For most new apartment buildings, the Owners Corporation starts life with little more than a bank account and the first quarterly strata levies.

At <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/buildings/9-gay-street-castle-hill-9-gay-street-castle-hill-nsw-2154">9 Gay Street</a> in <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/castle-hill-nsw-2154">Castle Hill</a>, it starts with around $7 million in reserve.

It's an unusual legacy of what was once one of Sydney's highest-profile apartment remediation projects. When the development, originally known as Skyview and built by disgraced developer Top Place, came under scrutiny by then NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler, an $11 million remediation bond was negotiated to ensure any building defects could be fully rectified.

The building underwent an 18-month remediation program, during which around $4 million of that bond was spent bringing the building up to the standard it should have been in from the outset.

After extensive inspections, all active rectification orders have been lifted. What's more, around $7.2 million remains secured for the Owners Corporation for the next 15 years.

In a twist few would have predicted, what began as a significant concern for purchasers has left the building with something almost unheard of in the apartment market: a multi-million-dollar financial reserve from day one.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=147685 project_image_fid=359136]

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/project-marketer/equitifund-group">Equitifund</a> Executive Chairman Greg Huxley said the structure offers buyers a level of certainty that is difficult to replicate.

"The $11 million bond established for the Skyview Castle Hill development represents exceptional value, providing genuine financial security for purchasers," Huxley said.

"Unlike a standard insurance policy, this bond consists of real funds held in trust for the Owners Corporation, offering a tangible layer of protection and added peace of mind."

The apartments themselves have been designed with a focus on practical, contemporary living. Interiors feature Smeg appliances, stone benchtops, tiled living areas, carpeted bedrooms, 2.7-metre ceilings, floor-to-ceiling glazing, and ducted heating and cooling throughout.

Residents also have access to a range of shared amenities, including two rooftop barbecue areas, a swimming pool, children's playgrounds, secure building access, storage cages, and visitor parking.

The location continues to be one of the project's strongest drawcards. Castle Hill Metro Station sits virtually on the doorstep, providing direct connections across Sydney's expanding Metro network, while Castle Towers offers extensive retail, dining, entertainment, and service amenities within walking distance.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=147685 project_image_fid=359127]

The building, now named after its location at 9 Gay Street, comprises a diverse mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments starting from just under $600,000.

Equitifund National Sales Director Ben Hamblett said demand in the Hills District continues to be driven by buyers seeking convenience and connectivity.

"Interest from both owner-occupiers and investors in Castle Hill remains exceptionally strong, with buyers consistently prioritising developments in close proximity to the Metro station and Castle Towers Shopping Centre," Hamblett said.

"There is a clear trend in the market, with purchasers seeking convenient access to transport and lifestyle amenities that support a seamless, low-maintenance way of living."

On top of the long-term protection afforded by the remaining $7.2 million bond, Equitifund is offering a limited-time stamp duty rebate on selected apartments.

Eligible purchasers can also secure finance options, including a 3.99 per cent two-year variable rate, loan-to-value ratios of up to 90 per cent, and interest-only lending options through EquitiCredit.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=147685]

Joel Robinson

Why this Castle Hill apartment building starts with a $7 million advantage

For much of the past few years, conversations about Australia's property market have centred on the rapid growth seen in Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast, and Perth. <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/melbourne-vic-3004">Melbourne</a> has followed a different trajectory.

That relative underperformance is now encouraging some buyers to reassess the city, particularly those willing to look beyond short-term market movements and focus on quality property in established locations, along with the long-term growth prospects of a city expected to overtake Sydney as Australia’s most populous.

John Bekiaris, Research &amp; Market Insights at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/project-marketer/equitifund-group">Projects by Equitifund</a>, said Melbourne's current position is attracting increasingly sophisticated purchasers.

"Melbourne continues to present one of Australia's strongest long-term investment stories," Bekiaris says.

"While other capital cities have experienced stronger recent growth, that relative underperformance is exactly what's attracting sophisticated counter-cyclical investors."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=1979 project_image_fid=363268]

Equitifund isn't just commenting on Melbourne's property market, it's investing in it.

The Sydney-headquartered capital partner has taken over the remaining apartments at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/buildings/victoriana-melbourne-20-queens-road-melbourne-vic-3004">Victoriana</a>, the recently completed glass-encased development opposite Albert Park Lake in Melbourne's tightly held St Kilda Road precinct.

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/rothelowman">Rothelowman</a> and built by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/builders/hickory">Hickory</a>, Victoriana places residents between one of Melbourne's most recognised parklands and the CBD, offering oversized two and three-bedroom apartments aimed at owner-occupiers seeking a genuine alternative to a traditional family home.

The development comprises 232 completed residences alongside a suite of resident amenities, including a 25-metre indoor swimming pool, gymnasium, landscaped entertaining areas, resident lounges, EV charging, secure basement parking and a concierge-style arrival experience.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=1979 project_image_fid=363229]

The apartments have been designed with owner-occupiers firmly in mind.&nbsp;Open-plan living and dining areas flow onto generous balconies framing views across Albert Park Lake, Fawkner Park, the Royal Botanic Gardens and the Melbourne skyline.

Kitchens feature Gaggenau appliances, stone benchtops and generous preparation space. Bedrooms include built-in robes, while bathrooms feature full-height textured tiling. Hardwood flooring and ducted air conditioning complete residences designed for long-term living.

Rothelowman's architecture takes its cues from the landscape opposite the site. Sweeping horizontal glazing references the movement of Albert Park Lake, while generous balconies and expansive glazing strengthen the connection between the apartments and the surrounding parklands. The result is a building designed to deliver the scale and amenity expected of luxury apartment living, while offering the larger floorplans increasingly sought by owner-occupiers.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=1979 project_image_fid=363284]

The location is one of Victoriana's defining characteristics. Positioned on Queens Road, residents are directly opposite Albert Park Lake and within easy reach of Fawkner Park, the Royal Botanic Gardens, South Melbourne, St Kilda Road and the CBD. With few comparable development opportunities remaining in the precinct, buyers are increasingly placing value on outlooks that are unlikely to be interrupted by future construction.

Greg Huxley, Founder of Equitifund, believes those qualities become even more valuable over time.

"Premium real estate has always rewarded buyers who take a long-term view," Huxley said.

"Victoriana represents the kind of asset that's increasingly difficult to recreate today, particularly in an established location like Queens Road."

He said rising construction costs are also changing the way buyers assess completed developments.

"When you combine an irreplaceable location with thoughtful architecture and premium finishes, you create something that becomes increasingly difficult to reproduce as construction costs continue to rise."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=1979 project_image_fid=363228]

According to National Sales Director Ben Hamblett, enquiry has been driven largely by Melbourne downsizers and buyers upgrading from smaller apartments.

"Interest in Victoriana continues to build, with strong buyer focus on the larger owner-occupier residences within the development," Hamblett says.

"Enquiry is increasingly driven by local buyers who recognise the rarity of what's on offer: park-facing apartments in an established neighbourhood where new development opportunities are becoming increasingly scarce. At Victoriana, the view is not just a feature; it's an appreciating asset in its own right."

He said interstate enquiry has also strengthened as buyers reassess Melbourne's position within the national property cycle.

"Melbourne currently stands as the most compelling entry point of any major Australian capital, and discerning buyers are beginning to recognise what those who move early always understand: the best opportunities are taken before the price rise confirms them."

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=1979]

Why now is the time to buy in Melbourne's premium apartment market

Developers and apartment buyers have a narrowing window of opportunity before Brisbane's Olympic infrastructure pipeline begins competing directly with residential construction, pushing up costs, tightening labour supply and making new projects increasingly difficult to deliver.

While Brisbane's apartment market continues to benefit from strong population growth and limited housing supply, industry research suggests the years leading up to 2027 could prove to be the most important period for developers looking to secure builders and buyers hoping to purchase before the next wave of price increases.

A new Colliers report, Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games: Creating Solutions, highlights the scale of the challenge. While thousands of new homes are planned across South East Queensland, the Brisbane Olympic Athletes Village alone will deliver more than 10,500 beds during the Games before being converted into around 1,750 to 2,000 apartments. Equivalent to almost two years of typical inner-city apartment supply, the project will also absorb a significant share of the construction workforce and building materials.

The broader construction pipeline paints an even clearer picture.

Construction Skills Queensland's Horizon 2032 report forecasts Queensland's annual construction pipeline will average $69 billion over the coming years before peaking at $75 billion in 2027-28. Demand for construction workers is expected to increase by 17 per cent to almost 150,000 people, with the industry facing an annual shortfall of around 19,000 workers that could blow out to as many as 35,000 during the peak construction period.

The Olympic venues, athletes village and supporting infrastructure will account for billions of dollars worth of work across South East Queensland through to 2032, creating intense competition for labour at a time when Australia's residential construction sector is already under pressure.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150489 project_image_fid=373834]

Colliers Queensland Residential Director Andrew Scriven said the convergence of these projects is creating a clear window of opportunity for both developers and buyers.

"From 2027 onwards, the market will shift dramatically," Scriven said.

"Labour will increasingly be locked into government-led infrastructure and Olympic projects, which means private residential developments will face higher costs and tighter margins. The developers who move now are the ones most likely to get projects off the ground."

Scriven said the same dynamic would also affect buyers, with fewer apartment projects expected to launch once construction capacity tightens.

"If you're looking to change your lifestyle over the next five years, now is your window of opportunity to buy."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150713 project_image_fid=373827]

Developers are already positioning themselves ahead of that window.

Following the success of Monarch at Toowong, Consolidated Properties is preparing to launch two new Brisbane apartment projects in the second half of 2026. They include <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/gloriette-30-bedivere-street-yeerongpilly-qld-4105">Gloriette</a> at Yeerongpilly Green, a 25-storey tower within one of Brisbane's key Olympic precincts, and <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/castile-47-skyring-terrace-newstead-qld-4006">Castile</a>, a recently approved 25-storey riverfront development at 47 Skyring Terrace in Newstead.

Hutchinson Builders will deliver both projects, with early works already underway at Yeerongpilly and Newstead expected to commence later this year.

The timing comes as Brisbane's fundamentals continue to strengthen, with strong interstate migration, population growth and vacancy rates remaining below 1.5 per cent.

Colliers Queensland researcher Pragya Sharma said Greater Brisbane is forecast to require around 40,000 new apartments between 2021 and 2031.

"There's a real mismatch emerging between when housing is needed and when it will be feasible to build," Sharma said.

"As a result, the period leading up to 2027 presents a key window of opportunity for developers to secure approvals, funding and construction capacity, while buyers will have greater choice before supply constraints intensify."

Colliers research outlines a critical pre-2027 window to start residential projects before labour squeeze: now is the time to buy

Developers, buyers on watch in South East Queensland ahead of construction crunch: Colliers

It's taken less than nine months for developer Sherpa Property Group to sell out all 51 apartments in its <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/flourish-oasis-palm-beach-7-9-sixth-avenue-palm-beach-qld-4221">Flourish Oasis</a> development in <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/palm-beach-qld-4221">Palm Beach</a>, over a year before its anticipated completion.

&nbsp;

Located at 7-9 Sixth Avenue, the $67 million development has resonated strongly with both local owner-occupiers and downsizers seeking high-quality apartments within walking distance of the beach, dining precincts and everyday amenities.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=151449 project_image_fid=357458]

Christie Leet, Founder of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/sherpa-property-group">Sherpa Group</a>, said the sell-out reflected both the strength of the Palm Beach market and the success of Sherpa's community-first approach to development.

"The sell-out of Oasis is a fantastic outcome and reinforces the strong demand we're seeing for thoughtfully designed apartments in lifestyle locations," Leet said.

"From the outset, our vision was to create a development that genuinely enhanced the Palm Beach community while providing residents with exceptional homes and wellness-focused amenities.

"We've been incredibly encouraged by the level of local support throughout the campaign, 72.5 per cent of buyers are locals, with a significant proportion of purchasers choosing Oasis as their future home rather than an investment."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=151449 project_image_fid=357463]

Construction is now progressing following development approval, with trusted builder LPS Group delivering the project and completion anticipated in Q3 2027.

Oasis forms part of Sherpa Group's successful Flourish collection, which has become recognised for its focus on wellness, community and elevated coastal living.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=151449 project_image_fid=357469]

Residents will have private access to a rooftop amenity space featuring a pool, gym, sauna, steam room, hot and cold plunge pools, spa and barbecue facilities.

"The success of Oasis demonstrates that buyers continue to prioritise quality, location and lifestyle," Leet said.

"We are proud to have delivered a project that has resonated so strongly with the market and look forward to bringing Oasis to life for our future residents."

Sherpa recently launched <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/flourish-soleira-palm-beach-1150-1160-gold-coast-highway-palm-beach-qld-4221">Flourish Soleira</a>, its third instalment of the Flourish brand in Palm Beach following Flourish Oasis and <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/amargo-6-12-sixth-avenue-palm-beach-qld-4221">Flourish Amargo</a>.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=151449]

Sherpa sells out Flourish Oasis in booming Palm Beach

Urban Property Group's <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/la-vera-macquarie-park-94-talavera-road-macquarie-park-nsw-2113">La Vera</a> is leading the next phase of Macquarie Park's residential evolution, with the new apartment development set to become the first of several new apartment projects in the precinct to complete.

The 169-apartment building has now topped out ahead of its scheduled completion in the third quarter of 2026, as new residential investment continues to reshape one of Sydney's largest employment hubs into a true mixed-use precinct.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134951 project_image_fid=368645]

Cox Architecture has designed La Vera to capture the best of its unique positioning on Talavera Road, orienting the building towards Lane Cove National Park.&nbsp;The building features a sculpted northern façade with flowing curves inspired by the surrounding landscape, while its city-facing elevation adopts a more structured architectural expression to maximise skyline views.

"The vision for the project was to conceive a building that adopted an organic and curvilinear form to the northern portion that faces the Lane Cove National Park," <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/cox-architecture">Cox Architecture</a> Director Felipe Miranda said.

"The residents that reside in the northern portion of the building benefit by having beautifully crafted curved balconies that speak to the natural context and heighten the relationship of their internal living spaces to the external balconies."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134951 project_image_fid=358802]

La Vera offers a diverse mix of one, two, three, and four-bedroom configurations, with prices currently starting from $740,000. Buyers so far have been a mix of Sydney-based investors,&nbsp;metro commuters, owner-occupiers and downsizers from surrounding North Shore suburbs.

Both investors and owner-occupiers have been drawn to La Vera's proximity to Macquarie University, Macquarie University Hospital, Macquarie Centre and the Sydney Metro, infrastructure that supports both strong rental demand and a convenient lifestyle for residents.

The apartments feature full-height glazing, timber flooring throughout living areas, stone kitchen benchtops, SMEG appliances, floor-to-ceiling bathroom tiling and ducted air conditioning.

Residents will have access to a rooftop recreation level featuring a swimming pool, sauna, barbecue facilities and landscaped relaxation areas, complemented by additional communal space at ground level. Many apartments enjoy uninterrupted views across Lane Cove National Park, reinforcing the project's connection to its natural setting.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134951 project_image_fid=364551]

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/urban-property-group">Urban Property Group</a>, a family-owned developer and builder with nearly four decades of experience, holds a 4.5-star iCIRT rating and was Australia's first developer to introduce 10-Year Latent Defects Insurance (LDI). La Vera is the first apartment development in <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/macquarie-park-nsw-2113">Macquarie Park</a> approved to offer the additional insurance protection, alongside a five-year warranty on SMEG appliances.

Urban Property Group CEO Patrick Elias said the additional protection reflects changing buyer expectations in the off the plan market.

"Consumers are a lot more weary and a lot more concerned in buying off the plan than they ever have been. Having LDI is a tool to portray the confidence that we have in our product, and a confidence we want buyers to share," Elias said.

Following completion of the building later this year, buyers will move into their apartments well before Christmas.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=134951]

La Vera closes in on completion as Macquarie Park continues residential transformation

Sustainability

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Australia’s sprawling cities present many challenges to sustainability, but planning innovations can help achieve at least half of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 
Thirty years after the landmark <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Common_Future" target="_blank">Brundtland report</a>, the debate on urban sustainability continues. Urban planners are still grappling with the challenges of making our cities sustainable.
Urban sustainability is an evolving concept. Our <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.routledge.com/Global-Planning-Innovations-for-Urban-Sustainability/Darchen-Searle/p/book/9780815357575" target="_blank">edited volume</a> provides planning solutions for eight of the 17 UN <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/" target="_blank">Sustainable Development Goals</a>. Has the concept of urban sustainability made a difference in planning practice? Our answer is yes.
Based on <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01944363.2016.1214080?src=recsys" target="_blank">Campbell’s planner’s triangle</a>, urban sustainability encompasses three dimensions:
<ol>
<li>
social sustainability
</li>
<li>
environmental sustainability
</li>
<li>
economic sustainability.
</li>
</ol>
Sustainability solutions involve trade-offs between these three dimensions. A planning innovation might solve a challenge in terms of social sustainability but be less efficient in regard to the two other dimensions.
The <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01944363.2016.1213656" target="_blank">Sustainable City paradigm</a> has been a dominant school of thought since the 1990s. Yet it is still unclear how cities incorporate this paradigm in urban policies.
Influential works on urban policies have emphasised the transfer of urban policies from one context to another – known as <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1468-2427.12191_6" target="_blank">mobile urbanism</a>. Our book highlights evidence to the contrary. Planning innovations are generally shaped by local contextual factors and are not imported.
Of the planning innovations presented in 12 case study chapters in our book, we present those most relevant to Australia later in this article.
Key issues facing Australian cities
Australian cities have urgent sustainability issues that require fresh policy initiatives.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/four-ways-our-cities-can-cut-transport-emissions-in-a-hurry-avoid-shift-share-and-improve-106076" target="_blank">Transport use is too reliant on cars</a>. As a result, fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions remain far too high. Large areas of land are given over to <a href="https://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch6en/conc6en/ch6c1en" target="_blank">road space</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/empty-car-parks-everywhere-but-nowhere-to-park-how-cities-can-do-better-99031" target="_blank">parking</a>.
High car use goes hand in hand with low-density <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-cut-urban-sprawl-we-need-quality-infill-housing-displays-to-win-over-the-public-63930" target="_blank">urban sprawl</a>. This requires longer trips to everything, extra resources for longer pipes, wires and roads, more <a href="https://theconversation.com/were-investing-heavily-in-urban-greening-so-how-are-our-cities-doing-83354" target="_blank">losses of agricultural land and natural vegetation</a>, and more hard surfaces that <a href="https://theconversation.com/cities-can-grow-without-wrecking-reefs-and-oceans-heres-how-107263" target="_blank">increase water pollution run-off as well as heat</a> in summer.
And the design of low-density development produces even more unsustainability. Planning controls have forced developers to reduce the size of new housing lots, but <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/australias-homes-the-smallest-in-two-decades-but-still-second-largest-globally-commsec-20171120-gznaxc/" target="_blank">house sizes have barely reduced in size</a>. As a result, <a href="https://theconversation.com/vanishing-australian-backyards-leave-us-vulnerable-to-the-stresses-of-city-life-81479" target="_blank">backyards are disappearing</a>. Lost along with them are <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-trees-really-cool-our-cities-down-44099" target="_blank">trees to cool the air</a> and sequester carbon, and physical activity opportunities for children.
Australia’s cities also have major social sustainability issues. Increasing numbers of professional and managerial households have priced poorer residents out of the best areas of the cities.
The result has been <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-did-the-rich-man-say-to-the-poor-man-why-spatial-inequality-in-australia-is-no-joke-73841" target="_blank">heightened spatial polarisation</a>. Lower-income households have been forced to live further out in suburbs with inadequate public transport and jobs. Solutions for creating places in the suburbs were presented in a recent <a href="https://sees.uq.edu.au/event/12638/uq-placemaking-events" target="_blank">summit</a> organised by UQ Planning.
What’s happening in cities overseas?
The innovative ways that overseas cities have responded to similar sustainability challenges can provide pathways for Australian cities to follow.
Helsinki’s experience suggests one means of overcoming a sticking point in achieving higher-density development: getting around NIMBY opposition and achieving community agreement on where denser development could go. In Helsinki, the public participated in a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_participation_geographic_information_system" target="_blank">public participation geographic information system</a> exercise. This mapped their preferences for areas that should not be developed for apartments.
Well-intended planning controls can hinder higher-density development, even in desirable locations. In Los Angeles’ historic core, old office buildings lay vacant after a new CBD office precinct outside the old core was developed. Residential use requirements for on-site parking and open space and for a building setback from the front property boundary hindered the conversion of the old buildings to residential use. By relaxing these requirements, the city’s 1999 <a href="https://preservation.lacity.org/incentives/adaptive-reuse-ordinance" target="_blank">adaptive reuse ordinance</a> was a key to regenerating the old core as a residential area.
The adaptive reuse of historical buildings has helped regenerate downtown Los Angeles.
The challenge of reducing car use without large public outlays remains daunting, but Seville shows one way this can be achieved. There, a complete bicycle network of 180km – 12% of the total road length in the city – has been built since 2007. Separation from car traffic has been achieved through bollards and the like, or by parked cars where the bikeway is built on a footpath.
Cycle trips now make up about 10% of total vehicle trips in Seville, six times the previous share. The driving forces for the network were the formation of a cyclists’ association, public demonstrations and the election of a left-of–centre city government that gave political support.
The demolition of motorways sounds like an extreme way of reducing car use, but the experience of Seoul shows it can have big economic and environmental benefits. The motorway built over a former stream in the central city was demolished in the early 2000s. The stream was restored to a natural state.
This has reduced air pollution and the heat island impact of the former motorway, and created an ecological passage to the main river in Seoul. Recreational and cultural amenities along the restored stream have made it a desirable area and generated new economic activities. New bus services close to the stream have replaced car access.
The strong powers and finances of the city government and a supportive mayor made the <a href="https://urban-regeneration.worldbank.org/Seoul" target="_blank">Cheonggyecheon Restoration Project</a> possible.
Spatial polarisation in cities results from market forces dominating urban redevelopment.
The experience of Vancouver illustrates how inclusionary planning can ameliorate these forces. City-sponsored local resident groups have been at the centre of making strategies to renew the city’s low-income Downtown Eastside area.
Instead of the high-tech-based development originally proposed, priority has been given to developing employment more suited to the low-income residents’ needs, including opportunities in the informal sector. City council-owned sites have been used for social innovation hubs, services to help residents find jobs, and a street market for a street vendors’ collective.
As explained in our book, these planning innovations are mostly the product of local contextual factors. Therefore, planning innovations for Australian cities will require local involvement in shaping sustainability solutions. Incentives such as changes in regulatory frameworks and tax subsidies might also be needed to develop planning innovations.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107091/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;">
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/sebastien-darchen-6781" target="_blank">Sebastien Darchen</a>, Senior Lecturer in Planning, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805" target="_blank">The University of Queensland</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/glen-searle-103536" target="_blank">Glen Searle</a>, Honorary Associate Professor in Planning, University of Queensland and, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841" target="_blank">University of Sydney</a>
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/our-cities-fall-short-on-sustainability-but-planning-innovations-offer-local-solutions-107091" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Our cities fall short on sustainability, but planning innovations offer local solutions: Sebastien Darchen & Glen Searle

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This week's episode of the Apartments.com.au podcast comes to you from the Harbour City, where I sat down with Atelier Ten Director Paul Stoller in the company's Sydney office on Pitt Street.

Paul tells me about the genesis of Atelier Ten and its history in Australia as well as Paul's own history working on Federation Square some 20 years ago. We also discuss a few of the projects Atelier Ten are currently involved with and the office's involvement in the winning design for the Southbank by Beulah competition. 

 

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Laurence Dragomir

Weekly Podcast - Episode 42: Atelier Ten’s Paul Stoller

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We are <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/32692064?q&amp;versionId=43970540" target="_blank">still settling Australian cities</a> on unceded Aboriginal lands. With the global agreement on the <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/" target="_blank">United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)</a> in 2015, development has finally come home to the developed world. Yet in Australia we still often proceed as if development goals are about foreign aid, somehow separate from our own development activities and civic responsibilities.
The <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Foreign_Affairs_Defence_and_Trade/SDGs" target="_blank">Senate inquiry into the SDGs</a>, for example, has been referred to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade. Three of the seven <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Foreign_Affairs_Defence_and_Trade/SDGs/Terms_of_Reference" target="_blank">terms of reference</a> relate to Australia’s <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/BudgetReview201819/ODA" target="_blank">Official Development Assistance</a> program.
<a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/trade-minister-exit-paris-accord-and-kiss-europe-trade-deal-goodbye" target="_blank">Reports</a> that trade with Europe might be in jeopardy because of Australia’s failure to act responsibly on climate change – a commitment enshrined not just in the Paris Agreement but also in <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/climate-change-2/" target="_blank">SDG 13</a>: Climate Action – illustrate the naivety of thinking this country can carry on as usual while others tackle sustainable development.
Australia’s SDG indicator framework
The National Sustainable Development Council’s focus on transforming Australia is an important starting point. The NCDC draws on the <a href="https://www.sdgtransformingaustralia.com/" target="_blank">SDG Progress Report</a> to “highlight key trends and emerging issues for policy and decision-makers and communities across Australia”. But it doesn’t go far enough.
The focus is on targets and indicators that are deemed relevant and important for Australia. This is complemented by a wheel-of-fortune-style dashboard set of aggregated results across four key benchmarks.
The result is a colourful, largely unintelligible – albeit very well-intentioned – national SDG assessment.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235918/original/file-20180912-144479-1wv6wx2.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/235918/original/file-20180912-144479-1wv6wx2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
Australia’s SDG Indicator Scorecard. <a class="source" href="https://www.sdgtransformingaustralia.com/wp-content/uploads/Australias-Dashboard_SDGs_310818.pdf" target="_blank">NCDC</a>
Looks like we get a C grade. But what does this actually say about Australian settlements?
<h2>Sanitised and complacent</h2>
The real issues facing Australia are sanitised and out of sight with a 6.5 score. With 90% of Australians living in urban areas, how does this assessment inform and transform the state of sustainable development in our cities?
A core sustainable development challenge for Australia is the spatial unevenness of its development – between cities and non-city regions, between the dominant cities (Sydney and Melbourne) and the rest, or between different suburbs within cities.
Our patchwork economy generates serious social inequities. The answer is not just to stimulate greater economic activity or spread the boom to “lagging” areas.
We need to recognise that the apparent success of the “bright patches” is often based on their exploitation of “dull patches”. Some areas are set up to be sacrifice zones that suffer, for example, the ill effects of resource extraction, heavy industry and waste disposal.
And some regions struggle not simply because they are physically distant, but because uneven provision of infrastructure has made them functionally distant. Prioritisation of certain regions over others and an over-reliance on infrastructure provision as a proxy for development are two issues that the nation needs to tackle to deliver the SDG agenda.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0XTBYMfZyrM?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" frameborder="0" width="440" height="260"></iframe>
Do you know all 17 Sustainable Development Goals?
<h2>Beyond national silos</h2>
Australian cities rely on and impact upon these spaces and others far beyond their boundaries. Thus tackling <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/cities/">SDG 11</a> on cities cannot be separated from tackling the other SDGs, including sustainably managing life on land (<a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/biodiversity/" target="_blank">SDG 15</a>), clean water and sanitation (<a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/water-and-sanitation/" target="_blank">SDG 6</a>), affordable and clean energy (<a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/energy/" target="_blank">SDG 7</a>) and life below water (<a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/oceans/" target="_blank">SDG 14</a>).
This means thinking not just about where and how cities access resources, but where their outputs go. For example, when China halted a major waste flow to its recycling plants this exposed the reliance of Australian cities on often distant facilities.
 
This demonstrates how cities are inextricably linked to spaces beyond their city limits, and the need for Australian cities to reduce and reuse as well as just recycle waste. It also illustrates the entwining of Australian settlement development with multiple spaces beyond our borders. Australia’s responsibility for sustainable development includes attention to the nation’s own urban heartlands as well as their impact on both neighbouring and distant countries.
<h2>Putting the SDGs to work in Australian cities</h2>
The SDGs can be mobilised to help achieve sustainable development, but we are not putting them to work in Australia. We stumble our way into the challenges of our climate of change, no more nationally self-aware it seems than before.
A new sustainable development approach is needed in Australia. An SDG ethic and compass must guide our direction so no one is left behind.
The SDGs are an invitation to take seriously the sustainable development challenges we face as a nation, and the implications of our actions for other nations. Rather than look for ways to reinforce our developed country privilege with a C grade report card, we could use the SDGs as a two-fold opportunity to:
1) ask the hard questions about the sustainability of our development
2) collectively explore transformative pathways, particularly within our cities.
Both suggest the importance of connecting more genuinely with Indigenous understandings of sustainability and living ethically on Country. And what do the SDG indicator frameworks and benchmarks tell us about our progress in our <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-can-we-meaningfully-recognise-cities-as-indigenous-places-65561" target="_blank">sovereign relationship with Indigenous people</a> on whose unceded land we live and work?
We are not arguing for a more parochial agenda, or that international development is not important. Indeed, Australia could usefully follow the UK in positioning national science and research priorities within broader “<a href="https://www.ukri.org/research/global-challenges-research-fund/" target="_blank">global challenges</a>”.
Rather, we are pointing to the risks of framing sustainable development issues as problems “over there”. This obscures both Australia’s own acute settlement problems and its role in creating problems “over there”.
What is needed is joined-up policy, planning and research that includes Australia within the frame as a sustainable development site, as well as a funding provider.
It could also include identifying Australia as a country in need: a nation that needs to better contribute to all the SDGs. In the case of <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/climate-change-2/" target="_blank">SDG 13</a> on climate action, that need is glaring.
In Australia we need to make sure our identity does not include an implicit assumption that our home base is not in need of SDG attention – or only in certain areas. Many if not all aspects of development in Australia are <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maldevelopment" target="_blank">maldevelopment</a>, which calls for strong critical evaluation and action as much as in any other space. As a nation we can do much better.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102641/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;">
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/wendy-steele-4698" target="_blank">Wendy Steele</a>, Associate Professor of Sustainability and Urban Planning, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063" target="_blank">RMIT University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lauren-rickards-1931" target="_blank">Lauren Rickards</a>, Associate Professor, Sustainability and Urban Planning, School of Global Urban and Social Studies; Co-leader, Climate Change and Resilience Research Program, Centre for Urban Studies, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063" target="_blank">RMIT University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/libby-porter-300183" target="_blank">Libby Porter</a>, Vice-Chancellor's Principal Research Fellow, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063" target="_blank">RMIT University</a>
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/business-as-usual-the-sustainable-development-goals-apply-to-australian-cities-too-102641" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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jrobinson-rf4aSBido9

Australian transformation a focus for the National Sustainable Development Council

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Stockland has placed first on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for the fifth time.
The index looks at the financial performance of sustainability-driven companies across the world and seeks to provide asset managers with objective benchmarks to manage sustainability portfolios.
Categories assessed include corporate governance, risk management, climate change strategy, environmental management, human capital development and stakeholder engagement.
Mark Steinert, Managing Director and CEO at Stockland, said the company was proud to be recognised for its sustainability practices.
"Having been a member of the DJSI World for the past 12 years, this accolade truly demonstrates our commitment to sustainability leadership,” he said. 
"At Stockland we have taken a proactive and holistic approach to sustainability, developing policies and implementing initiatives that have cemented our industry leadership for more than a decade.”
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Stockland tops Dow Jones sustainability index

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447 Collins Street, the commercial component of the wider Collins Arch project backed by Cbus Property and ISPT, has become the country's third development to receive a platinum level WELL Precertification.

Overseen by the International WELL Building Institute, precertification amounts to acknowledgement of design characteristics that demonstrate leadership in health and wellness. WELL Precertification is effectively a nod toward the design of commercial buildings which improve the nutrition, fitness, mood, sleep patterns and cognitive performance of its occupants.

To date the only other developments to receive an equivalent precertification rating in Australia are the nearby 477 Collins Street and Circular Quay Tower in Sydney. Further enhancing the sustainability credentials of 447 Collins Street, the development team have also put if forward for a 6-star Greenstar accreditation and 5.5 star NABERS energy rating. 

According to the International WELL Building Institute, Geelong's freshly completed 1 Malop Street office development is Victoria's sole project to date that has achieved Platinum level certification upon completion.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public//pictures/article-images/image10a.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Latest imagery for the landmark mixed-use development. Image: Cbus Property"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="638" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files//styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image10a.jpg?itok=HXSIUJ1g" title="Latest imagery for the landmark mixed-use development. Image: Cbus Property" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Latest imagery for the landmark mixed-use development. Image: Cbus Property </figcaption></figure>Design features that aided in 447 Collins Street's WELL Precertification include indoor air quality monitoring, interiors fitness circulation, superior natural lighting and ventilation, varied amenities and services offered to those working within the building and the promotion of bicycle access and associated services.

<blockquote>
WELL is moving the focus of the building rating tool world from an environmental and building focus to a human health focus. This is really important in an age where people are spending over 90% of their time indoors.

If you are trying to attract and retain a tenant, you need to create a work place environment that is aligned to your life beyond just work. Our tenants are also vying to attract the best talent in their respective industries. Workplace wellness programs help define your employer brand and set it apart from the competition.

Showcasing an intentional culture that genuinely supports employee health and well-being is powerful — and can help to attract, secure and retain talent”.
<cite>Lorraine Moore, Cbus Property Sustainability Manager</cite>
</blockquote>

447 Collins Street's commercial component incorporates 50,000 square metres of premium grade office space, and has been popular with Melbourne's legal fraternity.

To date 80% of 447 Collins Street's available space has been accounted for, apportioned to future tenants Minter Ellison, HWL Ebsworth Lawyers, Gadens and Hong Kong-headquartered King &amp; Wood Mallesons.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public//pictures/article-images/p8140790.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="August construction progression. Image: Redden"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="435" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files//styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/p8140790.jpg?itok=IoluZ4hh" title="August construction progression. Image: Redden" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>August construction progression. Image: Redden</figcaption></figure>Collins Arch's physical manifestation continues at pace. 

The larger footprint of <a href="/buildings/collins-arch-447-collins-street-melbourne">447 Collins Street</a> has become evident as its westerly form rises above Collins and William streets. Created by Woods Bagot &amp; SHoP Architects, Collins Arch's other tower form is rising jointly at 433 Collins Street; it will include a W Hotel-branded 5-star hotel with 294 rooms, 1,000 square metres of dedicated high end retail and 185 apartments.

2,000 square metres of public open space including a tiered amphitheatre will sit at the projects eastern doorstep, incorporating for a portion of Market Street.
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silvermb

All good and WELL for 447 Collins Street

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The General, a pioneering residential building in Northcote designed by emerging Melbourne architecture practice C.Kairouz Architects has been recently completed.

Located on the corner of High Street and Bent Street, the development's moniker is derived from the nickname of Kairouz’s late father.

Built at the former site of the family’s butcher business, the project has been designed to honour his journey as a migrant to successful Australian business owner, while also employing strong sustainability measures on the way to a 7.5 start NatHERS energy rating.

The development is also the first ever residential building in Australia to use Onyx Solar photovoltaic glazing - as both a balustrade and power source - providing high quality and sustainable architecture. Working closely with engineers, the firm looked to ensure the energy produced by the glass offset the cost of light, power and mechanical equipment in common areas.

Design highlights include a curved glass facade and oak floors, while other sustainable features include:

<ul>
<li>A 25,000 litre rainwater tank used to flush toilets</li>
	<li>137 bicycle parks</li>
	<li>Multiple green spaces including a rooftop terrace</li>
</ul>
Urban.com.au asked Managing Director of C.Kairouz Architects, Chahid Kairouz about the sustainable design measures within the project and how they went about becoming the first Australian design firm to use photovoltaic glass.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public//pictures/article-images/the_general_highst_1.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Onyx Solar photovoltaic glass has been used for the balustrades. Image: Peter Clarke"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="387" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files//styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/the_general_highst_1.jpg?itok=g9objmq8" title="Onyx Solar photovoltaic glass has been used for the balustrades. Image: Peter Clarke" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Onyx Solar photovoltaic glass has been used for the balustrades. Image: Peter Clarke</figcaption></figure>Urban.com.au: What was the catalyst for incorporating the Onyx photovoltaic glass on The General? And at what stage of the design process did the decision to include this in the design occur?

Chahid Kairouz: The General was inspired by the desire to honour my late father’s legacy and pioneer a new technology with a sustainability focus. Onyx Solar photovoltaic glass was adopted due to its appeal of being both a building fabric and a power generating element.

We worked with many consultants to review different technologies and really pushed to champion this product in Australia and start the take-up of this technology and notion of innovative ways to clad the building.  

U: Sometimes design features such as solar harnessing capabilities are poorly integrated into the design. How important was this in providing a quality design response for The General?

CK: We worked closely with ETS, Energy Efficient Choices and Inhabit in order to develop the product specifically for The General. This was a project in itself, coordinating with steel fabricators, structural engineers, fire engineers and the facade engineer to produce detailed shop drawings. 

Special engineering of the product was needed to ensure that it would be strong enough to withstand the practical use of acting as a balustrade, as well as yield the potential to generate solar power. Additionally, the Onyx Solar product is very aesthetically beautiful, so works perfectly as a sleek, black building fabric on the northern facade.

The Onyx Solar glass, coupled with other sustainable initiatives meant that we sought a minimum 7.5 natHERS rating.

U: The idea of legacy is often spoken about in terms of new apartment developments and what they contribute to their immediate context. The site was formerly home to your family's butcher business, how much did the idea of legacy influence the design and the development of the site both in terms of environmental and social sustainability?

 CK: The butcher business my father started with his five brothers still runs today, and is one of the most recognised and demanded product brands in the small stock industry (Cedar Meats). The whole business is run on the values of environmental and social sustainability, from our commitment to animal welfare to employing over 400 staff, many of them ethnic migrants, just like my father.

As a result, the business was the winner of the National Ethnic Business of the Year in 2015. 

It was extremely important to reflect my father’s values in the design of The General; not only for sentimental value but to stand the test of time in its design and its use of cutting-edge sustainable technology on the facade; a combination makes the building and the apartments be relevant for longer. Similarly, the original design for The General started at 114 apartments but was reduced to 87 to make way for greater mixed-use spaces so the building could be more multidisciplinary.

U: Being the first Australian project to incorporate photovoltaic glass did you have to research projects abroad and what did you learn?

CK: Pioneering the product on a facade in Australia for the first time came with inherent challenges and naturally, there was a big degree of experimentation involved. 

Technically speaking, it displays a solar factor of 10%, making it an ideal candidate to achieve control over the interior temperature. The product has been proven to yield low-emissivity properties, provide a UV and IR filter, promote natural light, and generate power.

Statistically translated, this allows The General to generate 2,075 kWh per year and prevents the release of 1.95 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.

Pioneering the product encourages future development and refinement to make it more commercial and increase the public awareness and philosophy for it to be adopted in the future.

U: Do you expect more developers and architects to follow suit and will you be looking at incorporating photovoltaic glass in future projects?

CK: Yes - we feel that industry recognition and support of our initiative is important in spreading the message.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public//pictures/article-images/the_general_foyer_2.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The General's foyer. Image: Peter Clarke"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="387" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files//styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/the_general_foyer_2.jpg?itok=EoybN271" title="The General's foyer. Image: Peter Clarke" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The General's foyer. Image: Peter Clarke</figcaption></figure>Lead Image: Peter Clarke
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Chahid Kairouz provides insight on The General's Australian-first photovoltaic glass 

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In order to respond to the ever-growing challenges facing our cities and building resilience within them, Australian developers and architects are increasingly turning to innovative solutions. 

State and Local policies are now being drafted with a focus on introducing urban planning and design objectives which assist in addressing issues around climate change, increased density in our cities and an unstable energy supply.

The ability to control a building’s micro-climate is becoming increasingly critical with strategies such as maximising ventilation, managing solar access and minimising overshadowing now reflected in the Building Code of Australia as well as both State and Local government policy.

TILT Managing Director Tim Phillips shares with Apartments.com.au four ways developers and architects can use design to respond to policy pressures, by mitigating overshadowing, working cleverly within height restrictions, and creating architectural features that set projects apart.

TILT is a leading Industrial Design studio that investigates innovative design solutions, working closely with developers and architects to employ the latest technologies, innovative manufacturing and project maintenance in their projects.

The design team is responsible for the revolutionary heliostat technology of One Central Park in Sydney, named the World’s Best Tall Building in 2014. TILT has also collaborated with top developers including Frasers Property, and architects BVN, Techne and more recently, Tonkin Zulaikha Greer on the Sydney Opera House.    

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public//pictures/article-images/centralpark_013.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="TILT is is responsible for the heliostat technology of One Central Park. Image: Supplied"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="862" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files//styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/centralpark_013.jpg?itok=4foo3wZt" title="TILT is is responsible for the heliostat technology of One Central Park. Image: Supplied" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>TILT is is responsible for the heliostat technology of One Central Park. Image: Supplied</figcaption></figure><h2>Improving Solar Access</h2>

Overshadowing concerns are becoming an increasing issue for city councils and developers.

Implementing a heliostat system can address these concerns. Using this technology to mitigate overshadowing can result in increased tower heights, increased yield and smoother approvals processes.

Heliostats are also very effective in providing solar supplementation where access to sun throughout the day is considered valuable, such as retail precincts, beer gardens, cafes and public space.

For example, if you’re limited to developing beyond 10-storeys due to council objections (based on a lack of solar access), heliostats may be the answer. Heliostat systems have the ability to alleviate overshadowing by providing extra sunlight to public spaces, increasing your building’s height and floor space potential.

Additional light provided to public spaces is acknowledged as a positive by councils, particularly during the planning stage.

The benefits of heliostats are site specific, but developers around Australia are exploring the potentials with significant Return on Investment (ROI) opportunities already evident.

<h2>Opportunities to increase building height</h2>

Building tall is only becoming more relevant, particularly in our progressively dense urban centres.

Maximising building heights whilst increasing ventilation and solar access can be achieved by introducing skylights on a development.

Our team has recently designed automated skylights and hatches that open up opportunities for roof terraces to become seamless extensions of the home, and for new (often spectacular) vistas to be unveiled and heights maximised.

The skylights respond to Australia’s temperate climate and provide easy access to comfortable outdoor living throughout the year. They also create an opportunity for tiered developments that don’t impact on neighbours’ views.

The skylights enable developers to differentiate their properties, add value to rooftop terraces, and secure their ROI, beyond the constraints of traditional construction methods.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public//pictures/article-images/forsythst_064.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Glebe residence's 3.5m Skylight. Image: Supplied"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="387" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files//styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/forsythst_064.jpg?itok=Q62W9-Pm" title="Glebe residence's 3.5m Skylight. Image: Supplied" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Glebe residence's 3.5m Skylight. Image: Supplied</figcaption></figure><h2>Spaces with multiple functions</h2>

With industry trends steering towards a rise in sector blur, it’s important for developers to consider design features that provide versatility for event spaces.

Operable elements can convert one space’s functionality and enable a venue to serve multiple functions. In the instance of retractable roofs, a venue can optimise capacity in all weather conditions. The roof can adjust to seasonal variations ensuring the venue experience is comfortable and enticing for users. 

With operable facades, a venue can manage environmental effects such as solar glare with infinite adjustability. The opportunity to manage glare without compromising on scenic views ensures a venue is maximising the investment in the location without compromising the comfort of patrons.

<h2>Using design to draw attention to your project</h2>

Design differentiation can be considered commercially valuable particularly from an architectural perspective. The opportunity to include remarkable architectural features, beyond what is traditionally available, is valuable when developing a new commercial venue or residential property for sale.

 


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TILT's Tim Phillips talks design innovation with Urban.com.au

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<a href="/new-apartments/melbourne-vic">Melbourne's</a> tag as the World’s Most Liveable city will have a companion, although the physical manifestation will not avail itself for a few more years yet.

YarraBend which is the reincarnation of the former Alphington Paper Mill site has been identified as the World’s Most Liveable suburb by 2025. The Liveable City Futures report compiled by international trend forecasters, The Future Laboratory, anointed YarraBend as the suburb of choice based upon current and future-facing factors.

These factors which "impact urban planning across the world to identify major trends that will shape the way we live, work and play to create optimised communities" are at the heart of the report. 

The Future Laboratory include standard benchmarks for measures of liveability such as education, infrastructure, crime rates, sustainability and affordability. Beyond these though the report includes indices that reflect further measures such as quality of life, convenience, connectivity, green spaces, wellbeing, innovation and culture.

With all the above factors considered, the United Kingdom-based Laboratory considered YarraBend the most worthy of all future suburban developments on a global scale.

<figure><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="529" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files//styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image38_10.jpg?itok=l3mYk85V" title="Mixed use and technologically advanced. Image: Glenvill Group" width="580"><figcaption>Mixed use and technologically advanced. Image: <a href="/developers/glenvill">Glenvill Group</a></figcaption></figure>On the announcement, Co-founder of The Future Laboratory Martin Raymond noted the following:

<blockquote>
Suburbs of the future will generate their own energy, contain their own innovation hubs, monitor our health levels, check our wellbeing, even crowdsource civic engagement at the tap of a screen. Our research finds that factors that will influence liveability in the future boil down to how communities can be optimised through technology and design, supporting convenience, wellbeing, connectedness, collaboration and sustainability.

Developments such as YarraBend are at the forefront of profound cultural shifts in which people – and buildings – are optimising everything, which is why we’ve identified that it will become the World’s Most Liveable Suburb in the future.

Food quarters and artisan quarters have become hugely important in defining and measuring an area’s liveability and are usually found in an area that also places a high emphasis on culture, innovation, design and the entrepreneurial mindset.

This is why cities such as Melbourne, San Francisco, Stockholm, Seattle and Toronto tend to figure concurrently and regularly on Liveable City, Creative City, Culture City and Wellness City indexes.
</blockquote>

Rather than laud the announcement, Glenvill Group, the developer behind YarraBend, was quick to reinforce factors that underpin the perceived future needs and status of the development. Creative Director Len Warson said:

<blockquote>
YarraBend is founded on six visionary pillars, including health and wellbeing, technology, art and design, sustainability, knowledge, food and entertainment. These pillars were identified to reflect the changing needs and desires of the public and shape a new way of living.
</blockquote>

YarraBend design features are set to include:

<ul>
<li>Four parks and a state of the art health and wellness centre complete with an indoor spa, yoga and spin rooms with virtual reality and real life classes, massage rooms, Technogym equipment and indoor pool</li>
</ul>
<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public//pictures/article-images/image35_12.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Spa, Health &amp; Wellness Centre. Image: Glenvill Group"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="430" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files//styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image35_12.jpg?itok=QIPppCti" title="Spa, Health &amp; Wellness Centre. Image: Glenvill Group" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Spa, Health &amp; Wellness Centre. Image: Glenvill Group</figcaption></figure><ul>
<li>A gallery space, art installations and an annual art prize for local artists valued at $50,000 over five years</li>
	<li>A dedicated three-level building for coworking and recreational purposes with a rooftop for entertaining</li>
	<li>Outdoor cinema</li>
	<li>A Scandinavian road design, where cars, bikes and pedestrians get equal share of the road, ultimately encouraging a change of attitude through safe roads for active transport</li>
	<li>Dubbed as the world’s first Tesla Town, the suburb will also feature Telsa Powerwalls in select residences to reduce energy costs and electric car charging points</li>
	<li>Free high-speed WiFi for all residents in parks</li>
</ul>
<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public//pictures/article-images/image41_9.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The future Turbine Park. Image: Glenvill Group"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="683" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files//styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image41_9.jpg?itok=1gCUklsG" title="The future Turbine Park. Image: Glenvill Group" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The future Turbine Park. Image: Glenvill Group</figcaption></figure><ul>
<li>A technology concierge available to residents should they have any IT issues</li>
	<li>A Resident app that will connect the community to each other and the surrounding environment</li>
	<li>An artisanal food district, curated by one of Australia’s top chefs, Scott Pickett, boasting leading restaurants, cafes and bars</li>
</ul>
In a broader sense The Future Laboratory's report reflects the changing goalposts in terms of what constitutes livability.

According to The Future Laboratory "access to behavioural data helps to inform planning and design and our lifestyle priorities continue to evolve, we can expect to see revolutionary concepts emerge to lift the standard of living to new heights."

To that end, YarraBend has been successfully positioned as a world-leading exponent of research-driven design. The former paper mill onsite is now demolished, with Glenvill Group progressively rolling out various stages of the 16.5 hectare parcel of land.
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Melbourne adds the World’s Most Liveable suburb title via YarraBend

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Campbelltown has announced itself as the latest Australian city to pursue a high-density future.

The Re-Imagining Campbelltown strategy which was formed jointly by Council and Deloitte was handed down this week before the New South Wales parliament. In Sydney's southwestern suburbs, Campbelltown is well positioned to leverage off the forthcoming Western Sydney Airport.

Under Council's vision, Campbelltown would become the nation's greenest city, underpinned by the target of generating 200,000 new jobs across the immediate region, which includes a new 400-hectare health and education precinct.

For the most a low-rise city centre, Council's plans to transform Campbelltown into a high-density enclave revolves around the following transport and built form principles:

<ul>
<li>Continuing to facilitate urban renewal along key transport corridors to accommodate population growth and reduce sprawl and isolation</li>
	<li>Realise the expansion of the local street network by creating new streets where development lots can be broken down to provide greater connectivity and walkability</li>
	<li>Realise Over Station Development (OSD) that provides greater connectivity and access to services across the rail corridor</li>
	<li>Locate major university campuses to within the CBD</li>
	<li>Encourage diversification of residential stock in and around the CBD to increase affordability and choice, including shop-top housing typologies</li>
	<li>Ensure technology is embedded in all urban transportation creating an interconnected network of mobility and seamless connections with other modes</li>
	<li>Decouple car parking from new developments to encourage less basements</li>
</ul>
The facilitation of increased density across Campbelltown will see towers up to 20 levels mandated.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/r7_0_2993_1687_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Mawson Park with a revamped Campbelltown to the rear. Image: Campbelltown Council"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="328" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/r7_0_2993_1687_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg?itok=XppEOKss" title="Mawson Park with a revamped Campbelltown to the rear. Image: Campbelltown Council" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Mawson Park with a revamped Campbelltown to the rear. Image: Campbelltown Council</figcaption></figure>Hand in hand with Council's bid for increased urban density comes an understanding of the need for heightened sustainability. Further key environmental initiatives have been identified that would allow increased density to occur, they include:

<ul>
<li>Continuing to implement Blue and Green Grid projects supporting the revitalisation and naturalisation of the existing canal network</li>
	<li>Encourage buildings to continue to be retrofitted to provide sustainable energy solutions, evacuated waste systems and green façades to become a carbon neutral CBD</li>
	<li>Encourage greening and activation of roofs to provide facilities and open spaces for residents and workers</li>
	<li>Continue to retrofit and widen streets, create storm-water creeks along footpaths to facilitate greening and improve canopy cover and activation strategies throughout the CBD</li>
</ul>
Council's vision would boost Campbelltown Centre's present population from 11,500 to a forecast 35,500. For this to occur dwellings would balloon from a current 5,000 to 16,000.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image2si.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Campbelltown is set for change. Image: Sydney Images"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="313" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image2si.jpg?itok=hcCyt1EA" title="Campbelltown is set for change. Image: Sydney Images" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Campbelltown is set for change. Image: Sydney Images</figcaption></figure>Peak industry body Urban Taskforce Australia's response to the Campbelltown's rebirth was positive, citing the proposed Western Sydney Airport as the catalyst for change:

<blockquote>
Clearly Campbelltown Mayor, George Brticevic, and General Manager, Lindy Deitz, are responding to the recently announced City Deal for Western Sydney and the economic stimulus that is flowing from the proposed Western Sydney Airport.

It seems that the proposed Aerotropolis related to the Western Sydney Airport will not be a city centre in the traditional sense but more a centre for jobs. This will then drive a competitive approach from surrounding centres like Penrith, Liverpool and Campbelltown to each establish themselves as urban centres with their own jobs and with significant urban living in apartments.

The re-imagine Campbelltown model that creates sufficient urban density to generate cafes, restaurants, amenities and jobs all located in walking distance to the railway station is likely to be taken up by other centres around the proposed airport but each will develop its own character.
<cite>Urban Taskforce Australia CEO, Chris Johnson</cite>
</blockquote>

Further reading on Campbelltown's proposed transformation can be seen <a href="https://www.campbelltown.nsw.gov.au/Business/ReimaginingCampbelltown">here</a>.
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Campbelltown takes its urban future into its own hands

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Nightingale 1 now stands directly opposite The Commons in Florence Street Brunswick (which acted as the test bed project for the wider Nightingale series) as the completed first project in the mushrooming series of development which have social, environmental and financial sustainable goals at their core.

Designed by <a href="http://www.breathe.com.au/nightingale/">Breathe Architecture</a>, the project's completion heralds another landmark in the Nightingale series which has expanded rapidly in recent times due to intense public interest; so much so that <a href="/news/nightingale-housing-plans-seven-buildings-across-brunswicks-duckett-street">7 buildings are planned at nearby Duckett Street</a> in a village like configuration.

Urban.com.au has followed the progress of Nightingale 1 closely, reporting on builder Project Group's <a href="/news/nightingale-1-reaches-a-construction-milestone">topping out</a> of the development last year, with it subsequently reaching completion late last year and now fully occupied.

Nightingale 1 is a five-storey building containing 20 apartments, a ground floor tenancy and rooftop communal gardens. The project slant toward sustainability sees it with an average rating of 8.2 stars, and includes a shared 18kW solar array.

Championing sustainability and ingenuity across the entire series of developments, the forthcoming Nightingale 3 at 209 Sydney Road is likely to be built with cross-laminated timber panels provided by XLam.

<figure> 

<a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/img_4525.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Nighingale 1's mural dubbed 'Selene'"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="387" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/img_4525.jpg?itok=3RyFOx3S" title="Nighingale 1's mural dubbed 'Selene'" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Nighingale 1's mural dubbed 'Selene'</figcaption></figure>Nightingale 1's north and south elevations feature deep-set balconies. The southern facade is finished with a glass screen whilst the northern facade will in time sport a green exterior that will help shield direct summer sunlight exposure.

The development's abbreviated podium features a brick finish, a feature which has become commonplace over other projects in the Nightingale series. At street level design studio Urban Commons have provided Foodscape Plot planter boxes to soften the relationship between building and streetscape.

A striking design feature of Nightingale 1 is the commissioned building-wide mural which will unfortunately not be a permanent sight for passers-by. <a href="/new-apartments/mesh-apartments-8-florence-street-brunswick">Mesh Apartments</a> which is currently at sales adjoins the completed building and will in time cover the massive artwork.

In a nice synergy tying in with the buildings heightened design credentials, Branch Studio Architects are now in residence across a ground floor tenancy.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image56_5.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Nightingale 1's various angles"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="566" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image56_5.jpg?itok=aM5lOL9v" title="Nightingale 1's various angles" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Nightingale 1's various angles</figcaption></figure>Nightingale 1's completion rolls into the commencement of another in the series. Earthworks have begun on Nightingale 2 located at 72A Station Street, Fairfield.

Hard against Fairfield railway station, the site is now in the hands of builder Atelier Projects. Six Degrees Architects and sustainability agency HIP V. HYPE are overseeing the project which will add 20 owner occupier apartments to the area.

Not far behind in terms of construction is Nightingale Brunswick East with Liberty Builders announcing during December that it has won the right to build the project. 38 apartments were set aside within the development backed by Lucent Capital, effectively resulting in the project being divided in half to accommodate the Nightingale model.

The building will target an embedded energy network, helping to achieve a 7.5 star NatHers energy rating.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/1715littlemiller_lucentcapital_external_cafecopy_cg.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Nightingale Brunswick East is poised to begin construction"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="303" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/1715littlemiller_lucentcapital_external_cafecopy_cg.jpg?itok=HsTw7F9i" title="Nightingale Brunswick East is poised to begin construction" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Nightingale Brunswick East is poised to begin construction</figcaption></figure>
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