Canberra is the capital city of Australia.
Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the nation, it is Australia’s largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall.
The Estate Forrest project is located on Canberra Avenue, a prominent gateway corner.
And its immediate neighbours are Parliament House and St Andrews Church.
So the project developers and their design team from Collins Pennington Architects knew they had to create something special.
The result was a project comprising 86 apartments across three buildings.
On what had been 1,300 m2 of land owned by the Commonwealth Government, the natural gully that torqued downward by six metres served the dual ambitions of constructing very high-quality apartments of scale to attract downsizing locals, while maintaining due deference to its location.
The largest structure within the project is characterised by its long, linear curve leading towards State Circuit.
The Collins Pennington Architects design team conceived this structure as four levels, but the topographical dip allows it to be read as three.
When the verge plantings mature, the apartments will become even more recessive.
Residents of Building one enjoy significant spatial separation between themselves and the second of the Estate’s three residential structures.
The space between these two buildings is extensively landscaped with the design focused on a plaza garden with a fountain.
This area is accessible to the public and is virtually given over to the public domain.
This building, in bark-coloured brickwork, comprises three levels.
And while still featuring the signature generosity of scale and deep, private balconies, it has a distinctly stouter, manifestly robust identity.
Like the projecting balconies at the terminating end of the sweeping Canberra Avenue building that endow the most expensive of its apartments with quite special outdoor amenity, the rounded brickwork features of the companion bricky Collins Building speak a design-related language.
Materially and although they look so different, neither of the structures have applied finishes.
Off-form, precast concrete, dark ceramic tiles, Blackbutt timber, and the metallic sheen of dry pressed bricks will all age with grace.
The Collins Pennington Architects design team pulled off a rare feat within this large multi-residential project.
The majority of units boast a favourable north or north-easterly orientation.
But only a few have similar floor plans.
That’s rare.
In apartments that range from one to four bedrooms – with the four-bedroom units being the size of family houses – this unusual product mix and choice of interior layout denotes a developer that was focused on quality and building for longevity.
From the street fronts that have such generous green verges and setbacks, and with this charming central parkland (that is, in fact, above the basement carpark), Estates Forrest also sought to take its place as a contemporary iteration of Walter Burley Griffin’s original concept of Canberra as a garden city.
Project Awards
Australian Institute of Architects ACT Award for Housing (Multiple) 2022
Project Details
Completion Date – 2020
Building Levels – 5
Project Team
Developer
Addval Developments
Addval develops unique projects that aspire to add value to its customers, investors, and the Canberra community.
Architecture
Collins Pennington Architects
Every Collins Pennington project is a recognisable one.
From contemporary family homes to bold multi-residential apartment complexes, to government developments and educational projects: their team of award-winning architects, interior designers, and landscape designers are united in sharing a vision of creating better spaces with intelligent design.
Construction
Project Coordination
Project Coordination was founded in the ACT in 1975 and has since expanded with an office in Wollongong that services New South Wales. Their principal activities involve the construction or refurbishment of quality commercial, retail, institutional, health, residential, and educational buildings for both the public and private sectors.
www.projectcoordination.com.au
Landscape Architecture
DSB Landscape Architects
The DSB Team specialises in public domain and urban design, education, healthcare facilities, and infrastructure including roads, residential estates, multi-unit developments, and industrial and commercial landscapes.
Photography
Felix Mooneeram
Felix Mooneeram is a freelance photographer from the UK. His work specialises in the design, architecture, and lifestyles found in the built environment.
Murphstone Media
Murphstone Media specialises in architectural, real estate, and commercial creative media in Canberra.
Photo Gallery
Click on a thumbnail image to enlarge it.
Design © 2022 Collins Pennington Architects. All Rights Reserved.| Images © 2022 Felix Mooneeram and Murphstone Media. All Rights Reserved.
The Builtworks Quest
At Builtworks, we’re on a multi-year quest to document, showcase, and spotlight the best of Australia’s built environment.
That’s why we’re creating this comprehensive online archive and educational resource that showcases a diverse and eclectic range of project types and scales.
Together with showcasing older exemplars of enduring merit, we spotlight and celebrate new and recent additions to Australia’s built environment.