning is critical. Last year at this event I spoke about our plans for recovery and resolution planning. During the past year, I’m pleased to say larger ADIs have submitted new plans based on updated guidance issued by APRA, and we are now reviewing and benchmarking the plans in order to highlight areas of better practice that will further increase the credibility of plans in subsequent iterations.7 On resolution planning, more detailed work is also underway with specific firms to consider the planning required to ensure that APRA is able to use our resolution powers when needed. Our focus here is on the assessment of critical functions, intra-group dependencies such as critical shared services, and the identification of potential barriers to resolvability.
No matter how good the plan, however, stabilising and restructuring a financial firm that is no longer viable in its current form is rarely going to be a quick and easy exercise. So it is important that, while a resolution plan is being implemented, the firm’s critical functions can be maintained so as to reduce potential losses and minimise the disruption to the broader financial system. Key to doing this is that the firm has the financial resources to allow it to continue to operate while its business is reorganised. 
Searching for new capital when a business is distressed, and time is of the essence, is ideally to be avoided. And we want to minimise the risk that the taxpayer has to come to the rescue. With that in mind, the post-crisis regulatory framework has built mechanisms that trigger automatic corrective action to help restore a firm’s capital when it has been diminished. There is a lot of discussion and debate on the merits of so-called bail-inable instruments and bail-in powers, including in response to the FSI’s third recommendation that APRA implement a framework for recapitalisation capacity sufficient to facilitate the orderly resolution of an Australian ADI and minimise taxpayer support.
But the idea of bail-in is not something completely new: certain recapitalisation mechanisms already exist in the Australian framework. Examples include:
◦                      the use of the capital conservation buffer, which imposes increasing limitations on a ADI’s ability to make discretionary distributions to capital providers and employees as the ADI approaches its minimum regulatory requirements;8
◦                      the trigger that exists in Additional Tier 1 instruments (often referred to as ‘hybrids’) that provide for the instrument to be written off, or converted to equity, in the event that an ADI’s capital ratio falls below 5.125 per cent; and
◦                      the point of non-viability trigger in both Additional Tier 1 and Tier 2 instruments, which provides for the instruments to be written off or converted to equity in the event that APRA considers that the ADI would become non-viable without such action (or some other form of support).
These latter two recapitalisation mechanisms, in particular, are designed to provide some ‘breathing space’ to allow for orderly resolution. They are not designed to deliver resurrection, but more modestly to provide scope for an ADI’s services to customers to continue while new owners and managers are being put in place. Strengthening this by increasing loss absorption and recapitalisation capacity further, as recommended by the FSI, remains a work in progress and likely to take some time to complete.
We are, as I have said elsewhere, hastening slowly in response to that recommendation given the importance of getting the policy settings right.
However, the new mechanisms that have already been instituted within existing capital instruments are a very important part of the new regulatory framework. Viewing these capital instruments as simply higher-yielding substitutes for vanilla fixed-interest investments, let alone deposits, is something to be counselled against, since from APRA’s perspective holders of these instruments are providing the important first lines of defence that we can call into action, in some instances even ahead of shareholders, to aid an orderly resolution.
Finally, despite these new mechanisms, having a safety net or backstop to provide additional confidence before and during a period of resolution is an important component of any resolution framework. Australian depositors have long had the benefit of the depositor preference provisions in the Banking Act 1959. In 2008, this was supplemented by the Financial Claims Scheme (FCS) which seeks to provide certain depositors with prompt access to their funds – up to $250,000 per account holder - in the event an ADI fails.9
But to achieve a prompt payout of protected deposits to account holders – something depositors must be confident of for the backstop to work as intended – requires that ADIs be operationally ready, prior to any failure, to meet payment, reporting and communication requirements for the FCS.10 Planning and investing to facilitate their own demise is something that financial firms inevitably struggle to do, so APRA will be reinforcing its expectations in relation to ADI’s FCS testing programs in the near future, with a view to ensuring there is genuine readiness to activate the FCS if it is ever needed. 
Concluding remarks
Adequate capital is undoubtedly critical to the stability of any banking system. But to return to today’s theme, we can’t solely ‘bank on capital’ to deliver safety and stability. If we accept that failures, while hopefully still reasonably rare, are nevertheless inevitable, then preparation to minimise their impact is an essential investment. ‘Successful failures’ might seem a contradiction in terms, but they are far better than the alternative.
Wayne Byres is a member and chairman of <a href="https://www.apra.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">APRA</a>. 
 
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Finding success in failure: Wayne Byres

A landmark former orphanage site in Surrey Hills could be transformed into a new residential community under plans lodged by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/antipodean-land-developments">Antipodean Land Developments</a> that would deliver 76 apartments and townhouses while restoring some of the suburb's most significant heritage buildings.

The burgeoninng Melbourne-based developer has submitted plans for the 9,158 sqm site at 1 Kent Road and 24 Durham Road, home to the former St Joseph's Home for Destitute Children, a historic institutional complex dating back to the late 19th century. The proposal seeks to adaptively reuse several heritage buildings while introducing two new four-storey residential buildings set within extensive landscaped grounds.

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/woods-bagot">Woods Bagot</a> and Kerstin Thompson Architects, the project has been conceived as a contemporary residential village embedded within a restored heritage precinct. The development team describes the design approach as "The Village in the Garden," with new buildings positioned among mature landscaping by OCULUS and significant heritage structures.

<img alt="First look: Antipodean Land Developments plans heritage-led apartment community in Surrey Hills" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="44ec8c1b-c0b6-44ae-859e-5811b3e6a023" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Untitled%20design%20%281%29.png?VersionId=p.p1_KFh4iQoV4nisdnPfQBAsWNi7m79" />

The proposal would deliver 76 dwellings comprising a mix of apartments and duplex-style residences, significantly increasing housing supply on one of the largest privately held residential landholdings in Surrey Hills. The development includes 127 car spaces, 24 bicycle spaces and more than 1,000 sqm of communal amenity, with the existing chapel building earmarked for conversion into resident facilities.

According to the planning submission, the project centres on the restoration and adaptive reuse of the site's most significant heritage assets, including the original c.1889 St Joseph's building, the chapel designed by architect Augustus Andrew Fritsch, and the historic brick perimeter walls and entry gates. The proposal also incorporates the retention of other contributory buildings including the former infirmary and school building.

Tract Consultants, in the planning report accompanying the application, said the scheme had been shaped through extensive heritage analysis and design development.

"The shared vision for the Site by the project team has culminated in a scheme which successfully breathes life back into a historic site while delivering upon the objectives of Victoria's Housing Statement in a carefully curated and contextually responsive manner."

<img alt="First look: Antipodean Land Developments plans heritage-led apartment community in Surrey Hills" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="7263b7d8-95ea-400f-9531-6ca7d22c3c33" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Untitled%20design%20%282%29.png?VersionId=4cR1tiWOsDpgxEOwZi5vVFcyvvOsYkIE" />

The proposal is being assessed under Victoria's Significant Residential Development with Affordable Housing pathway. As part of the application, three per cent of the project's residential development cost would be contributed to the Social Housing Growth Fund. The development would also provide a diverse mix of one, two and three-bedroom residences targeting a broader range of buyers than typically found in Surrey Hills' detached housing market.

Sustainability initiatives include an anticipated 66 per cent BESS score, natural cross-ventilation to 80 per cent of apartments, 28 per cent deep soil landscaping and a canopy cover outcome exceeding local planning requirements. The proposal also sets aside more than 1,083 sqm for communal indoor and outdoor resident amenity spaces.

<img alt="First look: Antipodean Land Developments plans heritage-led apartment community in Surrey Hills" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="33fad46f-fe26-4d0a-acfd-6b776e1c6a3d" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Untitled%20design.png?VersionId=D9F6WVSyYCtGvSUmith35LRp6R7PQkw_" />

Planning documents describe the property as one of the largest underutilised residential sites in Surrey Hills, arguing it presents a rare opportunity to introduce "missing middle" housing in an established inner-eastern suburb while preserving and revitalising a significant heritage precinct.

Antipodean Land Developments has built a reputation for design-focused residential projects across Melbourne, particularly in the medium-density sector. Previous developments include Neighbourhood in Brunswick East, delivered with Breathe Architecture, and Balfe Park Lane, designed by Kerstin Thompson Architects.

They've been very active in site acquisition as they build out their future development pipeline. They recently launched Thornubury House, 45 apartments above a mix of commercial, retail, and food and beverage tenancies, and have plans for a boutique project in Fitzroy and another <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/vic/antipodean-plan-apartments-for-deepdenes-missing-middle-on-whitehorse-road">"missing middle" project</a> on Deepdene's Whitehorse Road.

Joel Robinson

First look: Antipodean Land Developments plans heritage-led apartment community in Surrey Hills

Developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/auyin-property-development">Auyin</a> is the latest to turn to the Victorian Government's Development Facilitation Program in an effort to secure approval for its long-planned, mixed-use project in Elsternwick.

In 2018, Auyin lodged plans with Glen Eira City Council for a 14-storey building, however Council approved a reduced eight-storey scheme. A subsequent VCAT appeal in 2019 upheld the eight-storey height limit.

The project was later amended to nine storeys, but Auyin is now seeking to revive something closer to its original vision. The developer argues that the planning context has evolved significantly over the past decade, particularly within the Elsternwick Activity Centre, where higher-density development has increasingly been encouraged along Glen Huntly Road.

The proposal would transform the 1,239 sqm site at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/7-12-horne-street-elsternwick-vic-3185">7-15 Horne Street</a>, opposite Elsternwick Railway Station, into a 13-storey residential and retail development designed by CBG Architects, with 40 apartments

The site currently comprises three commercial properties.

<img alt="First look: 13-storey mixed-use tower planned for Elsternwick activity centre" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="5f465dd4-509b-4082-a669-0253b313914b" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/elsternwick%20podium.png?VersionId=72frWi0SmQ5AVJ3ARRhX5ILUYObhTm7x" />

The proposed apartment mix comprises 25 two-bedroom and 15 three-bedroom residences above 200 sqm of retail space at ground level. Residents would have access to a 90 sqm wellness facility, a 351 sqm communal indoor and outdoor terrace on the third level, and extensive landscaped areas throughout the development. A publicly accessible 135 sqm plaza would be created on the north-east corner of the site, providing seating, landscaping, and a new gathering space adjoining Horne Street.

The design adopts a four-storey podium that references the finer-grain character of the surrounding streetscape, with the upper tower recessed behind generous setbacks on all boundaries.

<img alt="First look: 13-storey mixed-use tower planned for Elsternwick activity centre" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="e637e763-2abc-4c34-a0aa-5c7ad36fae18" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/elsternwick%20open.png?VersionId=J1AoOpZgTyaF.KeeFSX6lMjEScX8KKRi" />

A key element of the proposal is the reconfiguration and widening of the surrounding laneways. Vehicle access would be retained from Lois Lane, with upgraded pedestrian connections linking Ross Street and Horne Street. The development would provide 58 residential car spaces, two retail car spaces, and 52 bicycle spaces across two basement levels and ground-floor facilities.

Architecturally, the building draws inspiration from the established character of Elsternwick Village. The façade combines dark charcoal brickwork, textured concrete, bronze-toned metal detailing, and extensive planting integrated into podium and tower levels. The design also incorporates a chamfered corner treatment and publicly accessible plaza intended to strengthen pedestrian activity around the station precinct.

Elsternwick's last new development completion was&nbsp;EVA Elsternwick by Pitard late last year. <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/milieu-property">Milieu</a> is working away on its nature-led neighbourhood, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/elsternwick-gardens-by-milieu-8-gordon-street-elsternwick-vic-3185">Elsternwick Gardens</a>, on Gordon Street, with its first stage expected to complete next year.

First look: Auyin seeks mixed-use apartment project in growing Elsternwick Activity Centre

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/otium-parkdale-123-125-como-parade-east-parkdale-vic-3195">Otium Parkdale</a>, the 13-residence boutique development by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/huxtable-property">Huxtable Property</a>, has entered its final stages of delivery, with completion expected within the coming month and more than half of the residences sold.

The Como Parade East project is nearing the finish line at a time when opportunities to purchase new apartments in <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/parkdale-vic-3195">Parkdale</a> remain exceptionally limited. Fewer than 10 per cent of dwellings in the bayside suburb are apartments, making developments like Otium a relatively rare addition to a market traditionally dominated by detached housing.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134974 project_image_fid=5427]

The three-level development comprises 13 residences, including ten two-bedroom apartments and three larger three-bedroom homes, all positioned above a secure basement car park.

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/almeida-architects">Almeida Architects</a> with a strong connection to its coastal surroundings, Otium combines red brick, exposed concrete and dark metal detailing with integrated landscaping and greenery. Expansive glazing, generous balconies and terraces have been incorporated throughout the design to maximise natural light and reinforce indoor-outdoor living.

Inside, the residences feature engineered European oak flooring, natural and reconstituted stone benchtops, Bosch kitchen appliances, ducted heating and cooling, lift access and secure entry systems. The larger three-bedroom residences on the upper level have been designed with house-like proportions, while the two-bedroom apartments prioritise functionality, flexibility and low-maintenance living.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134974 project_image_fid=5421]

The project is now in its final stages, with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/builders/labco">Labco</a> completing the remaining landscaping and external finishing works following the completion of the residences' interiors.

Otium's location within the heart of Parkdale continues to underpin its appeal. Residents will be just steps from local cafés, restaurants, shops and the newly elevated Parkdale Station, while the beach is less than a kilometre away.

With the project tracking ahead of schedule, buyers can currently secure a residence with a five per cent deposit and benefit from settlement terms of up to eight months. The advanced stage of construction also provides buyers with the opportunity to walk through the near-complete residences and experience the quality and finishes firsthand ahead of completion.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=134974]

Otium Parkdale enters final month before completion as rare apartment opportunity nears sellout

A new boutique apartment development is entering the market in <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/chermside-qld-4032">Chermside</a>, with Brisbane-based developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/ausdev">Ausdev</a> bringing 33 residences to a well-connected pocket of Brisbane's north.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/parkdrive-apartments-chermside-25-sammells-drive-chermside-qld-4032">Parkdrive Apartments</a>, at 25 Sammells Drive, will comprise a mix of one- and two-bedroom residences positioned within walking distance of Westfield Chermside, The Prince Charles Hospital, and Bradbury Park.

Established in 1989, Ausdev has a long-standing presence across both development and construction, with Parkdrive Apartments representing its latest residential project in Brisbane's northern suburbs.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152125 project_image_fid=363778]

The development has been designed around open-plan living and natural light, with residences featuring stone benchtops, timber cabinetry, BOSCH appliances, and private balconies that extend the living areas outdoors.

Kitchens are positioned as the centrepiece of the homes, incorporating natural material palettes and integrated appliances, while bathrooms have been designed with a focus on functionality and understated finishes.

Residents will have access to a communal barbecue and entertaining area on Level 3, providing shared outdoor space within the development. Secure parking and lift access are also incorporated into the building.

The project will deliver a limited collection of 33 apartments, with one-bedroom residences priced from $749,000.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152125 project_image_fid=363782]

Beyond the building itself, the location places residents within easy reach of several of Chermside's key amenities. Bradbury Park is around 350 metres away, while Westfield Chermside is approximately 1.3 kilometres from the site. The Prince Charles Hospital is located within 750 metres, and the Chermside Bus Interchange is around 1.5 kilometres away, providing connections across Brisbane.

Parkdrive Apartments adds to the growing residential pipeline in Chermside, a suburb that continues to evolve as a major retail, healthcare, and transport hub for Brisbane's north.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=152125]

Ausdev introduces boutique Parkdrive Apartments to Chermside's growing centre

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/skymark-group">Skymark</a>'s boutique Cronulla development Solis has secured a 10-year Latent Defects Insurance policy through Resilience Insurance, providing buyers of the 16-residence building on Ewos Parade with structural and waterproofing protection that extends a decade beyond the building's completion.

Currently under construction and due for completion in late 2027, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/solis-cronulla-8-ewos-parade-cronulla-nsw-2230">Solis</a> is one of a small number of new developments in the Sutherland Shire to carry Resilience LDI coverage, a distinction that carries increasing weight as buyer confidence in the off-the-plan sector continues to be shaped by how developers stand behind their product.

Latent Defects Insurance, which entered the Australian market in 2022 when Resilience Insurance was approved to offer the cover, protects buyers against major structural or waterproofing defects for ten years post-completion. Unlike traditional statutory warranties, it operates as a first-resort policy, if a covered defect arises, the insurer responds directly, without the buyer needing to pursue the builder or developer through a lengthy claims process.

Resilience Insurance CEO Corey Nugent has noted that the product addresses something fundamental to the new apartment market.

"The overarching feedback from prospective buyers in the new development space is that they want more confidence and assurances around the quality of the build," Nugent says.

"Resilience Insurance Latent Defects Insurance not only gives them complete peace of mind for 10 years, but it shows the developer they are buying from is standing by their product."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150499 project_image_fid=370898]

For Solis, the Resilience LDI policy adds a meaningful layer of accountability to an already considered project. The development comprises nine two-bedroom and seven three-bedroom residences, including one dual-level three-bedroom apartment, across a five-storey building on Ewos Parade, positioned between Shelly Beach and South Cronulla.

Garden apartments connect directly to private landscaped courtyards, while upper-level homes capture beach views to the east from level four and above.&nbsp;

All 16 residences include at least one balcony or courtyard, and select apartments on the upper floors feature bar areas and secondary flexible living spaces.

Hiba Sander, Managing Director of Skymark, says Solis offers a rare balance, nestled between the quiet beauty of secluded beaches and the lively charm of South Cronulla's esplanade.

"It's a place to choose your pace and live gracefully, seaside'," Sander says.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150499 project_image_fid=370900]

The architecture, designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/ida-design-group">IDA Design Group</a>'s Michael Trinh, draws from the natural erosion patterns of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/cronulla-nsw-2230">Cronulla</a>'s sandstone headlands, translating the organic forms of the coastline into soft curves, pavilion-style massing, and a material palette chosen for longevity in a salt-tinged environment.&nbsp;

Textured natural stone, soft renders, and timber-look battens reference the tones of the surrounding cliffs, while the building has been oriented to maximise natural light and passive ventilation, with primary living spaces facing north and east to capture morning sun and sea breezes.

"At Solis, our aim was to create architecture that feels quietly confident, grounded in natural materials like stone and timber, and elevated by light and landscape," Trinh says.&nbsp;

"The buildings are designed to sit gently within their coastal surrounds, with expansive glazing and abundant greenery creating a seamless dialogue between inside and out."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150499 project_image_fid=370897]

Interiors by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/hot-black">Hot Black</a> carry the same material language through to every room. Kitchens feature integrated Gaggenau appliances, sculpted stone benchtops, and Lo &amp; Co joinery, while bathrooms feature natural stone, timber, and brushed metal finishes.&nbsp;

Hot Black Founder and Design Director Sophie Safrin describes the intent as one of considered restraint: "At Solis, every detail has been thoughtfully considered to create a timeless coastal retreat, calm, refined, and effortlessly liveable. From natural finishes to seamless indoor-outdoor flow, Solis offers a quiet elegance that's deeply connected to its surroundings.

The landscape, designed by Julian Brady of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/landscape-architect/sitedesignstudios">Site Design Studios</a>, treats green space as an integral part of the resident experience rather than an afterthought.&nbsp;

"Gentle curves and layered native plantings mirror the ebb and flow of the ocean," Julian Brady says, "creating a serene connection between architecture and place."&nbsp;

Coco Republic has provided bespoke furniture packages tailored to the project's coastal palette.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150499 project_image_fid=370899]

Skymark has an established track record in the Sutherland Shire, with a portfolio spanning Cronulla, Woolooware and Burraneer that includes Isla, Sylva, Bask, Shells, Sula and Mist. Securing LDI on Solis reflects a broader shift in how the developer is positioning its buildings to buyers, at a time when Resilience Insurance expects the policy to become mandatory in New South Wales by 2028.

Sales at Solis are launching soon through Ray White Projects, with an official event scheduled for 11 June. Enquire for more information.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=150499]

Jonathan Chancellor

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