West End set for climate-responsive apartments
Brisbane's West End is set for two "climate-responsive and contextually driven" apartment towers.
Builder developer Zen Group is planning two towers at 24 Duncan Street, near Montague Markets, that will home just over 200 apartments.
Betts + Partners said in their Architectural Design Report that two diverse urban conditions exist within the West End site context that are separated by Montague Rd.
"The Riverside South Precinct to the west is a high-density residential zone comprising predominantly apartment buildings and contrasted by the established suburban character to the east with primarily post-war single detached dwellings. The contextual design strategy is to celebrate the qualities found within the established West End suburban character in providing elevated high-quality subtropical apartment living with exceptional communal recreational amenity."
They said the aim is to positively contribute to the evolution of a new subtropical urbanity that is both contextually responsive and prioritises humanism in connection with place.
The vision aligns with Brisbane's goal to become a New World City by 2031, promoting a globally recognisable subtropical urban lifestyle.
Duncan Street comprises two 17-level buildings housing 202 apartments, from one-bedroom plus study apartments through to three-bedroom units.
The 2600 sqm resident rooftop includes three pools, a fitness centre, private dining rooms, a cinema room, resident lounges, a library, and comprehensive wellness facilities with hot and cold plunge pools, yoga, pilates, a sauna, treatment room, and a contemplative garden.
Active retail frontages on Duncan and Rogers Streets will sleeve ground floor services and visitor car parking.
The two-level podium includes green walls, planters, and textured facades with integrated vertical greenery to enhance the streetscape.
Movement in the balconies and structural elements of the towers optimises light, shade, and private open space.
Apartments are oriented to maximise views and privacy, with operable glazing and brise soleil for climate control.
"Conceptual drivers from West End’s urban context inform the design parti strategy that include; the River, the Backyard and the Verandah," Betts+Partners suggested.
"Each quality is reinterpreted in the sectional and plan parti and manifest in the three-dimensional building expression."
24 Duncan Street is only a three-minute walk from the Brisbane River, six minutes to the nearest ALDI, and 12 minutes to Davies Park, where The West End Markets is held every Saturday.
