The award-winning residential development sets a new benchmark for urban infill, focusing around strategic masterplanning, quality in built form outcomes and an inclusive sense of community
Third Avenue consists of 27 two and three storey townhouses, realising the transformation of a key catalyst site
The project represents the culmination of an aspiration to achieve an exemplar urban infill development, focusing around strategic masterplanning, quality in built form outcomes and an inclusive sense of community.
The development was triggered through the rezoning of an amalgamated site to increase density in a metro zone. S9 were engaged to develop a staged masterplan and yield study for the site. The configuration of the site was the biggest challenge. The context varied in both scale and nature, with boundaries fronting a major arterial road, a character residential zone, commercial tenancies \ carparking and an overgrown culvert.
Bulk and scale were located on Anzac Highway, in the form of two apartment buildings, to provide a visual and acoustic screen to the lower scale within the centre and periphery of the site. The central large gum tree was retained and celebrated, providing a focal point and device to thread the development together.
These key strategies effectively created three distinct character zones for the development — a family of buildings which are complimentary yet distinct, embodying their own sense of identity and place
While each typology is unique, the palette across all dwellings is purposely restrained with brickwork providing a finer grain and tactile relationship at street level
The four typologies offer deliberately different and legible forms of living, attracting a range of residents including first home buyers, downsizers and families to achieve an imbued sense of community.
From the outset, client, architect and builder shared the vision to redefine the typical medium-density development
Through design workshops, the builder provided early insight into buildability throughout the documentation phase, which safeguarded the design intent, quality and reduced variations. Benefits to the environment through design included the undergrounding of Brownhill Creek, enabling the creek area to be returned to an accessible and key pedestrian linkage \ bikeway for use by the wider community.
Water sensitive urban design principles were also considered through the implementation of rain gardens, connected to Brownhill Creek. All roofs were designed to take the additional load of solar panels (90% uptake by residents).
The masterplan is a catalyst to linking surrounding sites through pedestrian permeability and connectivity, achieving a coherent and inclusive sense of community for residents and the wider area. The key benefits of this includes allowing undergrounding of the existing culvert to unlock a landscaped linear corridor between Goodwood Road and Anzac Highway.
Additional benefits include retainment of mature trees, clear links across and through the site to commercial offerings, ease of access to public transport and shared walking routes. With a series of pocket parks throughout the development, traditional ‘left over’ areas often seen in housing developments are avoided.
Early iterations of the masterplan had the potential to realise a higher yield of dwellings, however the client and S9 were resolute in delivering an outcome which balanced revenue against value.
The final scheme reduced yield for the betterment of retaining and exploiting key assets of good passive design outcomes, the extent of glazing, quality of materials and detailing, the extent of built-in joinery and fundamentally the size of the homes and their competitive price points.
Urban Development Institute of Australia Awards 2020
Best Medium Density Development (SA)
SA Architecture Awards 2021
Commendation in Residential Architecture (Multiple Housing)
“The success of Third Avenue can be directly accredited to the design outcome — masterplanning a difficult and unique site, relationship to local context, retention and creation of green spaces, connection to the wider community and internally the quality of interior spaces and selections. Every step of the design was considered — from the very first concept to the final tile selection. This feedback was continuously received from our diverse range of buyers. We had a vision and needed the right Architect to deliver on that. S9 didn’t just deliver our vision, they refined and enhanced it better than our expectations.”
Warwick Mittiga
Former CEO, Arcadian Property
The project sets a new benchmark for what can be achieved within a contextually varied and geometrically challenging site to deliver mediated density — realising both design value and commercial imperatives
