Masterplanning expert shapes Halcyon Greens

Masterplanning expert shapes Halcyon Greens
Staff reporterDecember 7, 2020

The designer behind Queensland's Sanctuary Cove residential development heads the team developing the $300 million over 55s Halcyon Greens community on the Gold Coast.

Brian Toyota of ML Design, said a lot had changed since the mid-1980s but creating a lifestyle remained at the core of the masterplanned community concept.

“Over 50s residential communities, with central clubhouses are one example of a new development model suited to today’s demographics; developments that are designed to offer ‘lifestyle’,” he said.

"The ML Design team realised the significance of the Halcyon Greens project when they saw the size of the site and the potential scale of development.

“This was not only a pristine setting surrounded by golf course and nature reserves, it was a much larger property:  more than twice the size of previous Halcyon developments.

“In property development, larger does not necessarily mean better.

“The challenge was to create a plan that took advantage of the positive aspects of a large site by providing more amenities for home owners, while retaining the ‘Halcyon family’ feel for the development.

“We wanted every householder at Halcyon Greens to appreciate the proximity to those things that made the site special: the golf course and nature reserve that defines the perimeter of the site.

Masterplanning expert shapes Halcyon Greens

"Rather than construct one huge central clubhouse, ML Design’s solution was to develop a ‘campus’ of distinctly themed buildings set into a central parkland stretching almost the length of the site and including a new clubhouse for the Gainsborough Greens Golf Course.

“So, homes around the perimeter of the site enjoy frontage to the surrounding golf course or nature reserve and pedestrian paths and cycle ways.

“But also, in running parkland down the middle of the site, the homes fronting this internal open space enjoy the same open space frontage, so we have effectively doubled the high value frontage.

“The result is that no resident of Halcyon Greens will be located more than a couple of minutes’ walk from open space and amenities.”

“The whole process of developing the masterplan, defining the brief for the amenities, designing the clubhouse buildings and associated landscape treatment was undertaken as a team effort in a series of planning workshops.

“This ensured the ongoing input of those who were working within Halcyon’s existing properties.”

Masterplanning expert shapes Halcyon Greens

“We find it difficult to draw a line between masterplanning and architecture because in our practice, the two processes occur seamlessly together,” he said.

“The layout of the clubhouse buildings at Halcyon and the distinct architectural styling is linked to the concepts and principles developed with the masterplan and supported by the detailed landscape design.

“It is this holistic approach to design that will benefit the residents of Halcyon Greens because, as we’ve always said, ‘it’s all about the lifestyle’.”

For More details, go to lifebeginsathalcyon.com.au and mldesign.com.au.

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