Construction has commenced on Stage Three of Sekisui House’s Sanctuary masterplan at Wentworth Point to deliver another 309 premium TURNER-designed apartments in the emerging waterside suburb.

Willow, positioned at the threshold to Millennium Parklands, comprises two mid-rise residential buildings and a 28-storey residential tower, with a podium lagoon pool, connected to an internal and external communal pavilion.

Stage Three is considered the green heart of Sekisui House Australia’s $2 billion Sanctuary masterplanned community to revitalise the former 9.4-hectare industrial site into a dynamic, mixed-use precinct, housing 2,100 carefully designed apartments, retail and public parks. The Sanctuary Masterplan is being delivered over six stages and is scheduled to be completed in 2030.

Sydney architecture and design studio, TURNER, is working closely with Sekisui House Australia to deliver the masterplan’s ‘green corner’ and most secluded release, featuring one, two, three and four bedroom apartments.

TURNER Director James McCarthy says the masterplan speaks to a change in the area’s demographics, with improved communal amenities, infrastructure and high-quality design that appeals to a variety of household sizes and types.

“Sanctuary is one of the biggest regeneration projects to occur along the Parramatta River,” he says.

"The previous industrial precinct has been reimagined as a vibrant new community, connected to its natural context, and facilitating significant public benefit such as new public transport links and riverside parklands."

Sekisui House Australia Senior Sales and Operations Manager Paul Wainwright says more families, including multi-generational households and an increasing number of first-home buyers, sought the appeal of living at one of the last and largest absolute north-facing riverfront apartment addresses in Sydney.

“It’s the final piece of the jigsaw in the reimagining of the Parramatta River at Sydney’s heart,” Wainwright says.

McCarthy says buyers are attracted to the large, well-designed apartment offering, the new Wentworth Point Public School and future high school, as well as an increase in public transport and infrastructure, including the $600m Parramatta light rail project, which has been approved to run adjacent to the site.

“The level of amenity and public embellishment goes beyond servicing the apartments within the scheme,” he says.

“Sekisui House is committed to substantially increasing the amount of publicly accessible green space within this masterplan development, which comes as an enormous public benefit to the wider community,” he says.

“It is the first time Wentworth Point will have open space delivered through a series of ‘green finger parklands’ that connect the Parramatta River to the existing community.”

‘Willow’ is a collaboration between TURNER's Architecture, Interiors and Experiential Design teams to deliver a cohesive, calm and considered design. Willow is the Green Heart of the Sanctuary Masterplan,

“A sanctuary where we move through wild edges, past curated gardens, to where places and communities can flourish with time.”

The architectural forms are inspired by the sinuous contours of the Parramatta River. The materiality is inspired by the natural hues of adjacent parklands, featuring warm neutral terracotta cladding, with grey brick townhouses and bronze, copper highlights.

Two-storey brick townhouses wrap around the site's edges and feature private terraces with bronze cabanas.

With individual street entries, these townhouses activate the new local streetscape and road network that is being delivered by the Sekisui and TURNER team. All buildings have been sited to maximise solar access, cross ventilation and sweeping views of the adjacent river + parklands.

The 28-storey tower features terracotta cladding in shades of grey + charcoal in response to the site's natural setting.

Four neutral colour tones have been used to distinguish the tower. The terracotta tones blend seamlessly into each other, and into the landscape beyond.

McCarthy says landscaping is a formative part of the design with the architecture woven around curated
gardens.

“The buildings have been shaped and determined by the landscaping, rather than the reverse outcome of retrofitting landscaping into the ‘left-over’ spaces between buildings,” McCarthy says.

The podium comprises an extensive garden that flows between the buildings, featuring a lagoon resort pool with an infinity edge to the Parklands beyond. Outdoor and indoor communal spaces have been designed and dedicated to providing flexible spaces for occupants to live, work, unwind and entertain, according to McCarthy.

TURNER’s Interior + Experiential Design team designed Willow to draw nature into the heart of the residences. The placement of curated gardens ensures landscaping is always visible from all common areas, and all apartments.

The surrounding landscape influences and inspires how we experience these internal environments and their materiality.

Most apartments benefit from dual aspects overlooking Newington Nature Reserve, along the Parramatta River, and to the Blue Mountains beyond.

The Interiors and Environmental Graphics capture this blend of the natural and programmed, by blurring the line between indoors and outdoors to create tranquil residences, that offer occupants a harmonious and comfortable home, with an exceptional lifestyle.

Award winning Sanctuary Stage One was completed in 2020 by the same Sekisui and TURNER team. Stage Two is currently under construction with completion anticipated in 2024. Stage Three, Willow is expected to welcome residents in 2025.

Image: Supplied

Clémence Carayol

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