Woods Bagot wins design for $250m Chatswood development

AS SEEN ON: AUSTRALIAN PROPERTY JOURNAL

DEVELOPER Coronation Property has selected architectural firm Woods Bagot as the winner of a design competition for its $250 million Chatswood project that will deliver 114 high-end residences to the Lower North Shore’s inner-city ring.

Coronation purchased the 57-61 Archer Street site for $80 million in June last year and soon progressed to the design competition and DA stages.

The 25-storey project, located close to the Chatswood Chase Shopping Centre, will feature one, two, and three-bedroom apartments and a collection of penthouses aimed at young-professionals, upsizers and downsizers “seeking a luxurious living experience close to Chatswood’s destination retail and dining precincts”.

All residents will have access to rooftop amenity, complemented by 2,800 sqm of retail and commercial space including a café housed within an adaptive re-use, heritage-listed building.

The Chatswood project sits alongside the group’s recent acquisitions of key urban renewal sites in Erskineville and Ashbury.

“Archer Street is a defining project for Coronation as it signifies our first venture on the Lower North Shore and marks another successful chapter in our long-standing relationship with Woods Bagot,” said Joseph Nahas, managing director of Coronation Property.

Apartments have been designed to look towards sweeping views over the trees of the neighbouring heritage conservation area, each featuring generous balconies, storage within elegant joinery units, and multi-purpose media spaces.

The building’s rooftop has been arranged in clusters for simultaneous use by multiple groups. A pool, gym, therapy room, and landscaped courtyard focus on wellness, while an undercover cinema and dining room cater to communal events.

This is the sixth project that Coronation Property and Woods Bagot have partnered on in addition to The Bindery, The Gild and The Paper Mill at The Paper Mill Precinct in Liverpool, 8 Phillip Street in Paramatta, and Mason & Main in Merrylands.

Domenic Alvaro, Woods Bagot global design director, said Chatswood concept is “inspired by the lush surrounding of the site, resulting in a harmonious blend of expressive yet private botanical spaces for residents, complemented by a finely detailed public realm that increases outdoor garden areas for all”.

Woods Bagot’s winning scheme was selected by a selection panel who noted, “The Jury was impressed by the consistent quality, functionality, and amenity of the proposed apartments regardless of their size or location within the tower. The scheme represents an excellent understanding of apartment design that has been tested and refined through successive projects by the design team.”

Senior associate and project design leader, Glenn O’Loughlin, said the design draws on the local landscape.

“Stitched into its surrounds, the development draws inspiration from the endemic Sydney Blue Gum high forest and features ground-level retail tenancies, office space on levels one and two and a restored heritage building repurposed as a café. Intelligent planning liberates the rear curtilage of the heritage house for a new pocket park, greening the ground plane and activating the precinct.”

Construction on Archer Street is anticipated to commence in 2024, coinciding with the launch of the apartments.

Coronation has delivered nearly 2,000 residences in Sydney, with an additional $3.2 billion in various stages of design, development, and construction. The projects form a project portfolio totalling $5.6 billion, which includes future land developments that will bring more than 9,000 new homes to the Sydney market by 2027.