Ellipse Waterfall
RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT AWARD
Waterfall City is a rapidly developing mixed-use suburb that encompasses a variety of lifestyle , residential and commercial functions . The vision of Waterfall City is to establish a vibrant , modern destination that embraces urban living . Ellipse Waterfall is the first high-rise luxury apartment development in the heart of Waterfall City . Once complete , the sizable 45,000m 2 precinct will include 600 brand-new apartments and other amenities such as leisure and lap pools and verdant gardens . The elegant form of the Ellipse Waterfall towers will deliver a highly recognisable landmark in the heart of Waterfall City . The architecture is both bold and discreet , featuring a striking façade of glass and solid panels that allow the buildings to be presented as a singular , legible architectural form . The design moves away from simple all-glass towers and will be recognised as an enduring and site-responsive addition to Waterfall City .
In response to the brief , the architects moved away from the traditional rectangular apartment block design and decided to take on a more unconventional form . To make best use of the unobstructed views , four separate elliptical towers were proposed . The shape takes inspiration from an ellipse which is highly efficient in terms of ratio of surface area to internal volume .
The lack of corners reduces the visual profile of the buildings and was identified as the most suitable form when considering multiple towers in proximity to one another . Inspired by their mathematical origins , each tower is named after some of the world ’ s most celebrated scientists , namely , Newton , Kepler , Cassini and Galileo . Each tower has an identical footprint ; however , the height of each differs . Newton has 10 storeys , Kepler has 11 storeys , Cassini has 16 storeys and Galileo has 12 storeys .
The curvilinear façade of the towers is complemented by a mix of moveable and fixed screens which serve to animate the elevations . This produces an ever-changing collage resulting from the movement of the sun and the moods of its occupants .
The towers sit on a raised podium , creating an elevated ground floor with a parking garage and services infrastructure underneath . Extensively landscaped , the podium level includes a central piazza , running track , active and passive parks , lap and leisure pools , verdant gardens and ‘ The Luna Club ’ to engage residents and encourage community activity . At street level , an elevated forecourt addresses the most prominent corner where retail spaces spill out onto the activated street edges to embrace other users from the broader Waterfall City community .
Ellipse Waterfall is designed and developed to meet the 4-Star Green Star SA Office v1.1 Design and As Built certification requirements .
Once complete , the development will not only encourage interaction amongst residents , but it will engage the entire community and add to the growing Waterfall City skyline .
Developer : Attacq ; Tricolt Project Manager : Echo Project Managers Architect : dhk Architects Quantity Surveyor : Tricolt Structural & Civil Engineer : Arup Electrical Engineer : Aftek Consulting Engineers Mechanical Engineer : Spoormaker & Partners Inc Façade Engineer : Arup Fire and Wet Services : Sutherland Lift Consultant : Solutions for Elevating Green Building Consultant : Solid Green Consulting Safety Consultant : Konsafe Measures Landscape Architect : GREENinc Main Contractor : Barrow Construction
SAPOA Awards 79