Billbergia file for sustainable Rhodes apartment development
National property developer Billbergia is seeking to create a new sustainable tower in the heart of Rhodes.
Billbergia are no strangers to Rhodes. They're currently developing a new $70 million community recreation centre and childcare centre and have delivered the Rhodes Central Shopping Centre, the 1.2-hectare Phoenix Park and the 330 metre Bennelong Bridge from Rhodes to Wentworth Point.
The plans with Canada Bay Council are for a 37-level, 244-apartment tower at 9-13 Blaxland Road.
The proposed new tower features a striking slender form designed by architects GroupGSA in collaboration with Singaporean landscape studio Salad Dressing - whose exterior design concept earned them first place in a design excellence competition for the site.
Aligned with the principles of the Rhodes Place Strategy, the proposed new tower sits within the Rhodes Station Gateway East precinct that was rezoned by NSW State Government in 2021 following extensive community consultation.
With a small tower footprint of just 680 square metres, the site currently houses Rhodes Business Centre, a four-level commercial office building.
The proposed tower will provide a new, ‘green’ ground plane connection between Blaxland Road, Rhodes Station, Churchill Tucker Reserve, McIlwaine Park and Brays Bay.
Set to deliver 244 apartments in a range of configurations, the proposed new tower sits above a mixed-use podium with nine levels of basement car parking below. The podium will be activated by a café, while an extension of the hardscape at the park junction will facilitate outdoor seating.
Many apartments within the tower will have a dual aspect with natural cross-ventilation, while vertical biophilic gardens will soften the building’s façade.
Resident amenity also includes 424 sqm of communal spaces including a dining and alfresco area on Level 20 and a rooftop tree canopy and infinity pool crowning the tower.
In addition to the lush rooftop garden, Billbergia’s design features a two-storey high suspended Ficus tree at its entrance, a nod to nearby remnant giant Ficus trees that date back to the early 1900s.
A 1,537 sqm landscaped area will enhance public amenity and facilitate greater connectivity to the nearby Rhodes Train Station.
Saul Moran, Development Director of Planning and Design at Billbergia, said the plan for the Blaxland Road project is aligned with Billbergia's philosophy of delivering high-quality transport-oriented housing supported by infrastructure and community amenity.
“Billbergia has been part of the Rhodes community for more than 15 years delivering major developments such as the national award-winning Rhodes Central project and Village Quays on the western side of Rhodes station.”
The proposed tower will set a new benchmark for sustainable living, delivering the most highly sustainable new apartments in Rhodes. It is seeking to achieve a 7.4 Star NatHERS sustainability rating.
The tower has been designed to ensure a high level of performance is achieved for its passive efficiency characteristics. ESD features include low-water gardens, high- tech swimming pools, Photo Voltaic solar power, efficient lighting and air- conditioning, and smart building sensors (and BMS). Strong emphasis has also been placed on waste minimisation, recycling, green-transportation, landscaping, climate- adaptability, and eco-materials.
With an innovative biophilic design - described by Group GSA as a “vertical forest” - the proposed tower is earmarked to redefine the Rhodes enclave with elevated architectural design. The green façade provides acoustic and urban heat mitigation, in addition to its striking aesthetic appeal.
GroupGSA Design Lead Lisa-Maree Carrigan said the contemporary design was conceptualised in partnership with Salad Dressing, as an architectural expression to “rewild the sky”.
“The integration of the landscape into the architecture takes inspiration from the site’s rich natural history and surrounding mangrove and wetland ecosystems to create a ‘biodiversity highway’ through generous vertical greenery and sky gardens which rise above the tower,” Carrigan said.