Local Character and Context Apartment Design

Good design responds and contributes to its context. Context is everything that has a bearing on an area and comprises its key natural and built features. Context also includes social, economic and environmental factors.Understanding the context means understanding how the inter-relationships between all these factors, including between the local area and the region, will impact on the area over time.The process of defining the context’s setting and scale has direct implications for design quality of apartments. It establishes the parameters for individual development and how new buildings should respond to and enhance the quality and identity of an area.

Photographs help to communicate the desired future character or future 'look and feel' of an area or development

Desired Future Character

The desired future character can vary from preserving the existing look and feel of an area to establishing a completely new character based on different uses, street patterns, subdivisions, densities and typologies.Establishing the desired future character is determined through the strategic planning process in consultation with the community, industry and other key stakeholders. Understanding the context during this process is crucial to support change and determine appropriate building types and planning controls.

Common Settings

The planning process establishes the appropriate location for residential apartment development by determining land use and density in proximity to transport, employment, services, land form and environmental features. Within this framework, the specific characteristics of a place or its setting will inform design decisions. Common settings for residential flat buildings include:

• strategic centres
• local centres
• urban neighbourhoods
• suburban neighbourhoods.

Strategic Centres

The location of residential flat buildings is determined by factors such as neighbourhood character, accessibility to transport, jobs and services and environmental considerations

Strategic centres are characterised by an established commercial core with a full range of services, taller buildings and a network of retail and commercial streets with active frontages.Considerations for residential apartment development in strategic centres include complex relationships with adjacent buildings, impact of taller building types, privacy between commercial and residential uses, parking demand, high site coverage, limited deep soil, reliance on quality public streets and places and overshadowing.

Local Centres

Local centres are typically characterised by an established main street. In larger local centres, retail and commercial uses are distributed around the main street or across a small network of streets defining the core. In smaller local centres, the main street or shopping strip is surrounded by residential uses. Considerations for residential apartment development in local centres include shop top housing, high site coverage, narrow site frontages, heritage, relationship with adjacent low density residential uses and multiple small lot land ownership requiring amalgamation to support changing use and density.

Urban Neighbourhoods

Urban neighbourhoods are often located within walking distance of centres. Established urban neighbourhoods may be characterised by existing residential flat buildings ranging from three storey walk-ups to eight storey perimeter blocks or towers. Other urban neighbourhoods may be transitioning from low density residential and/or a mix of larger format commercial and light industrial use.

Considerations for residential apartment development in these settings include overshadowing, amenity and privacy impacts between existing and future buildings, open space patterns, existing vegetation, demand for new public domain elements, variety of lot sizes and shapes and changing streetscape and scale.

Suburban Neighbourhoods

Suburban neighbourhoods are typically characterised by detached housing in a landscaped setting. Considerations for residential apartment development in suburban neighbourhood settings include relationships and interface with existing houses, appropriateness of apartment buildings compared to other forms of medium density housing (such as terraces or townhouses), landscape setting, existing significant trees and the pattern of front and rear gardens.

The Range of Scales

Section showing the building envelope and scale of the proposed development in relation to the street

Apartment development needs to consider a range of scales during the planning and design phase. Wider scale: The wider scale includes the urban structure, landscape setting and broader land use patterns of the wider context and identifies the development site’s proximity to centres, transport and major public open spaces. It should also illustrate the future density and proposed change of the area (if known or applicable) and highlight important infrastructure such as major hospitals, schools and education facilities. Addressing this scale is important for larger precincts and redevelopment sites in particular. As a guide, a radius of 1 to 5 kilometres around the development site should be considered.

Neighbourhood Scale: The neighbourhood scale outlines the urban structure including streets and open spaces. It should also include topography contours, drainage and vegetation patterns, services and future infrastructure requirements (if known), land use zones, cadastre boundaries and identification of heritage items and other local landmarks. It is appropriate to address this scale when planning for individual or small groups of apartment building sites. A radius of 400 metres to 1 kilometre should be considered.

Streetscape Scale: The streetscape scale deals with the character of the street(s) that the proposed development addresses, and shows its spatial enclosure by buildings or landscape elements. It should outline surrounding building uses and heights, front setbacks, pedestrian access, awnings, vehicle driveways and public domain elements including street trees, verges and footpaths. It is appropriate that all proposals for apartment buildings address this scale.

Site Scale: The site scale involves detailed consideration of the individual development site relative to neighbouring properties, buildings across the street and the public domain. It addresses surrounding and proposed deep soil zones and open spaces, existing vegetation and trees, fences, retaining walls, overshadowing impacts and privacy considerations. This scale should also highlight any other site specific factors such as orientation, slope, geology, infrastructure or access easements and stormwater management.

The wider scale should analyse the urban structure and

broader landscape setting and identify the site’s proximity to

centres, transport and major public open spaces. Proposals

for larger precincts and redevelopment sites should address

this scale

The neighbourhood scale outlines the urban grid and block

structure including streets and open spaces, significant

topography, heritage and civic and community uses. Proposals

for individual or small groups of apartment building sites

should address this scale

The streetscape scale helps understand the impact of proposed development on streetscape quality and should

show heights, setbacks, driveways and existing street trees. All proposals should address this scale

The site scale is a detailed analysis of the development's immediate context and should include the site itself, the street it addresses and surrounding properties. All proposals should address this scale

Part 1 Identifying The Context