Marching to the beat of a different Drummond in Oakleigh
Today I'm looking at a planning application within my former stomping ground of Oakleigh, which has seen a crop of apartment buildings begin to emerge in the suburb.
Developer Alpha Property 14 - which also has projects in the works in Hampton, Brunswick and Collingwood - has lodged an application to develop an eight storey residential building at 102-108 Drummond Street, Oakleigh.
The Plus Architecture-designed building is located on the corner of Dalgety and Drummond Streets, in close proximity to Dandenong Road and within walking distance of Chadstone Shopping Centre.
The area is undergoing gradual, yet significant transformation with multi-residential development adding to the mix of office and commercial buildings along Dandenong Road and federation style homes nestled within the tree-lined back streets.
102-108 Drummond Street notwithstanding, Urban.com.au is currently tracking seven projects within Oakleigh, three of which are in close proximity of the site; Oros, 8 Degrees and 16-18 Dalgety Street.
102 -108 Drummond Street will add a further 109 residential apartments, comprising 41 x 1 bedroom apartments and 68 x 2 bedroom apartments into the area, with the primary pedestrian entry located off Drummond Street.
Additionally, the application seeks to provide 114 basement car parking spaces, including 5 visitor car spaces accessed via Southern Laneway.
Plus Architecture's design response is based on five key elements;
- Mass Breakup which articulates form
- Horizontal Breakup which articulates scale
- Vertical Rhythm which generates systematic arrangement
- Opening Density which plays on light and shadow
- Lightness and Mass as a means of form stratification from the ground upward
The design seeks to reduce the mass via the introduction of vertical rebates across its street frontages, while a gradation between solid and light is employed across the facade, as the building rises from the ground upwards, shifting from a solid robust base opening up to a recessed glazed upper volume on top.
The building responds to the juxtaposition of its unique location in many ways. The form is first broken down into smaller versions of the larger mass, to remain sensitive to the nearby lower level houses, giving it a townhouse feel. It is then carefully articulated horizontaly and then vertically, curating a carefully planned rhythm through the facade.
The upper levels of the building are setback and recessed to remain sensitive to the local scale of buildings.
The landing of the building with the ground plane was extensively considered to ensure the interface with the street is engaging, broken up and sensitive in its relationship with the street. It offers a well designed intermittent space
inspired by the movement between front yard and doorstep that is the common language of surrounding residential properties.The green space that surrounds the site was an important consideration of the design process. It features native tree lined streets along Drummond and Dalgety, large front gardens to local houses, and a large parkland at the end of Drummond Street
- Plus Architecture Design Statement
Project Team
- Developer - Alpha 14 Property
- Architect - Plus Architecture
- Structural Engineer - Adams Engineering
- Services Engineer - JBA Consulting Engineering
- Town Planner - Tract Consultants
- Fire Engineer - John Patrick Landscape Architects
- ESD - Efficient Energy Choices