Cantala’s community amenity wins UDIA award for ICON Developments

ICON Developments’ Cantala project has been named best Medium Density Development at the Victorian Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) Awards for Excellence.

Designed by architects SJB, Cantala is located in Caulfield North and is a development defined by the curvaceous sculptural forms of its architecture, its open walkways and an extremely generous provision of landscaped greenery.

ICON development manager Kyle Reeve says they are very proud of winning the UDIA award for Cantala.

“The award is recognition for the importance we place on creating communities within our developments, which is gratifying,” he says.

“The collaboration with SJB and the greater design team has been imperative to deliver a project that strives to show what is possible with medium density development.”

Taking subtle cues from the art deco buildings found along Dandenong Road and the Caulfield precinct, Cantala comprises 25 multi-storey townhouses, 44 low-rise apartments and a 13,000 plant sanctuary.

The first visual impression at Cantala is of an angular timber form that forms a prow for the development’s main apartment building, at the entrance to the community. Its angles contrast with the deco-inspired curves that echo across many of the other details of the development.

“We’re really proud of this project,” says the architect, SJB director Tristan Wong.

“It presents new typologies of community living and aims to challenge the notion of public versus private. It also plays with the notion of what an apartment building or townhouse should look like,” Wong says.

“The more we talk about the project, the more proud we feel that we’ve challenged preconceptions about inner-city living and medium density housing typologies,”

“ICON have been highly aspirational in their desired outcome for the site and our design – from both an interior design and architectural perspective they have been prepared to look at things a little bit differently.”