Hamilton Corner in Lindfield

Hamilton Corner is a 2-storey building accommodating 7 terraces and 16 apartments, organised around a communal courtyard in a bushland setting on the former UTS campus in Lindfield. Hamilton Corner is a flagship development for Defence Housing Australia, forming part of a larger residential community, Crimson Hill, and named in honour of a Victorian Cross recipient. Bates Smart’s aim for the project was to create a unique relationship between the built environment and the bushland context, with minimal impact on the landscape. The apartments and terraces projecting bedrooms, raking plywood soffits and clerestory windows reinforce their individuality. The project, designed and built simultaneously with the neighbouring Tubbs View development, celebrates the bushland setting with treehouse-style apartments suspended over sandstone cuttings. The terraces front the street and are framed by a wing of apartments on either end. Courtyards, bush paths and communal garden spaces connect apartments with the rest of the precinct. Privacy is maintained via level changes, buffer planting, metalwork palisade balustrades and screening elements. The buildings have a defined masonry base and lightweight floating roofs. This, along with a highly articulated facade and a diverse range of materials provides the buildings with a finer grain. Off form concrete balconies, soffits and slab edges reference the materiality of the UTS campus, but combine with metal balustrades and timber and metal privacy screens to provide a residential character. Internally, the warm glow of timber amidst raw surfaces, and an abundance of natural light though clerestory windows, anchors the spaces into the natural setting. The residences at Hamilton Corner incorporate some of the highest standards of internal amenity and environmentally sustainable design available. A multi-core strategy was used to respond to complex site contours, reduce internal circulation and increase communal area access. In tandem with Tubbs View, the development is one of the first in New South Wales to undertake formal EnviroDevelopment accreditation, achieving the highest possible 6 leaves rating. In addition to the project’s excellent SEPP 65 credentials, the design strategies used in Hamilton Corner reduce CO2 production and water consumption by 60% compared to average requirements. The buildings have excellent daylight, cross ventilation and sun shading, and promotes the use of recycled, non-toxic and locally-sourced materials. All residences enjoy two or more hours of mid-winter solar access. The development undertook extensive community consultation and implements ongoing strategies for community governance. Nature trails were established to connect the development to site-wide community facilities, transport nodes and the wider bushland setting, promoting interaction and wellbeing. Strategies for ongoing waste reduction, such as end user education to encourage recycling and composting were also implemented all of which create a residential development that will sit in harmony with its context into the future. This development is proof that historically significant and challenging sites can be transformed into thriving and liveable spaces effectively and respectfully through design, innovation and teamwork.

Architect: Bates Smart 43 Brisbane Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 Builder: Grindley Construction Ground Floor, 55 Grandview Street, Pymble NSW 2073

Sustainable Building Design

Rear Balcony

Facade + Soffit Entrance Landscaping

Exterior