Inside the New Life, Darling Harbour apartments
TWT Property’s New Life Darling Harbour complex, located at 495 Harris Street Ultimo, is highly responsive to its site and the rich character of its neighbourhood.
The multi-layered building steps down from nine-storeys along Harris Street to six levels facing Bulwara Lane, providing 200 apartments including single-storey and penthouse apartments, as well as two-level terrace apartments at street level.
Ground floor retail and commercial space activates Harris Street, while the upper-level roof terraces exploit the views to the CBD, major bridges and the harbour.
Verdant garden corridors and welcoming open-air courtyards invite greenery into the heart of the buildings, with the central haven stitching together architecture and nature, to create a leafy green backdrop to the homes within.
“The building’s eye-catching, multi-layered form creates an outstanding place to live, to experience, and to glimpse from its many surrounding environments,” said Brendan Randles, Collaborator Urban Design and Mixed-Use Sydney, Architectus.
Flanked by historic Victorian terraces, Architectus created a lively group of buildings set around the courtyard rather than one amorphous structure, intending to better integrate the built form with its surrounds.
“We put forward a bold design that met the brief requirements but suggested new ways in which the development could engage with surrounding buildings. Instead of adhering to the prescribed envelopes – which virtually filled the site and provided only minimum separation between apartments – our proposal extended and completed an existing lane network and provided a much larger central courtyard.”
“This increased privacy between properties, promoted pedestrian and visual permeability and created a new residential address for the lane facing dwellings.”
The two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments cover 79 sqm of space internally, with 13 sqm balconies, while the three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments span 95 sqm internally, with 16 sqm balconies.
From room to room, wide-format Oak floors ground the interiors in nature, while textured timbers and stone finishes create layers of tactile, organic luxury
These considered apartments open themselves to Sydney, uniting under-stated modern lines with the drama of the great harbour city.
Light, air and a flow of private indoor-outdoor space add dimension to these residences.
Open layouts work to maximise the city, harbour, and garden vistas, drawing them inside the home.
Many of the apartments capture northern aspects, with sliding or fixed perforated screens providing privacy and shelter when needed.
New Life’s materials, lighting and detailing explore a return to comfort for contemporary inner city living, utilising subtle tonal colours and textures throughout to reflect a refined and uncomplicated build.
The kitchens have been designed with form and function in mind, catering to generous or intimate entertaining, with high-end Miele appliances, full-height cabinets, clean-edged chrome tap ware, grey travertine-look tiles and fittings that add glimmers of polish and reflection.
New Life’s spa-like bathrooms feature frameless-glass showers and seamless ambient lighting, which help to expand the sense of space. Open shelves and vanity tops are made up of marble or Caesarstone, while storage is cleverly mirrored and concealed throughout.
Architectus won the design competition for the prestigious mixed-use project developed by Auswin TWT. Ideally located opposite the Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre and next to the Ultimo Community Centre, the site was once the headquarters of Tabcorp and offered one of the last substantial development opportunities in Ultimo.
