Sapphire Kingston is a luxury apartment complex in Canberra, ACT featuring a curved facade and a waterfront location. The apartments make the most of this semi-circular waterfront site with the building design enabling every resident to enjoy panoramic views of the lake through floor to ceiling windows and doors.

Designed by May Russell Architects, the lakefront development in Canberra comprises 78 units across five storeys, above ground commercial premises and two underground levels of basement parking. Each apartment boasts generous views to the north, west or east, taking in the adjacent Kingston harbour front, Lake Burley Griffin, nearby protected wetlands and beyond to iconic Mt Ainslie.

The semi-circular shape of the site is optimised through the clever use of angled panels of Alspec’s premium glazing systems to enclose the curved façade. Keeping in mind the extremes of Canberra’s climate and the need for energy efficiency, ThermAFrame centre pocket framing and Hunter Evo flush glazed framing were chosen for the task.

While both systems help minimise heat loss or gain, the ThermAFrame is a thermally broken product, which significantly enhances a building’s performance. A thermally broken frame uses a non-conductive material between the interior and exterior aluminium components, effectively minimising the capacity for energy to transfer across the frame panels. This allows interiors to remain more stable and comfortable with reduced energy costs and less need for mechanical heating and cooling.

Generous balconies in each apartment at the Sapphire Kingston are accessed through Alspec’s ProGlide High Performance sliding doors. Featuring heavy-duty construction and componentry, ProGlide doors are an extremely reliable and durable system with exceptional weather credentials. The panels can accommodate a wide range of glass thicknesses in single or double glazing options, and be configured with up to four panels stacking in each direction to create generous openings.

Additionally, Swan Evo 45mm commercial doors were installed for access across the Sapphire Kingston site and in the commercial premises. Featuring an enhanced sash utilising a custom designed clamping spigot set, the Swan Evo doors are well equipped to cope with the heavy use expected in the retail/commercial environment. These doors are installed in hinged, pivoted or sliding door options, and complement Alspec’s fixed glazing panel ranges.

Alspec products used at Sapphire Kingston apartments include ProGlide High Performance sliding doors; Swan Evo 45mm commercial shopfront doors; 150mm centre pocket thermally broken framing; and Hunter Evo 150mm double flush glazed framing in Ultriva Asteroid Pearl Matt finish.

Photography: Kiernan May

Architecture & Design Team

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