Defence Housing Australia’s Dunstan Grove has been designed to respond to its surroundings including the indigenous bushland of the Lane Cove National Park and the important UTS Ku-ring-gai Campus buildings located adjacent to the site.

The UTS buildings are its only neighbour and it was this important relationship that provided inspiration and clues for the design. Architecturally, Architectus adopted its design principles of a hill-top town, robust form and materiality.

The new buildings form and position respond to the site topography following the contours of the ridge providing a distinctive line between the building and the bush. The space between the buildings has been crafted to create a sun drenched bushland courtyard which provides access to 129 residential apartments and an important social hub. The courtyard provides a variety of spaces with deciduous trees to provide summer shade and winter sun with large open grassed spaces for play, pathways and barbeque areas.

Building facades are designed to respond to different conditions with those addressing the courtyard heavily articulated to create a series of vertical expressions. Facades overlooking the bush are horizontal and continuous following the natural ground contours.

The interiors have been considered with the outside in mind with all common spaces, lift lobbies and corridors arranged to provide a view to the bushland through full-height glass facades.

Project Sheet

• Project Sheet