The master plan provides generous landscaped parklands and wide pedestrian friendly streets for this new family community.
Named after the first Australian submarine to enter the Gallipoli campaign, AE2 is a 17 hectare block of land that served as a navy store until 1990. DKO were commissioned to produce a master plan, on being rezoned for residential use and in particular defence housing.
The master plan provides generous landscaped parklands and wide pedestrian friendly streets for this new family community. A mix of courtyard houses and townhouses feature rear car access, allowing for active street edges, generous front door access and windows that act as ‘eyes on the street’. DKO also designed 250 dwellings, boasting a wide range of living opportunities and indoor/outdoor courtyard configurations. Other features include palisade fencing, timber screens and first floor balconies.
Together these features defuse the boundary between public and private realms, and contribute to the neighbourhood character. Each house features a tightly edited modern vocabulary of materials, including unpainted brickwork, crisp, white-painted rendered walls and a selective use of warm timber and bright colours. Cantilevered first floor elevations and recessed openings add to the three-dimensional richness and sculptural diversity of the streetscape. Taken together, the development provides exceptional amenity and represents best practice in both contemporary urban design and community master planning.
YEAR
2013
STATUS
Complete
CLIENT
Defence Housing Australia
LOCATION
Ermington, AUS
SCALE
17ha
DWELLINGS
250
DISCIPLINE
Multi Residential
EXPERTISE
Master Planning
Architecture
Interior Design
Photographer: Rory Gardiner
DKO is a multi-disciplinary, award-winning design practice centred on creating ingenious spaces that are driven by the needs of the user, site opportunities and the dynamic process of translating design intent into built outcomes. Founded in 2000 by Principal Koos de Keijzer, its operations have expanded from Melbourne to studios in Sydney, Perth, Auckland, Ho Chi Minh City, and Brisbane. DKO has remained committed to the same underlying principles since day one. Its multiple teams spread across the Asia-Pacific region are solidly united behind the same grounded and humble approach taken to each project, big or small.
Keeping minds open to any possibility, DKO always focuses on finding the best idea, regardless of where it came from. By encouraging the personal growth of each individual within the organisation, DKO plans to become a globally oriented entity, consistently forging ahead in both business and creative objectives. DKO embraces the role of architecture in shaping a more sustainable future. As a practice, it never loses sight of the most fundamental quality that connects all great design – people. Through human understanding and nurture, DKO seeks to continually maximise its potential and deliver architecture at its utmost excellence.