Woolworths Waterloo is an urban renewal project that provides housing for the growing Waterloo and Green Square neighbourhoods.

The precinct is enlivened by a high-quality public domain, a full-line supermarket, specialty retail and commercial office space.

The site holds a prominent corner position on Bourke and McEvoy Streets. It is defined by an established tree canopy that provides outlook, habitat, shade and shelter. A family of buildings frame a generous courtyard, their plans step and splay around the mature trees.

Three residential buildings are oriented to promote view sharing and protection from traffic noise. A diversity of housing types include studios, 1-, 2-, 3-bed apartments and 2-storey terraces.

Apartment buildings have a 5-7 storey street wall, articulated to reduce visual mass when viewed from the street. Façades embrace repetition, variation and texture via a deceptively simple palette. Colours, materials and geometries recall Country, particularly the coastal landscapes and foliage that were once endemic to the area.

A commercial building marks the north-east corner of the site. Its slender form provides a compelling space for a small-format workplace. At ground, the entry to the supermarket below optimises precinct activation.

A series of through site links further energise the ground plane, converging in a retail plaza at the north end. A public laneway connecting Bourke and Young Streets is bookended by artworks from Bard artist Darrell Sibosado.

The glowing LED works reinterpret Indigenous pearl shell designs as ancestral symbols etched onto walls. Landscaping throughout the precinct prioritises native species, promoting biodiversity and comfortable micro-climates.

The project’s completion is scheduled for 2025.

Read original article here.

Renders: Bates Smart

Architecture News & Editorial Desk

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