Development Summary
The mixed-use development includes three residential apartment buildings in close proximity to the Yarra River. The buildings will comprise a total of 568 one-, 2-, and 3-bedroom apartments, a yoga studio, 2 café/restaurants and 13 office/studio tenancies. The development demonstrates extensive Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) initiatives and native landscaping across the site.
Owner/applicant
Hamton JV (Abbotsford) Pty Ltd
Size
568 dwellings, yoga studio, 2 café/restaurants and 13 office/studio tenancies, up to 12 storeys
Project team
Rothe Lowman Architects
Ark Resources, ESD consultant
Selection of key sustainable design commitments
2.0 Energy efficiency
- A combination of balcony overhangs and fixed external louvers will provide shading to north- and west-facing windows.
- Individual split system air conditioners to apartments will be 5 Star energy rated.
- Domestic hot water will be provided by a centralised solar boosted gas system. The solar contribution will be approximately 20% of the total annual hot water demand. An evacuated tube system has been selected for greater efficiency.
- Occupancy sensors will reduce energy consumption for common area and car parking lighting.
4.0 Stormwater management
- Rainwater tanks with a total volume of 150,000L will harvest and store on-site rainwater from the roof areas. The rainwater will be reused for flushing of 13 retail toilets, toilet flushing of 60 apartments and landscape irrigation.
- A gross pollutant trap and five rain gardens will filter the stormwater runoff from paved areas and prevent litter and sediment from entering the Yarra River.
8.0 Urban ecology
- Rooftop vegetable gardens will be provided for occupant’s use.
6.0 Transport
- A minimum of 317 bicycle parking spaces will be provided for the occupants, staff and visitors.
- The development will provide 4 car parking spaces for car-sharing services.
Follow up Questions and Answers
Q (City of Yarra ESD Advisor): Most visitors’ first impression of the development would be in regard to the public space between the individual buildings and its extensive native landscaping. What landscaping initiatives have you included to connect the development with the adjacent bank of the Yarra River?
A (Matthew Malseed, Hamton): The development’s soft landscaping largely consists of the vegetation on terraces, balconies and facades and the raingardens through the publically accessible landscaped walkway which runs through the site, Acacia Place. While most visitors don’t know about the rain gardens’ function, they appreciate the look and how the native plants blend into the river bank vegetation. We deliberately avoided a basement under the central public space to allow for the growth of large sized trees. Particularly the raingardens are a great contribution to the development’s overall appearance and in hindsight have been fairly easy to implement.
Q: While the initial planning application included a commitment for a 50Kl rainwater tank you have just installed a second rainwater tank with the capacity of 100Kl. What is the reason for the increased capacity?
A: Further stormwater modelling showed that (a), the development has the ability to harvest more rainwater and (b), that the demand of 13 commercial toilets, 60 connected apartments and landscape irrigation justifies this increase.
Q: Do you think apartment purchasers and occupants appreciate the use of rainwater for toilet flushing and associated mains water savings?
A: Unfortunately the additional piping requirements for the toilets are still quite costly when compared to the future mains water financial savings. So from an economic perspective you would probably still prioritise energy related sustainability initiatives. Having said that, the future market will show, whether this initiative will influence purchasers’ and occupants’ decision making.
Q: The initial planning application proposed a substantial number of internal bedrooms to single-bedroom apartments. Has this changed throughout the project’s design development?
A: Yes, we have significantly diversified the product mix through the inclusion of 3-bedroom apartments following the market demonstrating a strong demand for this owner-occupier product. Inclusion of the three bedroom apartments has removed internal bedrooms in many instances. Some purchasers have more recently expressed an aversion to internal bedrooms, however there is no doubt this product, provided its part of an overall offering which is appealing (great design, use of space, facilities, storage, ESD, etc.), has broad acceptance in the marketplace; both sales and leasing results have demonstrated this In an ideal world, we would avoid building apartments with internal bedrooms but at this project they have been fundamental to viability, and have provided the capacity to create a high quality and aesthetically appealing finished product which includes Acacia Place and all the resident and visitor amenity and facilities.
Q: What do you think can be done to improve the amenity of internal bedrooms?
A: Our 1-bedroom apartments with internal bedrooms include 2x sliding timber louver doors which have operable louvers providing ventilation, access to light, or privacy where required. All these objectives are important.
Q: The development includes the provision of 252 secure bicycle parking spaces for residents of 568 apartments and an additional 65 spaces for visitors. Do you think this reflects a good ratio?
A: Whilst the development isn’t yet completed, current occupancy of the bicycle stores suggests that about 0.8 bike spaces per apartment would be sufficient. One per apartment would be a good ‘best practice’ target as a general rule we think.
Q: What about the development’s car share facilities?
A: We’ve currently got 3 car share cars, with a 4th to be provided once Sanctuary (the third stage) is completed. We understand the car share operator (GoGet) is happy with the use of the vehicles at present and as the development is completed and fully occupied, we expect this to improve.
Q: When the planning application was first lodged one of our initial concerns was the lack of sunshading to the largely glazed western façade of the Eden tower. How has your design team responded to this concern?
A: Our architects came up with the design for external shading devices (fixed horizontal steel battens) that reduce the apartment’s solar heat gain during summer while maintaining the spectacular city views. I also think the shading devices add further interest to the façade.
Q: Are there any additional sustainability initiatives that you were able to incorporate during the project’s later design development stage?
A: Yes, we included an air-conditioning system in the café and restaurant tenancies which transfers heat to help reduce running costs of heating the communal pool. This has a dual benefit of lowering costs to the Owners Corporation, but also reducing the running costs of heating/cooling the hospitality tenancies, which we believe is a benefit that tenants/purchasers will find appealing.
For more information contact us on 9205 5555 or email [email protected].
The mixed-use development includes three residential apartment buildings in close proximity to the Yarra River. The buildings will comprise a total of 568 one-, 2-, and 3-bedroom apartments, a yoga studio, 2 café/restaurants and 13 office/studio tenancies. The development demonstrates extensive Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) initiatives and native landscaping across the site.
Owner/applicant
Hamton JV (Abbotsford) Pty Ltd
Size
568 dwellings, yoga studio, 2 café/restaurants and 13 office/studio tenancies, up to 12 storeys
Project team
Rothe Lowman Architects
Ark Resources, ESD consultant
Selection of key sustainable design commitments
2.0 Energy efficiency
- A combination of balcony overhangs and fixed external louvers will provide shading to north- and west-facing windows.
- Individual split system air conditioners to apartments will be 5 Star energy rated.
- Domestic hot water will be provided by a centralised solar boosted gas system. The solar contribution will be approximately 20% of the total annual hot water demand. An evacuated tube system has been selected for greater efficiency.
- Occupancy sensors will reduce energy consumption for common area and car parking lighting.
4.0 Stormwater management
- Rainwater tanks with a total volume of 150,000L will harvest and store on-site rainwater from the roof areas. The rainwater will be reused for flushing of 13 retail toilets, toilet flushing of 60 apartments and landscape irrigation.
- A gross pollutant trap and five rain gardens will filter the stormwater runoff from paved areas and prevent litter and sediment from entering the Yarra River.
8.0 Urban ecology
- Rooftop vegetable gardens will be provided for occupant’s use.
6.0 Transport
- A minimum of 317 bicycle parking spaces will be provided for the occupants, staff and visitors.
- The development will provide 4 car parking spaces for car-sharing services.
Follow up Questions and Answers
Q (City of Yarra ESD Advisor): Most visitors’ first impression of the development would be in regard to the public space between the individual buildings and its extensive native landscaping. What landscaping initiatives have you included to connect the development with the adjacent bank of the Yarra River?
A (Matthew Malseed, Hamton): The development’s soft landscaping largely consists of the vegetation on terraces, balconies and facades and the raingardens through the publically accessible landscaped walkway which runs through the site, Acacia Place. While most visitors don’t know about the rain gardens’ function, they appreciate the look and how the native plants blend into the river bank vegetation. We deliberately avoided a basement under the central public space to allow for the growth of large sized trees. Particularly the raingardens are a great contribution to the development’s overall appearance and in hindsight have been fairly easy to implement.
Q: While the initial planning application included a commitment for a 50Kl rainwater tank you have just installed a second rainwater tank with the capacity of 100Kl. What is the reason for the increased capacity?
A: Further stormwater modelling showed that (a), the development has the ability to harvest more rainwater and (b), that the demand of 13 commercial toilets, 60 connected apartments and landscape irrigation justifies this increase.
Q: Do you think apartment purchasers and occupants appreciate the use of rainwater for toilet flushing and associated mains water savings?
A: Unfortunately the additional piping requirements for the toilets are still quite costly when compared to the future mains water financial savings. So from an economic perspective you would probably still prioritise energy related sustainability initiatives. Having said that, the future market will show, whether this initiative will influence purchasers’ and occupants’ decision making.
Q: The initial planning application proposed a substantial number of internal bedrooms to single-bedroom apartments. Has this changed throughout the project’s design development?
A: Yes, we have significantly diversified the product mix through the inclusion of 3-bedroom apartments following the market demonstrating a strong demand for this owner-occupier product. Inclusion of the three bedroom apartments has removed internal bedrooms in many instances. Some purchasers have more recently expressed an aversion to internal bedrooms, however there is no doubt this product, provided its part of an overall offering which is appealing (great design, use of space, facilities, storage, ESD, etc.), has broad acceptance in the marketplace; both sales and leasing results have demonstrated this In an ideal world, we would avoid building apartments with internal bedrooms but at this project they have been fundamental to viability, and have provided the capacity to create a high quality and aesthetically appealing finished product which includes Acacia Place and all the resident and visitor amenity and facilities.
Q: What do you think can be done to improve the amenity of internal bedrooms?
A: Our 1-bedroom apartments with internal bedrooms include 2x sliding timber louver doors which have operable louvers providing ventilation, access to light, or privacy where required. All these objectives are important.
Q: The development includes the provision of 252 secure bicycle parking spaces for residents of 568 apartments and an additional 65 spaces for visitors. Do you think this reflects a good ratio?
A: Whilst the development isn’t yet completed, current occupancy of the bicycle stores suggests that about 0.8 bike spaces per apartment would be sufficient. One per apartment would be a good ‘best practice’ target as a general rule we think.
Q: What about the development’s car share facilities?
A: We’ve currently got 3 car share cars, with a 4th to be provided once Sanctuary (the third stage) is completed. We understand the car share operator (GoGet) is happy with the use of the vehicles at present and as the development is completed and fully occupied, we expect this to improve.
Q: When the planning application was first lodged one of our initial concerns was the lack of sunshading to the largely glazed western façade of the Eden tower. How has your design team responded to this concern?
A: Our architects came up with the design for external shading devices (fixed horizontal steel battens) that reduce the apartment’s solar heat gain during summer while maintaining the spectacular city views. I also think the shading devices add further interest to the façade.
Q: Are there any additional sustainability initiatives that you were able to incorporate during the project’s later design development stage?
A: Yes, we included an air-conditioning system in the café and restaurant tenancies which transfers heat to help reduce running costs of heating the communal pool. This has a dual benefit of lowering costs to the Owners Corporation, but also reducing the running costs of heating/cooling the hospitality tenancies, which we believe is a benefit that tenants/purchasers will find appealing.
For more information contact us on 9205 5555 or email [email protected].
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