XO Projects' first database entry makes for a sleek Alphington addition

XO Projects' first database entry makes for a sleek Alphington addition
Mark BaljakJune 6, 2017

It seems the former Alphington Paper Mill may not be alone in reshaping the face of the inner suburb.

Lodged with Yarra Council, plans for a sleek and sizeable apartment development on an adjacent 2,980 square metre site marks the arrival of a new architecture firm to the Urban.com.au Project Database. XO Projects is the design force behind 700-718 Heidelberg Road; the relatively new firm represents the meeting of local design giant Elenberg Fraser with that of Amsterdam-based firm Elastik.

With the mantra of "creating the Extra Ordinaries within cities" XO Projects has hit the ground running with the 9 level building that features a split colour scheme and mature trees over its exterior.

700-718 Heidelberg Road, Alphington application summary

XO Projects' first database entry makes for a sleek Alphington addition
Heidelberg Road perspective and finishes. Planning image: XO Projects
  • Corner 2,980sqm site containing four attached single-storey retail premises
  • Proposed 9 level building at 34.1m above Heidelberg Road
  • 109 apartments: 31 x one-bedroom, 56 x two-bedroom, 22 x three-bedroom
  • 2 ground floor retail tenancies: 325sqm general retail & 316sqm café/food and drink premises
  • 2 level basement and ground level parking for 157 cars & 82 bicycles
  • Communal amenities: library, meeting rooms, fitness/gym, roof top gardens, spa-sauna

Opposite the eastern flank of the Alphington Paper Mill site which has a preferred height of 6-8 levels, 700-718 Heidelberg Road has a high level of compliance with the Yarra Planning Scheme according to planning documents.

XO Projects have included a terraced southern facade which tapers down toward the residential zoned southern boundary.

Key to the overall design is the facade treatment of the proposed building with more than 50% of apartments having double facades. Dual level privacy walls across the facade funnel into deep planter boxes for mature trees; 1.2 meters of soil is provided per tree planter in order to accommodate abnormally large plantings.

The deep soil planters will aid in providing 700-718 Heidelberg Road in attaining a 'vertical forest' finish, as will surface level plantings across higher levels of the development.

XO Projects' first database entry makes for a sleek Alphington addition
Deep rooted trees are proposed across the facade. Planning image: XO Projects

700-718 Heidelberg Road, Alphington development team

  • Developer Giancorp Property Group
  • Architecture: XO Projects
  • Town Planning & Landscape: Urbis
  • Traffic Engineering GTA Consultants
  • Waste Management RB Waste Consulting Service
  • Services, Structural & Civil: O'Neill Group
  • ESD: Sustainable Development Consultants
  • Land Survey: Bosco Jonson

Mark Baljak

Mark Baljak was a co-founder of Urban.com.au. He passed away on Thursday 8th of November 2018 after a battle with cancer. He was 37. Mark was a keen traveller, having visited all six permanently-inhabited continents and had a love of craft beer. One of his biggest passions was observing the change that has occurred in Melbourne over the past two decades. In that time he built an enormous library of photos, all taken by him, which tracked the progress of construction on building sites from across metropolitan Melbourne.

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