The 18-story 11 Gibbons Street residential project in the Redfern suburb of Sydney has been completed, delivering a mix of 40 social and 120 affordable housing units.
Designed by DKO Architecture, the project was built on the site of a former City of Sydney depot. The project was developed by and is owned and operated by St George Community Housing.
The mix of residences includes one-, two- and three-bedroom units, with 27 units designed to be adaptable for residents with disabilities and 25 percent of the units allocated to Aboriginal households. The social and affordable units are interspersed in the building, which also holds diverse community space and a rooftop garden.
The architects worked in consultation with Aboriginal artist Joe Hurst of the Boomali Aboriginal Artists Cooperative, whose work is integrated throughout the building.
“We’ve taken a bit of a different approach to thinking about public art–it doesn’t need to be down at the street interface, it can be in a soffit,” says DKO Architecture director Nick Byrne in an Architecture AU article.
In place of air conditioning, the building incorporates a fresh air system which supplies apartments from a roof mounted fan, battery system and a 50kW solar array. Double-glazed windows throughout will help the units remain comfortable throughout the year.
The building has also been designed without parking. It is situated directly opposite Redfern train station and is within walking distance to supermarkets and shops. Directly adjacent to the lobby are 92 bike spaces.
For more on this story, go to Architecture AU.