New Zealand Commercial Design Trends Series NZ Commercial Design Trends Vol. 34/03C | Page 37

Below:Master bedrooms are to
the side, trained on the views.
The master bedrooms also have
their own balcony spaces, while
the other bedrooms are set to the
rear of the living spaces.
All about understated elegance, the apartments
have a classic modernist-minimalist aesthetic.
Smooth white rendered facades are matched with
rugged stone walls and garden surrounds that
reference limestone cliffs in the area. Teak elements
add another natural accent. These will weather to
a silvery driftwood hue over time, so more closely
toning in with the other surfaces and the setting.
Banham’s architecture delivers generous living
spaces with a strong connection to the environment
for residents and guests despite maintaining the
required low profile to the neighborhood.
The penthouses have generous decks that look
over roof gardens atop the units in front. As these
gardens mature, views of the oceans will be framed
by the vegetation below and by the extended
cantilevered pergolas above – the latter requiring
complex engineering to achieve the luxury of a view
with no obstructing poles or supports. The pergolas
include imbedded operable louvres.
As per the brief, and also in response to the need
to configure so many spaces in a limited area, the
layouts of the apartments are all quite different.
Curved internal walls, necessary to resolve garage
issues, were turned to good effect – offering slow
reveals of the views in some penthouses. Entries to
the underground garages are also curved, helping
keep cars and parking out of sight from the street.
Furthering the apartments’ connection to their
setting, the stone walls seen on the facade are re-
introduced on some interiors. Limestone floors run
from indoors out to the decks. These have the look
of beach sand, complete with tiny imbedded fossils.
And how best to present a demure face to the
Cottesloe Civic Centre above? For privacy, the rear
wall of the top penthouses have similar operable
louvres to the pergolas, while many of these units
have a see-through quality. When drapes are open,
visitors to the centre and gardens enjoy sightlines
right through the low-slung architecture to the sea.
search | save | share at