The Analysis
The 16 storey west tower floor plate contains a combination of four 2 bedroom dual key apartments – one in each corner of the building, eight 1 bedroom suites, six 1 bedroom apartments, and two 2 bedroom apartments, both facing the pool and the east tower. The 1 bedroom apartments and suites offer compact city living with a fairly generous open plan kitchen, living and dining room and a balcony the full width of the apartment. There has been more thought put into the interior design of the apartments than most residential developments. The corridor walls, kitchen corners, and bedroom corners have all been ‘rounded off’ or ‘de-cornered’ by the clever integration of a glossy ‘pod’ that acts as a secondary curving wall that, when opened, reveals neat storage spaces. These west tower interiors have been designed by William Smart (Smart Design Studio) with two finishes options available – “one nautical with fine timber joinery and one more automotive with the dashboard finesse of a luxury car.” (1)
The 33 storey east tower contains a combination of three 2 bedroom dual key apartments, four 1 bedroom apartments, three 2 bedroom apartments, and four 1 bedroom dual key apartments. As with the west tower the 2 bed dual key apartments are located in the corners of the floor plate, except for the north-east corner which houses a 1 bedroom apartment. The layout of the apartments follows the same principles as the west tower, with good consideration given to the maximisation of natural light into the apartments. This is done in part by providing some narrow slits into the floor plate to allow apartments to have natural light. Some of the dual key apartments have what feels in reality, and what looks like on plan, a lot of wasted corridor space.
Kitchen and the glossy 'pod'
Clever but slightly useless cupboard concealed behind the glossy 'pod'
The 1 bedroom dual key apartments are effectively two self-contained 1 bedroom studio apartments with kitchen, bathroom and living area, each with a front door within the single address. Similarly the 2 bedroom dual key apartments offer a single front door, a very long corridor leading to two more front doors. Behind one door is a 1 bedroom open plan studio identical to the 1bed dual key studio. Behind the other front door is larger apartment with 1 bedroom and even a generous alcove for a study space, very similar to the 1 bedroom apartment plan.
Study alcove in the one of the dual-
key apartments
The east tower interiors have been designed by Koichi Takada and are more relaxed and classic than the heady gloss and colour of the Smart interiors. Takada has produced a slower-paced, muted and earthy living space using timber screens to divide spaces, and materials such as “driftwood, hammered stone, linen and woven grasses matched with copper and bronze.” (1)
The muted Koichi Takada interior finishes
Open kitchen with slatted timber panels
Subtle stone-tiled bathroom with mirrored
walls and a wall-mounted toilet
The off-the-plan sales prices we were given in September 2010 seemed surprisingly less than the astronomical prices we had envisaged before our inspection. The amazing location, the future amenities and parkland, the promise of not just quality but the assurance of many tried and tested design minds, and the attempt to create something bold and innovative, all suggest a high sale price. And of course, there is a range of prices with some at the luxury end of the scale, and others at the high-priced but affordable end. For example, the 2 bedroom east-facing apartment on Level 6 of the east tower is $870,000. A 1 bedroom dual apartment in the east tower, facing west, looking over the pool and the west tower, is priced at $920,000. While the south-east 2 bedroom dual key on Level 22 in the east tower is set at $1,170,000 – which is starting to seem to be a high-price to pay for a two bedroom apartment. However, the clever use of dual key apartments has made the development attractive to those who would wish to live in the complex whilst subsidising their costs by sub-letting the attached 1 bedroom apartment.
From an investment point-of-view, given the location, the quality of the architecture and the finishes, and in light of the gradual development of other inner-city pockets it surely will become an increasingly sought-after place to live.
The Stats
Summary of apartments sizes (typical)*
West Tower
East Tower
*There are variations between apartments and between levels, but this gives an indicative overview.
** Prices not obtained
No comments:
Post a Comment
This is an interactive blog, so have your say! Have you visited, bought or live in one of these apartments? Or are you interested in design, sustainability and livability?...Comment on an article - or start your own discussion.