- Wood Marsh
- Christine Conix
The Esplanade
A vibrant new community has been erected in this high-end suburb of Melbourne. Architectural firm Wood Marsh used durable natural building components to create unique beachside getaways that stand out for their daring design and respect for their natural surroundings. The highest levels of sustainable comfort are guaranteed, in part thanks to windows, doors and façade solutions by Reynaers Aluminium.
Nature and architecture in perfect balance
The luxurious housing project stands on a former brownfield site and counts 24 townhouses and 11 apartments across four distinct buildings. The newly developed volumes are surrounded by a luscious native garden that takes up more than half of the plot’s total surface area. Notice how contemporary architecture stays connected to the coastal surroundings, as you take in incredible views of Greenpoint Park, the nearby beach and Port Philip Bay.
Innovation and urban architecture come together at 26 and 28 Esplanade especially. While contrasting in architectural style, colour and material use, both buildings do share a common vision. They incorporate enduring and long-lasting materials, exploiting their warmth and texture to create one-of-a-kind comfortable spaces on multiple floors. Moreover, their organic shapes and undulating façades complement the flow of the nearby coastline in perfect harmony.
When we collaborate with our trusted partners, nothing is impossible.
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Andrew Vickery, Reynaers Aluminium Australia
The Esplanade project features standard ConceptWall 50 stick façade elements and a bespoke unitised façade solution, based on ElementFaçade 7 Male-Female. Thanks to the clever and versatile design of both systems, production efficiency improved heavily, both in the workshop and on site.
Weatherproof & transparency
Melbourne is well-known for its changeable weather conditions, from +40-degree Celsius summer days to heavy rains and thunderstorms in autumn and spring. As a result, next to any aesthetic goals, the Wood Marsh team considered weather performance as a crucial aspect when designing 26 & 28 Esplanade. Multiple Reynaers Aluminium systems were chosen to meet these project demands.
ConceptPatio 130 sliding and ConceptPatio 155 lift-slide systems offer excellent protection against the harsh coastal weather. Residents enjoy the light and the view to the fullest, as the large, glazed surfaces create an endless sense of transparency. The vents slide aside effortlessly to provide easy access to the spacious balcony areas.
In a similar way, slender yet sturdy SlimLine 68 windows add to the minimalistic design of the buildings, while providing increased weather resistance and thermal comfort all year round. The outward-opening windows are burglarproof certified (PAS24) for additional peace of mind.
Sustainability in every detail
The Esplanade development project incorporates different sustainable dimensions that makes it user-friendly today and for generations to come. Following a “fabric first” approach, all external walls are extremely well insulated. High performance joinery systems by Reynaers Aluminium add to the low-energy sustainable character of both buildings. Elevated acoustic performance, intelligent passive cooling methods and accessibility features guarantee the buildings’ long lifetime even more. With regards to water management, irrigation of the garden is provided through harvested rainwater collected on site.
Award-winning collaboration
Andrew Vickery, Regional Manager Reynaers Aluminium Australia, closely monitored this challenging project: “Due to the complexities of the design, and the involvement of multiple of our fabricators, we offered our help in coordinating the Esplanade project. Especially for the bespoke element façade, we had to analyse the specific building needs to develop the perfect solution for the job.”
“In the end, all our hard work paid off,” concludes Vickery. “Not only did we deliver an amazing project that met and exceeded expectations in every detail; but Reynaers Aluminium Australia recently won the AGWA Victorian Design & Industry Award for its contribution to the Esplanade too. It comes to show that when we collaborate with our trusted partners, nothing is impossible. We could not be any happier with the result. Together for better!”
Involved stakeholders
Photographer
- Chris Matterson Photography
