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GUEST OBSERVATION
In the midst of England’s housing crisis, when many young people face <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/aug/09/rents-in-uk-will-rise-for-next-five-years-experts-predict" target="_blank">rising rents</a> in major cities, alternative forms of accommodation have emerged. <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/plpg.pdf" target="_blank">Property guardianship</a> is one example, where disused buildings are converted into residential quarters, and let out temporarily until the owners make further plans for the buildings.
The arrangement helps keep squatters out, offers young people more affordable rent and allows the owners to <a href="https://liveinguardians.com/owners" target="_blank">avoid paying</a> the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-business-rate-relief/exempted-buildings-and-empty-buildings-relief" target="_blank">higher rates</a> imposed on empty buildings. It might sound like a win-win situation for tenants and building owners, but in a sellers’ market, where tenants are easy to find, landlords can be less concerned with keeping accommodation in good repair.
<a href="https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-8185" target="_blank">In response</a> to reports of hazardous conditions the UK government passed <a href="https://theconversation.com/renters-in-england-can-now-sue-landlords-over-mouldy-cold-or-noisy-properties-an-expert-explains-93299" target="_blank">a new law</a> which gives tenants in England and Wales the right to demand a basic standard of accommodation. This builds on tenants’ existing rights, which include <a href="https://www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection" target="_blank">deposit protection</a> and <a href="http://england.shelter.org.uk/legal/security_of_tenure/notices/notices_assured_shorthold_tenancies/section_21_notices" target="_blank">longer notice periods</a>.
Yet the law for property guardians remains unclear: if they wanted to take their landlord to court to enforce basic repairs under the new law, a judge could rule that they are not tenants at all – merely licensees, which would leave them without legal protection.
This has happened already: while in one 2017 case a property guardian was <a href="https://nearlylegal.co.uk/2017/02/aint-way-property-guardians-licences/" target="_blank">held to be a tenant</a>, in another 2018 case <a href="https://nearlylegal.co.uk/2018/10/property-guardians-licence-not-tenancy-in-office-building/" target="_blank">the guardian was held</a> to be a licensee. In each case, the lower court judges took different positions on how to interpret the law.
If property guardians find themselves needing to appeal a judge’s ruling, in order to secure repairs for their home, they would <a href="https://whaymand.wordpress.com/2019/03/20/article-old-issues-new-incentives-new-approach-property-guardians-and-the-lease-licence-distinction/" target="_blank">have to take the matter</a> to a higher court. This raises two difficult issues: for one thing, should it be the guardians’ job to take an active role in settling the law in the appeal courts, rather than leaving it to parliament – and for another, how should such challenges be funded?
Review overdue
The law is conventionally divided into lawyers’ law (such as contract law) and public interest law (such as family law and criminal law). Unelected appeal judges can legitimately change lawyers’ law, because its subject matter is less politically sensitive. But public interest law is for elected politicians to change.
When guardians try to enforce repairs against landlords, the case will be governed by both models: the judges decide who is a tenant, while parliament decides on what protections tenants are offered. Conventionally, this is considered legitimate, because if parliament does not like a court’s decision, it can change the law afterwards.
Yet the law determining whether a resident is a tenant was settled the 1970s and 1980s, when <a href="https://www.fabians.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Bach-Commission-Appendix-6-F-1.pdf" target="_blank">legal aid was widely available</a>. Back then, tenants also benefited from <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1977/42/part/III" target="_blank">rent control</a> and <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1977/42/part/I" target="_blank">secure tenancies</a>. Now the context has changed, it’s not surprising that the law needs to be reviewed.
The problem is that taking a case to the <a href="https://www.judiciary.uk/you-and-the-judiciary/going-to-court/court-of-appeal-home/" target="_blank">Court of Appeal</a> or the <a href="https://www.supremecourt.uk/" target="_blank">Supreme Court</a> is expensive, and disproportionately so if one case is considered on its own. Depending on its complexity, by the time a case reaches even the county court costs can reach <a href="https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/Misc/2016/B67#para56" target="_blank">many thousands or tens of thousands of pounds</a>. Appeals will cost more still.
Protecting public interest
When guardians take landlords to court over tenants’ rights, they’re not just deciding an individual case – they’re also setting a precedent for future cases, which helps to settle what the law actually means. Because of this, such cases are in the wider public interest. The legal aid system has a facility to provide extra funding for such cases – even to appeal.
If members of the public are to be co-opted in settling the law for the public benefit, they should be funded from the public purse. If funding is denied, it doesn’t just affect those bringing the case – it has an impact on the legal system itself, which becomes paralysed and unable to deal with more modern circumstances. And if the law is uncertain, the wider public are at a disadvantage too, because they will not know their rights.
There are nonetheless barriers to this process. Property guardian companies may prefer to settle, rather than risk getting a firm ruling that their residents are tenants, which may undermine their business model. Tenants might also prefer to avoid the stress of litigation and simply decide to find somewhere else to live. But the biggest barrier is the lack of state funding.
In an age of austerity, which has seen <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/legal-aid-cuts" target="_blank">massive cuts to legal aid</a>, the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/legal-aid-agency" target="_blank">Legal Aid Agency</a> may be unwilling to fund such cases to appeal. But failing to fund public interest litigation because of <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&amp;q=legal+aid+cuts&amp;sort=relevancy&amp;language=en&amp;date=all&amp;date_from=&amp;date_to=" target="_blank">budgetry concerns</a> is shortsighted and will cost the public in the long run.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114943/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
Derek Whayman, Lecturer in Law, Newcastle University
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/property-guardians-live-in-legal-limbo-despite-new-law-to-protect-tenants-from-exploitation-114943" target="_blank">original article</a>.
Main photo: A guardianship property in London. <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sarflondondunc/25962547431/sizes/l" target="_blank">sarflondondunc/Flickr.</a>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/" target="_blank">CC BY-NC-ND</a> <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/newcastle-university-906"></a>
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

UK property guardians live in legal limbo – despite new law to protect tenants from exploitation

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An Adelaide Hills home, designed by Melbourne-based architecture firm Woods Bagot, curves into the landscape.
The striking concrete home which cuts across an undulating block at Heathfield comes with 650 square metres of space split into two wings.
The accommodation wing at the eastern end of the curve has five bedrooms, while at the western side is the kitchen with scullery and a home office.
A large living and dining space with two wood-burning fireplaces divides the spaces.
The lower ground floor comprises a home theatre room and a pin code-accessed wine cellar.
Its vendors suggest their house feels like a living sculpture.
It was designed to showcase their art collection in mind, but not in a clinical way.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2019/4/15/heathfield%202.jpg" alt="">
The home, some 18 kilometres south east of Adelaide, is surrounded by tall trees with an elevated swimming pool and tennis court in the 2.6 hectare grounds.
There's a pool house plus entertainment pavilion.
The home comes with fully organic, mature produce garden and orchard, which has quinces, pistachio, apples, pears, citrus, peaches and pomegranates growing.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2019/4/15/heathfield%203.jpg" alt="">
The 2013-built home won the prestigious award from the South Australia Institute of Architects in the New Home category last year.
South Australia Sotheby's agent Grant Giordano is marketing the home with $4.8 million to $5 million price guidance.
It was $5.5 million on its initial listing two years ago.
This article first appeared in The Weekend Australian. 
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Striking Adelaide Hills concrete trophy home listed

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Belle Property and hockingstuart are to merge into new estate agency.
The hockingstuart estate agents approached following Saturday auctions by Property Observer in Melbourne were not aware of the deal.
But the so-called merged group will be headed by the Sydney based Peter Hanscomb, CEO of Belle Property, who was acknowledging the move on social media on Saturday afternoon.
It is understood the two companies will retain their exisiting name branding, but run as a single entity.
No details have been issued on the finances that secured the merger.
Founded in 2000, Belle Property re-launched in 2007 with a revised franchise model under the new ownership of CEO, Peter Hanscomb.
Having entered the real estate arena in 1982 as a management accountant, Hanscomb founded RE\MAX in 1996 in Australia and worked at McGrath and Ray White.
While the company has 85 offices operating across New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, the missing presence was Melbourne.
It was January 2017 when Belle Property opened an office in Melbourne.
It was in Docklands with the founder and principal of Verve Real Estate, John Wong who made <a href="/news/belle-property-opens-first-office-in-melbourne">the first move to Belle Property in Victoria</a>.
Then last June sales agent Adam Joske joined Belle Property as Head of Victoria to position the boutique brand to break into the residential real estate market in Victoria.
“Acquiring Adam to the team is one of the biggest acquisitions for Belle Property in recent years. He has an incredible reputation in the industry and with his knowledge, professionalism and drive we knew that he would be the right person to establish Belle Property as a leading force in the Victorian marketplace,” Hanscomb noted at the time.
He was head-hunted having previously worked at Gary Peer &amp; Associates for 22 years.
Belle Property’s leading offices are Bondi Junction and Dee Why. It had 73 offices in mid-2016.
It has a strategic partnership with Bauer Media interiors publication, Belle magazine. 
Hockingstuart was founded in 1985 with some 45 offices across Melbourne, the Mornington Peninsula, Geelong, the Surf Coast and regional Victoria.
It sells around 7,000 homes annually.
It also has over 20,000 properties under management.
In 2016 <a href="/news/hockingstuart-appoint-simon-jovanovic-as-new-ceo">hockingstuart announced the appointment of Simon Jovanovic </a>as its new CEO, but he left the group in February this year for Marshall White. 
Jovanovic's appointment came after hockingstuart's former CEO, Nigel O'Neil, announced his resignation after almost a decade in the top job.
James Atkins had been chairman for six years of the Hockingstuart group until March.
Andrew James has been the interim CEO.
James will relinquish his role to return to running the hockingstuart Armadale office as its principal.
hockingstuart was founded by Greg Hocking and Andrew Stuart, who launched the business in 1985, and sold the company to eight franchisees in 2007.
Hocking has gone on to open his own agency, the eponymous Greg Hocking.
Staff are expected to be told no redundancies are planned under the merger.
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Belle Property and hockingstuart merge into new estate agency

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Over the next decade up to 40% of jobs could be replaced by automation. That’s according to a forecast from the <a href="https://www.ceda.com.au/News-and-analysis/Media-releases/More-than-five-million-Aussie-jobs-gone-in-10-to-15-years" target="_blank">Committee for the Economic Development of Australia</a>.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268519/original/file-20190410-2909-q5sxmn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268519/original/file-20190410-2909-q5sxmn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
Risk of job automation by country. In New Zealand, for instance, the median worker has 39% chance of their job being automated. OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Paper No. 202
Other estimates are less dire. A report from the <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/employment/automation-skills-use-and-training_2e2f4eea-en" target="_blank">Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development</a> says only 14% of jobs across its member nations are “highly automatable”, though another 32% are likely to change significantly.
Despite this <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/610005/every-study-we-could-find-on-what-automation-will-do-to-jobs-in-one-chart/" target="_blank">uncertainty about the exact number</a> of human jobs that will disappear, it is certain the impacts of automation driven by artificial intelligence (AI) are potentially profound.
If the new jobs that emerge as a result are fewer and less rewarding than those lost, we face a period of social dislocation.
Yet there is little evidence of any strategic planning and forward thinking by Australia’s federal and state governments to minimise the potential downside. The recent federal budget, for example, was silent on this issue.
It is analogous to the lack of a strategic plan on climate change.
Our concern about the policy vacuum is based on an extensive search on government websites, the media and budget speeches, which disturbingly yielded very little.
We think AI should be an election issue, because there is virtually no <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-09/artificial-intelligence-automation-jobs-of-the-future/8786962" target="_blank">job</a> that won’t be affected by AI-driven automation. Being ready for this technological and social revolution should be at the heart of any government’s economic and educational reform agenda.
Workers that never rest
The activities at which AI is <a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/1705.08807.pdf" target="_blank">expected to outperform</a> humans by 2030 include translating languages, writing high-school essays and driving trucks. By mid-century it is expected AI could be capable of writing a bestselling books or performing surgery.
<a href="https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf" target="_blank">Researchers believe</a> there is a 50% chance AI will outperform humans in all tasks in 45 years and that almost all current human jobs can be automated in 120 years.
 
The World Economic Forum may argue that AI and automation “<a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/06/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-is-about-people-not-just-machines" target="_blank">is about empowering people, not the rise of the machines</a>” but there are good reasons to think some people will lose out.
Machines have many attractions to employers. They do not need rest, holidays or take sick leave. They will never complain about overtime or join a union.
A <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/australias-automation-opportunity-reigniting-productivity-and-inclusive-income-growth" target="_blank">report published last month</a> by management consultancy McKinsey Australia suggests, if proactive measures are not taken, the unemployment rate could increase by 2.5 percentage points, based on up to 46% of jobs being automated by 2030.
<hr>
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268511/original/file-20190410-2924-1qp6zpw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268511/original/file-20190410-2924-1qp6zpw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
The industries likely to experience the greatest disruption are retail, administration and government, health and social assistance, construction, manufacturing, and accommodation and food services. Australia Statistics, McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), ONED, BLS, Oxford Economics
<hr>
Inequality will also increase, the report says. To what extent depends on “how much Australia steps up its efforts to retrain and redeploy its surplus service, administrative and manual workers”. Without large-scale retraining, Australia’s Gini coefficient (the standard measure of income inequality) could increase from 0.32 to 0.41.
Questions for policymakers
The stakes are high. Employment is so much more than just an income. A decent job provides <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137437853_1" target="_blank">purpose and dignity</a>. It enables security, health and well-being. Joblessness hurts the individual, families and the wider community. If fewer people have work, and more people get paid less, the federal government will have to contend with falling income-tax revenue and rising welfare spending.
With intensifying global competition and rapid technological change, all governments need to be strategic. They need long-term policies to help business and workers gain the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to seize the opportunities and mitigate the threats.
There are three key questions for policy makers:
<ul>
<li>
To what extent will AI-driven automation increase unemployment and underemployment?
</li>
<li>
How can governments and employers take advantage of AI and create the jobs of the future?
</li>
<li>
How can government, employers and educators equip employees and graduates with the skills to have jobs alongside robots, instead of competing with them?
</li>
</ul>
The growth in AI and machine learning need not pose a threat to jobs and our standard of living, but without a strategic and shared effort, we will repeat the mistakes of previous technological revolutions, which imposed a terrible price on some in the name of progress.
<hr>
The authors of this article are working towards a book, The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Implications for Managers in the Asia Pacific, due to be published in September. It will include chapters from colleagues in Taiwan, China, India, Mauritius, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. For the Australian chapter we need more information from leaders and managers in industry about the impact of AI and the preparation and planning that is, or is not, occurring. We invite you to complete a short survey as part of this study. You can do so confidentially <a href="https://rmit.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2ab546uXrDaSARf" target="_blank">here</a>.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103764/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
Alan Montague, Senior Lecturer/Program Director, masters program in human resources management, RMIT University
Alan Nankervis, Adjunct Professor of Management, RMIT University
John Burgess, Professor of Human Resource Management, RMIT University
Nuttawuth Muenjohn, Senior Lecturer, Business, RMIT University
Ros Cameron, Head of Discipline, Human Resources Management, Australian Institute of Business
Timothy Bartram, Professor, Management, RMIT University
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/artificial-intelligence-may-take-your-job-so-political-leaders-need-to-start-doing-theirs-103764">original article</a>.
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Artificial intelligence may take your job, so political leaders need to start doing theirs

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GUEST OBSERVATION
We have access to plenty of technology that can serve us by automating more of our daily lives, doing everything from <a href="https://www.safety.com/thermostats/" target="_blank">adjusting the temperature</a> of our homes to (eventually) <a href="https://money.cnn.com/2017/09/22/technology/future/walmart-home-delivery-groceries/index" target="_blank">putting groceries in our fridges</a>.
But do we want these advancements? And – importantly – do we trust them?
Our research, published earlier this year in the <a href="https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/full/10.1108/EJM-10-2017-0759" target="_blank" title="Rules of (household) engagement: technology as manager, assistant and intern">European Journal of Marketing</a>, looked at the roles technology plays in Australian homes. We found three main ways people assign control to, and trust in, their technology.
Most people still want some level of control. That’s an important message to developers if they want to keep increasing the uptake of smart home technology, <a href="https://www.statista.com/outlook/279/100/smart-home/worldwide" target="_blank">yet to reach 25%</a> penetration in Australia.
How smart do we want a home?
<a href="https://research.qut.edu.au/servicesocialmarketing/tools-techniques/smart-home-technologies/" target="_blank">Smart homes</a> are modern homes that have appliances or electronic devices that can be controlled remotely by the owner. Examples include lights controlled via apps, smart locks and security systems, and even smart coffee machines that remember your brew of choice and waking time.
But we still don’t understand consumer interactions with these technologies, and to speed up their adoption we need to know they type of value they can offer.
We conducted a set of studies in conjunction with <a href="https://www.citysmart.com.au/" target="_blank">CitySmart</a> and a group of distributors, and we asked people about their smart technology preferences in the context of electricity management (managing appliances and utility plans).
We conducted 45 household interviews involving 116 people across Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia, and Tasmania. Then we surveyed 1,345 Australian households. The interviews uncovered and explored the social roles assigned to technologies, while the survey allowed us to collect additional information and find out how the broader Australian population felt about these technology types.
We found households attribute social roles and rules to smart home technologies. This makes sense: the study of anthropomorphism tells us <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/51e3f4ede4b053e5f0062efd/t/51f7e1c7e4b06892daa73fe5/1375199687213/making-sense-by-making-sentient.pdf" target="_blank">we tend to humanise things we want to understand</a>. We humanise in order to trust (remember <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/22/18276923/microsoft-clippy-microsoft-teams-stickers-removal" target="_blank">Clippy</a>, the Microsoft paperclip with whom we all had a <a href="https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/design/microsofts-clippy-was-one-of-the-most-hated-features-ever-but-distance-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder/news-story/772605472436e0f6860fd04e4cf1b6dd" target="_blank">love-hate relationship</a>?).
These social roles and rules determine whether (or how) households will adopt the technologies.
Tech plays three roles
Most people want technology to serve them (95.6% of interviewees, about 19 out of 20). Those who didn’t want any technology were classified as “resisters” and made up less than 5% of the respondents.
We found the role that technology can play in households tended to fall into one of three categories, the intern, the assistant and the manager:
<ul>
<li>
the intern (passive technology) Technology exists to bring me information, but shouldn’t be making any decisions on its own. Real-life example: <a href="https://www.switchyourthinking.com/our-projects/energy-efficiency-tips/" target="_blank">Switch your Thinking</a> provides an SMS-based tip service. This mode of use was preferred in 22-35% of households.
</li>
<li>
the assistant (interactive technology) Technology should not only bring me information, but add value by helping me make decisions or interact. Real-life example: <a href="https://www.ergon.com.au/retail/residential/account-options/homesmart" target="_blank">Homesmart from Ergon</a> provides useful data to support consumers in their decisions; including remotely controlling appliances or monitoring electricity budget. This mode of use was preferred in 41-51% of households.
</li>
<li>
the manager (proactive technology) Technology should analyse information and make decisions itself, in order to make my life more efficient. Real-life example: <a href="https://international.tibber.com/?dialog=smart-analyses" target="_blank">Tibber</a>, which learns your home’s electricity-usage pattern and helps you make adjustments. This mode of use was preferred in 22-24% of households.
</li>
</ul>
Who’s the boss?
According to our study, while smart technology roles can change, the customer always remains the CEO. As CEO, they determine whether full control is retained or delegated to the technology.
For example, while two consumers might install a set of smart lights, one may engage by directly controlling lights via the app, while the other delegates this to the app – allowing it to choose based on sunset times when lights should be on.
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267222/original/file-20190402-177167-1su1agi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="">
Roles for consumer and smart technology - the consumer always remains the CEO, but technology can be viewed as an intern, assistant, or manager. Natalie Sketcher, Visual Designer
Notably, <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/life/are-we-really-that-busy-time-poor/10231066">time pressure</a> was evident as justification for each of the three options. Passive technology saved time by not wasting it on fiddling with smart tech. Interactive technology gave information and controlled interactions for busy families. Proactive technology relieved overwhelmed households from managing their own electricity.
All households had clear motivation for their choices.
Households that chose passive technology were motivated by simplicity, cost-effectiveness and privacy concerns. One study participant in this group said: "Less hassle. Don’t like tech controlling my life."
Households prioritising interactive technology were looking for a balance of convenience and control, technology that provides: "A good support but allows me to maintain overall control and decision-making."
Households keen on proactive technology wanted set and forget abilities to allow the household to focus on the more important things in life. They sought: "Having the process looked after and managed for us as we don’t have the time to do it ourselves."
This raises the question: why did we see such differences in household preference?
Trust in tech
According to our research, this comes down to the relationship between trust, risk, and the <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-319-47437-3_95" target="_blank" title="Let the User Decide! User Preferences Regarding Functions, Apps, and Interfaces of a Smart Home and a Service Robot">need for control</a>. It’s just that these motivations that are expressed differently in different households.
While one household sees delegating their choices as a safe bet (that is, trusting the technology to save them from the risk of electricity over-spend), another would see retaining all choices as the true expression of being in control (that is, believing humans should be trusted with decisions, with technology providing input only when asked).
This is not unusual, nor is this the first study to find the importance of <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1094670512474841" target="_blank" title="The Impact of Endogenous Motivations on Adoption of IT-Enabled Services: The Case of Transformative Services in the Energy Sector">our sense of trust and risk</a> in making technology decisions.
It’s not that consumers don’t want advancements to serve them - they do - but this working relationship requires clear roles and ground rules. Only then can there be trust.
For smart home technology developers, the message is clear: households will continue to expect control and customisation features so that the technology serves them – either as an intern, an assistant, or a manager – while they remain the CEO.
If you’re interested to discover your working relationship with technology, complete this three-question <a href="https://www.onlineassessmenttool.com/what-s-your-relationship-with-technology/assessment-80899" target="_blank">online quiz</a>.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114510/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
Kate Letheren, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Queensland University of Technology
Rebekah Russell-Bennett, Social Marketing Professor, School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations, Queensland University of Technology
Rory Mulcahy, Lecturer of Marketing, University of the Sunshine Coast
Ryan McAndrew, Social Marketer &amp; Market Researcher, Queensland University of Technology
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/control-cost-and-convenience-determine-how-australians-use-the-technology-in-their-homes-114510" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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Control, cost and convenience determine how Australians use the technology in their homes

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GUEST OBSERVATION
The phrase “urban jungle” gets thrown around a lot, but we don’t usually think of cities as places where rare or threatened species live.
Our research, published today in <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/fee.2032" target="_blank">Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment</a>, shows some of Australia’s most endangered plants and animals live entirely within cities and towns.
Stuck in the city with you
Australia is home to 39 urban-restricted threatened species, from giant gum trees, to ornate orchids, wonderful wattles, and even a tortoise. Many of these species are critically endangered, right on the brink of extinction. And cities are our last chance to preserve them within their natural range.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267002/original/file-20190402-177190-74ng2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267002/original/file-20190402-177190-74ng2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
Credit: Elia Purtle
Urban environments offer a golden opportunity to preserve species under threat and engage people with nature. But that means we might need to think a little differently about how and where we do conservation, embrace the weird and wonderful spaces that these species call home, and involve urban communities in the process.
Roads to the left of them, houses to the right
When you picture city animals you might think of pigeons, sparrows or rats that like to hang out with humans, or the flying foxes and parrots that are attracted to our flowering gardens.
But that’s not the case here. The threatened species identified in our research didn’t choose the city life, the city life chose them. They’re living where they’ve always lived. As urban areas expand, it just so happens that we now live there too.
The first hurdle that springs to mind when it comes to keeping nature in cities is space: there’s not a lot of it, and it’s quickly disappearing. For example, the magnificent Caley’s Grevillea has lost more than 85% of its habitat in Sydney to urban growth, and many of its remaining haunts are earmarked for future development. Around half of the urban-restricted species on our list are in the same predicament.
It’s especially tough to protect land for conservation in urban environments, where development potential means high competition for valuable land. So when protected land is a luxury that few species can afford, we need to work out other ways to look after species in the city.
Not living where you’d expect
Precious endangered species aren’t all tucked away in national parks and conservation reserves. These little battlers are more often found hiding in plain sight, amid the urban hustle and bustle.
Our research found them living along railway lines and roadsides, sewerage treatment plants and cemeteries, schools, airports, and even a hospital garden. While these aren’t the typical places you’d expect to find threatened species, they’re fantastic opportunities for conservation.
The spiked rice flower is a great example. Its largest population is on a golf course in New South Wales, where local managers work to enhance its habitat between the greens, and raise awareness among residents and local golfers. These kinds of good partnerships between local landowners and conservation can find “win-win” situations that benefit people and nature.
A series of unfortunate events
It’s no secret that living in the ‘burbs can be risky: a fact best illustrated in the cautionary tale of a roadside population of the endangered Angus’s onion orchid. Construction workers once unwittingly dumped ten tonnes of sand over the patch in the late 1980s, then quickly attempted to fix the problem using a bulldozer and a high-pressure hose. Later, a portaloo was plonked on top of it.
Examples like this show just how important it is for policy makers, land managers and the community to know that these species are there in the first place, and are aware that even scrappy-looking habitats can be important to their survival. Otherwise, species are just one stroke of bad luck away from extinction.
People power
It’s common to think if you want to conserve nature, you need to get as far away from people as you can. After all, we can be a dangerous lot (just ask Angus’s onion orchid). But we also have extraordinary potential to create positive change – and it’s much easier for us to do this if we only have to travel as far as our backyard or a local park.
Many urban-restricted species get support by their local communities. Examples from our research showed communities across Melbourne raising <a href="http://www.starweekly.com.au/news/save-the-sexy-scented-orchid/" target="_blank">thousands of dollars in conservation crowdfunding</a>, dedicating countless volunteer hours to caring for local habitats, and even setting up neighbourhood watches to combat vandals. This shows a huge opportunity for urban residents to be on the conservation frontline.
Our research focused on 39 species that are restricted to Australian cities and towns today. But that’s not where the opportunity for urban conservation ends.
There are about another <a href="https://theconversation.com/just-ten-mps-represent-more-than-600-threatened-species-in-their-electorates-83500" target="_blank">370 threatened species</a> that share their range with urban areas across Australia, as well as countless “common” native species that call cities home. And as cities continue to expand, many other threatened species stand to become urban dwellers. It’s clear that if we only focus conservation efforts in areas far from humans, species like these will be lost forever.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114741/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
Kylie Soanes, Postdoctoral fellow, University of Melbourne
Pia Lentini, Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-39-endangered-species-in-melbourne-sydney-adelaide-and-other-australian-cities-114741" target="_blank">original article</a>.
Main photo: Caley’s grevillea has lost 85% of its habitat as Sydney has expanded. Isaac Mammott
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The 39 endangered species living in our cities

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Perth’s residential market is now at a turning point, according to a new report.
Vacancy is below the supply equilibrium at 3% and several market drivers - including a growing population, an improving WA economy on the back of a resurgent mining sector, and first home owner grants - are likely to underpin further demand, according to independent valuer and advisor m3property. 
Commenting following the release of its latest National Residential Development 2019 report, m3property national director residential development, Luana Kenny, said the Perth market was no longer considered to be oversupplied. 
"After peaking at 7.3% in June 2017, Perth dwelling vacancy fell to 2.8% in December 2018 which is below the supply equilibrium (according to REIWA)," said Kenny.
"While pockets of oversupply remain, Perth looks to have turned the corner. 
"With the population growing at an average 32,000 people per annum and the potential for additional growth as a result of potential changes to Federal immigration policy and growth in the mining sector, the five year outlook is looking decidedly positive. 
"We have already seen significant growth in lot prices since mid-2018 and that will ultimately drive up dwelling values."
She said house prices were expected to rise by 1% to 3% in 2019 and increase by 2% to 6% over the next five years, however new apartment supply, including the revitalisation of Elizabeth Quay, may result in an oversupply of apartments and a fall in prices in that sector over the medium-term. 
According to the report population growth is expected to increase by 1% to 1.8% per annum until 2027 (22,800-42,700 people per annum), while changes to immigration policy designed to push new migrants out of Sydney and Melbourne may result in further increases keeping vacancy fairly stable over the next five years. 
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2019/4/11/perth%20.jpg" alt=""> 
M3property national director research, Jennifer Williams, said Perth could well see more growth in land values driven by the WA Government’s focus on in-fill development sites. 
"We have seen double digit growth in land values in the six months to December 2018, and with the State Government focused on infill development, which is expected to limit the release of greenfield sites, we may see further upward pressure on land values over the next five years," Williams said. 
She said demand for infill land is expected to account for around 45% of new sites by 2023 according to the WA government. 
"Higher price points are likely to make infill developments more attractive to developers and authorities looking to capitalise on existing infrastructure and that should result in upward pressure on dwelling values," Ms Williams said.
Williams said the First Home Owners (FHO) Grant was still available in WA.
As of November 2018, first home buyers accounted for 25% of dwelling finance according to the ABS, and was expected to continue to rise as a percentage of total buyers in Perth, accounting for 27% of all dwelling finance approvals by late 2019. 
"The FHO grant will be another factor that will help to drive price growth in 2019 as buyers seek to take advantage of a greater level of affordability in the market," Williams said.
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Perth at a turning point as vacancy dips

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Castle Hill RSL Group, owner of the Parramatta RSL Club, is selling a car park site in Parramatta CBD’s commercial precinct. 
The 1874 sqm development site is zoned B4 Mixed-Use – the most flexible zoning available in Parramatta CBD.  
Future developments have the capacity to yield circa 100 apartments up to 54 m tall, subject to council approval, and to reach over 11,200 sqm with the potential for this to increase through Design Excellence. 
CBRE’s Frank Oliveri, Peter Vines and Victor Sheu have been appointed to market the site at 7 Macquarie Street.  
“In recent years, it has been difficult for investors and developers to secure B4 zoned sites in Parramatta CBD due to the lack of quality stock, let alone the opportunity to secure a site overlooking the vast greenery Parramatta Park on a delayed settlement,” Mr Sheu added.  
Mr Sheu said the site would suit a range of permitted uses, with consent ranging from residential, commercial, community, educational, hotel or motel accommodation, seniors living and more. 
“With a wide range of potential uses and scarcity of space in the burgeoning business district, the property is expected to attract an array of potential developers,” Mr Sheuconcluded.
The Expressions of Interest campaign closes May 8 2019.
The site has been on market since March in 2017, over two years.
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Parramatta RSL to sell car park site

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The Walker Corporation has won a tender to lease up to 43,800 square metres of A Grade office space in their Parramatta Square development to the NSW Government in 2021.
Construction of the four tower $3.2 billion Parramatta Square precinct underway, with the first tower (Tower 4) expected to be completed in November 2019 and the whole project due for completion in 2022.
The NSW Government has agreed to a 12 year lease, with two further five year options, for the space in 6 Parramatta Square, which was granted development approval last year along with 8 Parramatta Square.
Walker originally planned to build a 70-storey apartment project in it's place but oversupply concerns has prompted him to ditch his proposal.
The two towers combined will provide up to 125,000 square metres of space, with an end value of $1.7 billion.
Towers 3 and 4 fully pre-committed, with lessees including National Australia Bank and the NSW Government – secured in an earlier tender.
Mr Lang Walker, chairman of Walker Corporation said “Parramatta Square is taking shape quickly and the total project is now 75 per cent pre-leased with over 170,000 square metres of high quality office space committed."
“We expect to experience a strong flow of pre-leases off the back of the two anchor tenants signing long term leases in the project, which is one of the largest urban renewal projects in the country and will see Parramatta city rival Sydney’s CBD in terms of amenity and high quality commercial space”, he added.
The mixed-use development will accommodate the four commercial buildings – incorporating a food and beverage precinct offering a variety of retail, cafes’, and restaurants.
The precinct features the University of Western Sydney Campus, community facilities, a civic building, community centre, and library.
Walker's plans in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley<a href="/news/timber-lang-walker-scraps-aspire-tower-sydneys-tallest-apartment-proposal-at-parramatta"> </a><a href="/news/timber-lang-walker-scraps-aspire-tower-sydneys-tallest-apartment-proposal-at-parramatta">for a residential tower</a><a href="/news/timber-lang-walker-scraps-aspire-tower-sydneys-tallest-apartment-proposal-at-parramatta"></a> were recently scrapped. Plans for the building to become two commercial towers were later also scrapped.
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Walker Corporation's Parramatta Square gain NSW Government tenancy

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Suncorp Bank is now offering fixed home loans with some of the lowest advertised interest rates on the market.
The Brisbane-based bank’s packaged home loans for both owner-occupiers and investors have three-year fixed rates that rival most variable-rate products.
From today, the Home Package Plus Special Offer home loans offer interest rates of:
<ul type="disc">
<li>3.49% p.a. (4.24% comparison rate) for owner occupier, principal and interest borrowers</li>
<li>3.69% (4.50% comparison rate) for investment, principal and interest or interest-only borrowers</li>
</ul>
Both of these new interest rates are available for loan-to-value ratios (LVR) of up to 90% – that’s a minimum deposit of 10%.
In addition, owner occupier and investment customers can get rates as low as 3.44% and 3.64% respectively if they use Suncorp’s fast refinance (owner-occupied refinancers can also get $1,500 cashback with Suncorp).
It should be noted these are packaged home loan products, meaning borrowers would need to combine the loan with a Suncorp bank account to be eligible for the rate.
This means they come with a higher comparison rate compared to other non-packaged products, which reflects higher fees.
Suncorp’s packaged products come with a $375 package fee, but the comparison rate on the special offer products are still much lower than its non-packaged products.
Suncorp’s standard fixed owner-occupier loan, for example, has an advertised rate of 3.94% and a comparison rate of 5.43%.
On its website, Suncorp promises to waive this $375 fee in the first year.
How do these new rates compare?
These new interest rates are among the lowest on the market at the time of writing, and are a testament to the sheer number of rate drops there have been lately, particularly when it comes to fixed rates.
Big four banks Westpac and the Commonwealth Bank also began offering lower fixed home loan interest rates this week, but their new rates pale in comparison to Suncorp’s latest rates.
Commbank’s new three-year fixed package home loan for owner-occupiers offers a rate of 3.79% (4.98% comparison rate) while Westpac is offering 3.89% (4.92% comparison rate) on its three-year fixed package.
These rate cuts follow a similar move in late March, where Suncorp cut some of its other fixed-rate home loans by as much as 70 basis points.
This article was originally published on <a id="LPlnk675834" href="https://www.savings.com.au/home-loans/suncorps-new-fixed-home-loan-rates-among-the-lowest-on-the-market/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable">Savings.com.au</a>.
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Suncorp’s new fixed home loan rates among the lowest on the market

Developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/bottega-property-group">Bottega House</a> has secured council approval for its first Brisbane project - a $270 million luxury residential development on an absolute riverfront site in leafy St Lucia.&nbsp;

The 15-storey project, known as <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/st-lucia-by-bottega-house-180-macquarie-street-st-lucia-qld-4067">St Lucia by Bottega House</a> , will occupy a prime north-facing site at 178-180 Macquarie Street, directly fronting the Brisbane River in the established inner-west suburb known for its rowing clubs, golf courses and sprawling University of Queensland campus.&nbsp;

St Lucia by Bottega House will feature a suite of amenities including dedicated wellness spaces, a mineral pool and cold plunge. The project has been positioned to attract affluent owner-occupiers seeking high-quality, house-sized apartments.&nbsp;

Bottega House has been set up by co-directors Nick Malloch, Louis Mennes and Craig Marsh.

Malloch said the project drew inspiration from its Brisbane River setting and leafy inner-west surrounds, while responding to the demands of discerning locals looking to transition from freestanding homes into apartment living.&nbsp;

"With an expansive river frontage and lush green surrounds, we knew we had to create something special that reflects the natural beauty of the location while offering residents masterfully crafted homes," said Malloch.&nbsp;

"Our intent was to complement the project's quiet, private setting by introducing residences that offer a calm retreat and sanctuary from the everyday. The result is a harmonious blend of architecture, interiors and amenity that emphasises wellbeing, comfort and beauty without excess."&nbsp;

Malloch added that project consultants had been carefully selected in alignment with Bottega House's commitment to care, quality and attention to detail. The design team includes architects <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/plus-studio">Plus Studio</a>, interiors practice <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/mim-design">Mim Design</a> and landscaping by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/urbis">Urbis</a>.&nbsp;

Three-bedroom apartments are expected to start around $5 millio. Selling agents Keenan &amp; Byrne said the pricing strategy for the project was anticipated to achieve upwards of $25,500 per square metre.&nbsp;

The project's development approval this week follows the success of Bottega House's inaugural Queensland project - a 22-storey collection of full-floor sky homes at Broadbeach on the Gold Coast which included the sale of a two-storey penthouse at a record price for a beachside residence.&nbsp;

St Lucia by Bottega House is expected to launch to market in November, with construction anticipated to be completed mid 2029.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=151826]

Joel Robinson

Bottega House to make Brisbane debut with St Lucia riverfront apartment development

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/sherpa-property-group">Sherpa Property Group</a> is advancing its affordable apartment model into Brisbane with the acquisition of another site at Cordelia Street in South Brisbane for $27 million.

Sherpa, which has a $1.7 billion pipeline across Southeast Queensland, intends to bring a cohort of apartments exclusively for first homebuyers into its proposed 186-apartment project to be built at 2 Cordelia Street.

The Sherpa model has already been incredibly well received from their Gold Coast projects, where Sherpa Group set aside a number of apartments exclusively for first homebuyers.

The new $320 million project marks Sherpa Group's second development in Brisbane, following its $255 million Symphony project, also on Cordelia Street, which is currently under construction.

Symphony will deliver 146 apartments across 28 levels, offering a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments. With 114 already sold, construction by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/builders/lps-group">LPS Group</a> is scheduled for completion in 2028.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7574 project_image_fid=351654]

Sherpa Founder, Christie Leet, said the company was excited to be venturing into Brisbane for its second residential project.

“We’re big believers in the future of Brisbane as we lead into the 2032 Olympics and beyond,” Leet said.

“The success of Symphony has guided us into what will be our second project and we look forward to submitting our plans with council soon so we can deliver yet another quality project to the inner city residential market.

“Our Flourish model has been very well received both in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, and we’re excited to be able to offer some of these apartments again exclusively to first homebuyers to help get them into the property market.

“The model has been extraordinarily well received in our previous projects and it is something we are committed to moving forward.”

2 Cordelia Street will be designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/hal-architects">HAL Architects</a> &amp; Finegrain and will include Sherpa’s signature residential amenities including pool, gym, recreation, wellness and work from home spaces.

The project will feature ground-floor commercial space, creating a vibrant amenity for residents and the surrounding community.

A development application will be lodged with Brisbane City Council in August on the code compliant site and will be launched to the market early 2027.

Sherpa acquires new site for second Brisbane apartment tower

One of North Sydney's best-known commercial buildings could become hundreds of new homes, with insurance giant Zurich Australia lodging a State Significant Development Application (SSDA) to transform 5 Blue Street into a mixed-use residential development above North Sydney Station.

Rather than demolishing the existing building and starting again, Zurich is proposing an adaptive reuse project that would convert the landmark office building into a 15-level residential development delivering 62 apartments, 86 affordable co-living dwellings, activated retail and significant upgrades to the Blue Street Plaza.

The proposal reflects a growing trend of commercial property owners repositioning ageing office assets into residential housing as Sydney grapples with housing supply shortages and changing workplace demand.

<img alt="Zurich" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0bba7d12-06dc-4375-aad7-238c94b21ac5" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-07-22%20at%2010.42.05%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=NJl5oLAEBDGuPmY3RnyliKODjMc8lvRh" />

Located directly above North Sydney Metro and train station, the 3,051 sqm site occupies one of the most strategically positioned parcels of land on Sydney's Lower North Shore.

Designed by fjcstudio, the proposal seeks to retain and adapt much of the existing structure while creating a contemporary residential address that better connects with the public domain surrounding North Sydney Station.

The application proposes two basement levels, ground floor retail, affordable co-living accommodation across the podium levels, and apartments above, while preserving and enhancing the publicly accessible Blue Street Plaza.

Rather than pursuing maximum apartment numbers, Zurich has opted for a housing mix heavily weighted towards larger owner-occupier residences.

The proposal includes 62 build-to-sell apartments comprising 12 one-bedroom, 19 two-bedroom, 29 three-bedroom apartments and two premium penthouses. It also incorporates 86 affordable co-living dwellings, which would be managed in perpetuity by a Community Housing Provider.

That balance between traditional apartments and affordable housing reflects the NSW Government's push to increase housing diversity around major transport infrastructure.

The proposal has been lodged concurrently with a rezoning application, with Zurich arguing the site is ideally positioned to support additional housing given its immediate proximity to public transport, employment and services.

"The proposal aims to respond to the housing challenges facing Sydney through the delivery of diverse housing types in a highly accessible location," the design report by fjcstudio states. It also seeks to improve pedestrian amenity through upgrades to Blue Street Plaza while creating a high-performing residential building that responds to the surrounding context.

<img alt="Zurich" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="36082e15-c636-4481-bb68-5a5f6443fe39" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-07-22%20at%2010.41.36%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=5P6VD.fvmqjQfIG3TWWMRXxQWiQBjeFB" />

Rather than replacing the commercial building, fjcstudio has developed a design that works with the existing structural framework above the rail corridor, an approach that significantly reduces demolition while allowing the site to be repositioned as a mixed-use residential precinct.

The existing structural constraints have informed much of the building's design, including its relationship with Blue Street and surrounding public spaces.

The building has been designed as a slender tower rising above a clearly defined podium, with vertically expressed façades intended to reduce the perceived bulk while reinforcing North Sydney's emerging skyline.

According to fjcstudio, the architectural language responds directly to the surrounding commercial towers while maintaining a finer grain expression more closely aligned with the neighbouring Lavender Bay streetscape.

The tower incorporates articulated façade elements, landscaped podium edges and recessed upper levels to soften its appearance and improve pedestrian amenity below.

A significant component of the proposal is the revitalisation of Blue Street Plaza.

The existing public space has long served as one of the primary pedestrian connections between North Sydney Station, Greenwood Plaza and Blue Street, yet its role is expected to become even more important following the opening of Sydney Metro.

Zurich's proposal seeks to strengthen that role by improving landscaping, introducing new retail frontages, enhancing pedestrian permeability and creating more active edges throughout the day and evening.

Ground floor retail would wrap the plaza, while separate residential and co-living entries have been designed to improve wayfinding without reducing street activation.

Landscape design has been integrated throughout the podium and public realm, softening what is currently one of the most heavily urbanised parts of North Sydney.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

fjcstudio has carefully oriented apartments towards Sydney Harbour and the CBD while using privacy blades and articulated façades to minimise overlooking between neighbouring buildings.

Large framed openings along the western elevation maximise harbour outlooks, while the eastern apartments have been angled towards the south-east to improve privacy from neighbouring development.

The project forms part of the continuing transformation of North Sydney from a predominantly commercial CBD into a genuine mixed-use city centre.

Since the completion of Victoria Cross Metro Station, developers have increasingly shifted their attention towards residential projects capable of leveraging the area's unparalleled transport connectivity.

&nbsp;

FiveX recently lodged plans for a 61-storey, 490-apartment tower that would become one of the tallest residential buildings in North Sydney if approved.

Aqualand continues to expand its Lower North Shore presence following the completion of AURA on Walker Street and its recent St Leonards and Roseville proposals.

Developers are also progressing projects throughout Walker Street, Miller Street and the Victoria Cross precinct as demand for well-located owner-occupier apartments continues to strengthen.

First look: Zurich targets North Sydney office conversion with 148-unit proposal above Metro station

Busy developer Aqualand Prestige has formally taken the next step in its expansion across Sydney's Lower North Shore, lodging a State Significant Development Application (SSDA) for its long-held Archer Street site in Chatswood.

The application covers <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/51-55-archer-street-chatswood-nsw-2067">51-55 Archer Street</a>, a 1,767 sqm amalgamated site on the eastern edge of the Chatswood CBD, where the developer is seeking approval for a 45-level mixed-use tower delivering 114 apartments, including a significant affordable housing component, alongside retail, commercial space and six basement levels of parking.

The SSDA marks the latest milestone for a project Aqualand has been quietly progressing over the past two years. The developer first secured the site for its Aqualand Prestige platform before undertaking an alternative design excellence process with PTW Architects, ultimately avoiding a formal design competition through the Housing Delivery Authority pathway.

The proposal has evolved considerably from Aqualand's original concept. The revised scheme has been designed around larger owner-occupier product, with an unusually high proportion of three and four-bedroom apartments, targeting the more affluent buyer profile, and downsizer, emerging across the North Shore.

<img alt="Archer St" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0171204c-5811-41b5-9b09-2335d1b7c3d0" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-07-22%20at%208.52.48%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=6YTuxfq.puZo7k2wbfgemcO5K3QfXYGQ" />

The 114-apartment mix comprises six studios, 27 one-bedroom apartments, 18 two-bedroom apartments, 50 three-bedroom residences and 13 four-bedroom homes. A quarter of the building will be dedicated to affordable housing, well above the mandated 15 per cent&nbsp;

PTW has structured the building vertically, with affordable housing across levels one to six, premium apartments through levels seven to 31, duplex skyhomes on klevels 32 to 43, a penthouse on level 44, and a rooftop plant level above. Six basement levels will provide resident parking and servicing.

The tower is proposed to reach approximately 154 metres, placing it among a growing collection of residential high-rises transforming Chatswood's skyline.

Rather than competing purely on height, PTW says the design has been driven by creating a slimmer tower capable of delivering significantly larger apartments.

"The primary objective of this project was to create a distinctive building that stands out from the recently approved or built structures in the Chatswood area," the design report states, noting the structural efficiency allows greater investment into apartment quality and resident amenity.

Residents would have access to more than 450 sqm of communal open space including landscaped gardens, swimming pool, rooftop entertaining areas, fitness spaces, community gardens, children's play areas and barbecue facilities.

A major focus of the design has been the public domain.

The ground plane has been opened up through landscaped terraces inspired by Willoughby's sandstone ridges, with native planting, public seating, artwork, retail activation and a series of gathering spaces intended to soften what has traditionally been a hard commercial streetscape.

The landscape strategy references Blue Gum forests once common throughout the area, while incorporating Indigenous storytelling, public art and lighting installations to strengthen the connection to Country.

Chatswood has been one of Sydney's busiest apartment markets over the past 12 months, with a steady pipeline of both new project launches and fresh development applications.

Hyecorp recently launched Celine, a 122-apartment development just along Archer Street, while Changfa and Huirong Group are progressing The Anderson, an 84-apartment project on Anderson Street.

Develotek recently secured approval for a 101-apartment tower on Pacific Highway, while Tian An LFD received the green light for Hammond Greens, its apartment development on the edge of the Chatswood Bowling Club.

Commercial property developer FiveX is also making its move into the residential market. Last month it lodged plans for a 61-storey tower with 490 apartments, which, if approved, would become one of the tallest residential buildings in Chatswood.

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-fivex-targets-chatswood-skyline-with-61-storey-tower-after-north-sydney-plans">First look: FiveX targets Chatswood skyline with 61-storey tower after North Sydney plans</a>

Aqualand is also expanding its development pipeline following the launch of its luxury residential brand, Aqualand Prestige. The developer has delivered a string of high-end apartment projects across Sydney's affluent suburbs over the past decade, most recently AURA by Aqualand on Walker Street in North Sydney.

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It has since quietly assembled its next wave of projects.

Earlier this year Aqualand launched Boronia in Roseville, a boutique 111-apartment development on Larkin Street. The project is one of the first significant apartment developments to launch in the suburb ahead of what is expected to become one of Sydney's most active new housing precincts under the NSW Government's Low and Mid-Rise Housing reforms, which allow greater density around train stations.

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The developer has also lodged plans for a two-tower, 413-apartment development on Herbert Street in nearby St Leonards, further strengthening its presence across the Lower North Shore.

Beyond that, Aqualand remains behind the final stage of Barangaroo, where plans will deliver a five-hectare mixed-use precinct comprising new homes, retail, hospitality and community facilities, alongside a new Metro entrance and more than two hectares of public open space, completing the Barangaroo precinct.

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/central-barangaroo-development-takes-big-step-with-concept-proposal-approval">Central Barangaroo development takes big step with concept proposal approval</a>

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-aqualand-joins-st-leonards-apartment-party">First look: Aqualand joins St Leonards apartment party</a> 
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First look: Aqualand pushes ahead with Chatswood apartment tower as SSDA lodged for Archer Street

Mass timber is becoming an increasingly popular construction material in apartment developments, but Adelaide developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/otello">Otello</a> is taking the approach a step further.

At its new <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/flowe-bowden-18-gibson-street-bowden-sa-5007">Flowe Bowden</a> development, the exposed cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure isn't just about reducing the building's environmental footprint. It also forms the foundation of a broader wellness strategy, influencing everything from indoor air quality and natural materials to the way residents move through and experience the building.

The 115-apartment mixed-use development, designed by Melbourne-based architecture practice Fieldwork, will occupy a prominent island site opposite Bowden Village Reserve, combining one, two and three-bedroom apartments with retail and a dedicated wellness destination.

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Wellness isn't confined to a gym or shared resident facility at Flowe. Instead, Fieldwork embedded the concept into the building itself.

The development has been split into two residential wings connected by a naturally ventilated central breezeway, replacing traditional enclosed corridors with open-air walkways that improve natural light, encourage cross ventilation and create more opportunities for neighbourly interaction.

"Rather than treating wellness as something that only happens on the ground floor, our response integrates it throughout the building, which led us to ask what it really means to design a healthy building," Fieldwork Director Quino Holland said.

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The building's architecture also reflects Bowden's industrial heritage. The lower podium references the area's historic brick and sandstone buildings, while the upper levels transition to exposed CLT, allowing the timber structure to become a defining feature throughout the apartments and shared spaces.

The use of mass timber sits alongside a range of sustainability initiatives, including a fully electric, gas-free design, rooftop solar and a targeted 5 Star Green Star rating.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152022 project_image_fid=375524]

Inside the residences, the focus remains on natural, durable materials. Blackbutt engineered timber flooring, exposed CLT ceilings, porcelain surfaces and warm timber joinery create a calming interior palette, while low-VOC finishes and responsibly sourced materials have been selected to improve indoor air quality.

Kitchens have been designed as the centrepiece of each apartment, featuring porcelain island benchtops, timber-look cabinetry and brushed steel tapware, with layouts that maximise natural light and ventilation.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152022 project_image_fid=375530]

The more traditional interpretation of wellness comes in the form of Level Eleven, a two-storey wellness club spanning the ground floor, mezzanine and first floor.

The facility will include a gym, yoga and reformer Pilates studios, Finnish and infrared saunas, magnesium hot and cold plunge pools, and dedicated recovery spaces. Unlike many residential wellness facilities, Level Eleven will also operate commercially, allowing the broader Bowden community to access the venue while giving residents exclusive membership benefits.

The ground floor has also been designed around everyday living. A café overlooking Bowden Village Reserve will activate the street frontage, while a bike workshop with tool storage, co-working space and dog wash has been incorporated to support daily routines and encourage interaction between residents.

"Flowe brings together my two biggest passions, creating places and creating healthier lives," Otello founder Daniel Harris said.

"We wanted to create something Adelaide hasn't seen before, a genuinely healthy building, where the way you live is lifted without even trying."

Flowe is positioned directly opposite Bowden Village Reserve and within walking distance of Bowden Railway Station and the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, placing future residents just minutes from the Adelaide CBD while remaining connected to one of the city's most established urban renewal precincts.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=152022]

Staff reporter

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