Inspired by the elements of a small suburban street, a new 310-apartment development at Mascot, NSW, by MD+A Architects is set to be one of the world’s first high-density complex to deliver 100 per cent natural ventilation and light to every habitable room.

At the core of the design for the Avantra apartments are full-height atria, which resemble ‘windpipes’ that work to capture and circulate cool air to apartments, while illuminating each building with natural light.

Lift cores will be housed within these atria opening up to the sky. After alighting from a lift, residents will be able to access their apartments via suspended walkways that are sheltered from rain by a glass rooftop ‘lid’.

According to MD+A, the overall design concept for Avantra is ‘streets in the sky’, with the apartments duplicating the concept of a small suburban street, but reassembling these elements vertically.

“We have six metres between front doors which is typical of a small lane, and we have pocket parks at each level where residents can sit in the sun. Within the building we have areas to work as well as communal socialising and entertaining zones with full-scale pools and barbecue areas,” says MD+A architect, Brent Marvin.

“But instead of these elements being spread out at ground level we have designed them in the sky.”

Elevations showing how the building’s ‘windpipes’ work

Avantra consists of four multi-level buildings interlinked by an atrium, with one featuring a swimming pool.

Each building also has a rooftop communal garden. Rainwater will be collected on each roof and used to water the gardens. The water will then trickle through a series of gravel filters to different levels of each building, forming a visually-soothing water feature.

Developed by Longton on an 8,762m² site, the apartments' interiors are designed by Archer + Wright in two colour schemes. Finishes include European tiles, broadloom carpeting, wide-plank timber floorboards, Delonghi kitchen appliances, Grohe tapware, market features in bathrooms, heated towel rails, wine cabinets and integrated joinery.

Avantra purchasers will also have the option of buying furniture packages from Italy to complement the light and dark interior schemes.

“We have worked closely with Poliform to craft unique furniture,” says CEO of Longton, Steven Yu. “If a buyer has existing furniture then we’ll offer to buy it from them and donate it to a charity.”

At the same time, the apartments will employ social media apps and home automation software to generate greater convenience for its residents and attempt to foster a virtual neighbourhood.

For instance, iButler is an electronic concierge service app that can be loaded on to an iPad3, which comes with each apartment and can be used to order goods and services such as groceries, clothing and dry cleaning. These goods are delivered to secure, on-site lockers which are only accessible by authorised residents and suppliers using unique passcodes.

A delivery automatically triggers an ‘alert’ on the resident’s iPad3 and mobile phone. On collection, the iButler registers that the particular locker is free again for use.

In addition, the iCommunity app uses Twitter and its Chinese sister, Weibo, to create a virtual neighbourhood. Residents will exchange messages about local events, community initiatives and classified advertisements, while the system will post daily updates on weather, news, sports, finance and cinema session times.

Avantra will be located on 669 Gardners Road in Mascot, NSW. The display centre is now available for viewing at unit 7, 7-9 Kent Street, Mascot (corner of Church Street).

Geraldine Chua

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