First look: McNab file for Montague Street, West End apartment development
Builder developer McNab has snook in before the Christmas holidays to file plans for their recently acquired Montague Street, West End apartment development site.
They've had their go-to architecture partner Cottee Parker put together plans for a new 82-apartment building at 439 Montague Road, West End, the former Dixon's Tannery site.
As part of the heritage status of the former tannery building, McNab will be retaining and adaptively re-using the key industrial structures from the Late Colonial era and create a pair of villa-style dwellings within the existing building volume of the heritage factory.
The Tannery was first established by Thomas Coar Dixon during the mid 1870s and was subsequently destroyed and rebuilt as a result of the 1893 Brisbane River flood.
Taking up the majority of the vast 4,465 sqm site is the new 10-level, glass-swathed building with 82 two and three-bedroom apartments. The building steps down from the 10th level to the fifth level on the southern boundary which creates what Cottee Parker says will be an iconic and recognisable shape, while also creating plentiful outdoor dwelling and recreation areas for residents.
In their Architectural Design Statement submitted to the Brisbane City Council this week, Cottee Parker referenced the late musician Robbie Robertson's most famous lines “You don’t stumble upon your heritage. It’s there, just waiting to be explored and shared.”
Cottee Parker said the proposed building has been designed with sensitivity to the local context and historical significance of the existing heritage building.
"The interface between the heritage and residential has been considered to create connections between the two buildings while refraining from building upon the heritage by maintaining a buffer zone," the report noted.
"Sympathetic acknowledgement of the heritage facade is also achieved through the feature columns along the podium that have been intentionally designed to match the angle of the heritage roof.
"The interface between the two buildings is lined with garden landscaping as well as raised planters and feature lamps which create a textured backdrop to the ‘Public Plaza’ and provide a comfortable space for residents and visitors to dwell in and pass through."
The apartments have been arranged to maximise and take advantage of the unique views the site has to offer. There will be city glimpses toward the top of the building to the north east and parkland and river views to the south east.
An L-shape corridor is provided with glazing and raised planters with lush greenery spilling over to maintain a constant connection between internal and external spaces.
The apartment designs have been optimized to maximise the natural daylight exposure to residents.
Crowning the building is the resident amenity which will feature a gym, steam room, a dining and lounge space, a lap pool, and a pair of open dining spaces and a yoga lawn area.
The building is uniquely located on Montague Street, quietly set well back from the street down a laneway therefore not having a street frontage like a typical apartment development.
Cottee Parker has also designed McNab's soon to launch Gold Coast apartment development Elements Budds Beach.
Read more: McNab completes luxury White Main Beach apartment tower, reveals next Gold Coast project
