Sculptural form

With their typically repetitive forms, even the most stylish apartment buildings have a tendency to stand out from neighbouring houses hence the description of apartment block.

Asked to design an apartment building in an inner city residential zone, architect Colin Leuschke of Leuschke Group Architects opted to create a composition that had more of the flavour and look of a single residence.

"To do this, each face of the building has a different appearance and individual features. The shape was in part dictated by site constraints imposed by the council and local by-laws. But once the exterior outline was established, we pushed and pulled the building to produce an image and form that suited the streetscape," says Leuschke.

The steel-framed, concrete building has four floors of apartments above an underground car park. Each level has a different floor plate, with two apartments occupying each of the two lower floors and one apartment on each upper level.

"Because the floor plate is not repeated on any level which is usually the case in apartment developments we were able to design the building to have a single, homogenous form," he says.

The street side of the property faces south while the rear, north-facing, aspect has spectacular harbour views. Because the eastern boundary is close to neighbouring homes and the western boundary is more open, the building is designed to open up to the north and west. The main living areas are towards the rear and on the west-facing sides of each apartment with large windows, and balconies are designed to offer good, useable, outdoor living areas.

Services for the building, such as elevators and staircases, as well as bathrooms, studies and second bedrooms for each apartment, are located at the front or on the eastern side.

Balconies that overlook the road are small, but to ensure the windows are a reasonable size without loss of privacy, they are covered with louvred aluminium screens. Where the screens pass over the windows, they are tilted horizontally to provide protection from the street without blocking the light. To add another dimension to the front face, the louvres are tilted flat when they pass over blank wall. A second set of louvres over the windows into the stairwell throws shadows that bring movement into this space.

"The screens provide a decorative element that overlays the building's plain front facade. Transparent glass balustrades on the balconies provide a contrast to the solid sculptural shape of the building, creating a play between mass and void. Such features also ensure the individuality of this apartment building," says Leuschke.

Scaling the proportions of the building is another aspect of the architecture that helps it blend into its residential context. While the upper levels of the building are on a larger scale, at street level the proportions are more humanised.

Details, such as stone boundary walls and the screen-style front gate that offers a peep of the courtyard and rock wall behind, create an intimate feel for passers-by, says the architect.

"At a higher level where the building's scale is larger, the effect from across the road and further away is more sculptural," he says.

Internally, although each apartment has a slightly different layout, they are all designed to provide a number of multi-use areas. The generously proportioned, open-plan living area includes the kitchen and dining spaces, which flow easily out onto covered balconies. Master suites are also large and a secondary living zone can be used as a study, guest bedroom or TV room.

Story by: Trendsideas