Kangaroo Grounds

Corner Parramatta Road & Western Avenue - 2024

James Counihan & Larissa Gafa

Index

Project statement

Site plan

Site plan diagrams

Summary

Model image

Ground floor plan

Typical plan

Plan diagrams

External view

Section

Sectional diagrams

Elevation

Model image II

Unit plan

Plan diagrams II

Model image III

Façade detail

Façade axonometric

Material palette

Considerations Of Country

Model image IV

Internal view

Preliminary budget

Document checklist

Postscript

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PROJECT STATEMENT

The proposal uncovers the domestic life of 300 students through the development of rigid individual units and generous communal spaces, offering a unique approach to co-living. The 24/7 university cycle encourages flexible ways of living and working, blurring the relationship between public and private as sleep, leisure and work are entwined. Hence the key concepts of community and continuity have driven the design, providing students opportunities to connect and form new relationships with each other and Country, whilst yielding moments for individuality.

Located at the bustling intersection of Parramatta Road and Western Avenue, on land belonging to the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, lies the grounds for the proposal. The site benefits from optimal northern solar access whilst facing the challenges of noise pollution and its battle axe shape. Connecting to the site’s cultural history, the proposal grants the ground plane the freedom to rewild. Gathering spaces with varying levels of privacy offer opportunities for new inhabitants to connect with the broader University community or to intimately gather, reflect and celebrate within the newly formed communities of the ‘Huge House’. Recognising the impact of construction on the land, paths are forged from regular foot and bicycle traffic rather than being prescribed or programmed.

The blocks are positioned across the site to maximise natural light into the generous communal spaces, whilst minimising sound and privacy issues to the south-facing bedrooms. Large fixed-glazed windows offer green views of the rewilded landscape below and existing mature trees across the campus. Operable large centre pivot blades strengthen these connections through the sensory experiences of touch and smell by letting users control airflow and ventilation.

Taking inspiration from the adjacent JD Stewart and McMaster buildings, the proposal features a brick façade, blending into the surrounding heritage and aesthetic of the University. The bricks and concrete aggregate are locally sourced, demonstrating a further connection to context and Country. Re-purposing the JD Stewart Annex assists in preserving the existing context whilst providing communal laundries and gathering spaces to be used by not only residents, but also the wider University community. In addition, the existing greenhouses located on the site have been lifted to the roof and reimagined as rooftop gardens, offering opportunities for students to learn valuable skills whilst also connecting to Country up to nine stories in the air as soil, air, water, and the sky intersect. The large glass butterfly roof also serves to harvest natural rainwater for these gardens, reducing water demand and usage.

A saw-tooth façade and angled entranceways to individual rooms enhance the privacy for residents within their own spaces. Small minimalistic rooms enforce communal interactions yet offer individual kitchenettes and desks providing opportunities for independent refuge. Even within this individuality, a sense of community can manifest by connecting dwellers with their neighbours through polyvalent spaces and shared communal facilities. The bronze motif across the mesh screens, pivot windows, staircases and doorways crafts a sense of belonging and consistency among the five separate buildings, as does the repetition of the built form. Clusters of eight to ten students are formed adjacent to a central communal living/kitchen and shared bathroom. Working with a ratio of 3:1 of people to bathrooms and a little less for showers, dwellers share spaces on each floor building smaller communities within the large context of the buildings and the site.

The proposal comprises of five typical structures of varying heights, laid out across the site in a ‘Y-shape’, aligning with Parramatta Road and axes to the existing context. This organisation optimises northern solar access to the communal spaces of each building, whilst taking advantage of the elongated, battle axe shape. 1/750

PARRAMATTA RD

SITE PLAN DIAGRAMS

Maintaining the existing access points along Parramatta Road and its intersection with Western Avenue, the proposal encourages its residents and the wider University community to interact with the porous ground plane. Preserving the heritage fence and hedging along the Northern boundary of the site assists in providing privacy to the open ground plane, whilst encouraging connections to the site’s rich history.

Over the course of the semester, the Site Plan evolved from our individual schemes into a collaborative proposal that intertwined the linear and angular master planning approaches. Maintaining an elongated approach to the narrow portion of the site adjacent to Parramatta Road and angling the blocks out beyond the JD Stewart building, creating an inviting entrance to the scheme.

Heritage Parramatta Rd Fence

Parramatta

SITE PLAN DIAGRAMS

Built form Uses

SUMMARY

Gross Floor Area

Height

Communal Open Space

Access

Other information

Construction of 5 Multi-Storey Towers and the adaptive re-use of the JD Stewart Annex.

Student Accommodation, comprising 301 rooms:

280 x Rooms

21 x Accessible Rooms

Communal Kitchens and Bathrooms

Bicycle parking, Storage and Refuse Room located on Ground Floor.

Total GFA of 10,835m2 (floor space ratio 3.15:1)

2 x 31.5m

1 x 28.7m

1 x 20.3m

1 x 17.5m

Total of 1,735m2, comprising of 13.5m2 on each level.

Pedestrian and bicycle access from Western Avenue and Orphan School Creek Lane.

Communal Rooftop Gardens located on top floor and communal kitchenette and laundry with gathering space in JD Stewart Annex for wider University use.

MODEL IMAGE

The massing of each building is respectful of both the other proposed buildings and the existing buildings located on the site, ensuring overshadowing and privacy concerns are addressed. The site arrangement ensures each of the five blocks are spaced from one another in a manner that is comfortable spatially, thermally, and visually, whilst achieving compliance with the relevant legislation.

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

The notion of rewilding is embedded into the programming of the ground plane, encouraging native plants and grasses to regain control. Paths are trekked rather than prescribed, taking inspiration from Aboriginal walking trails which were defined by the landscape and ease of mobility, spanning just one metre wide allowing two people to pass or walk together. Circular gathering spaces are located at central locations across the site, encouraging connection at intimate and public levels. 1/500

TYPICAL PLAN

The typical plans consist of a central core, a communal kitchen and dining area, communal bathrooms, and south-facing bedrooms. The sawtooth façade along the Southern boundary creates an additional layer of privacy for residents ensuring visual outlooks are intentional and never looking into the private space of another student. Two blocks of differing lengths are proposed responding to the site constraints whilst offering slightly varied living opportunities for students in the form of an accessible room. 1/200

PLAN DIAGRAMS

These two typical block types both provide optimal northern daylight to the core and communal spaces, and southern sound protection to individual rooms with rich outlooks to the rewilded landscape below. The shorter block contains eight typical rooms, whilst the longer offers the addition of a larger accessible room. A central corridor with angled entrances to individual rooms separates the public and private realms, offering all residents a sense of security and privacy.

Private Spaces

Circulation Spaces

Communal Spaces

External Outlooks

PLAN DIAGRAMS

A structural grid defines the layout of the building, with two individual units mirrored between columns spaced 5 metres apart. The columns extend upwards from the ground plane to the roof providing continuity throughout the building. A central core ensures egress paths are clearly defined, whilst the addition of an external staircase for blocks exceeding 25 metres in height guarantees compliance and safety for all residents.

Both individual schemes prioritised larger communal spaces whilst offering efficient private units, encouraging a design that embedded this concept across all scales. Merging the typical block layout of one proposal with the angular approach to privacy of another, generated a scheme that offered varying levels of privacy whilst ensuring a sense of community was at the forefront of all planning decisions.

Structural Grid

Fire Egress

Thermal Line

Cross Ventilation

PLAN DIAGRAMS

EXTERNAL VIEW

A predominately brick façade draws connections to the heritage of the University whilst establishing its presence along busy Parramatta Road. The heavy exterior is juxtaposed with the lightweight interior timber construction, as well as the soft rewilded landscape below, offering a sense of warmth to the masonry construction. Butterfly roofs sit atop each building, funnelling water and light into the greenhouses, encouraging connections to greenery even nine stories in the air.

SECTION

Each of the blocks offer generous communal kitchen, living and dining spaces with reasonable ratios of students to facilities. The central northern core provides equitable amenities to all students whilst allowing natural light to filter into the linear corridor. Within the core, a fire stair and elevator shaft service each of the buildings ensuring convenience and accessibility for all residents and levels of the proposal. 1/200

SECTIONAL DIAGRAMS

To the North-West, large glazing panels pour light into the communal spaces, allowing natural light to extend beyond into the central corridor. Operable panels and louvers enhance the natural and passive ventilation of each block, ensuring a cross breeze is formed from the North to South, and East to West.

ELEVATION

A playful approach to co-habitation, each of the seemingly identical blocks push and pull at differing heights from the ground plane, responding to the site’s existing conditions and the needs of its residents. Recognising the importance of the existing site context, the blocks adjacent to the JD Stewart Annex and McMaster Building drop in height to just four or five floors, reducing the risk of overshadowing and privacy concerns whilst maximising visual outlooks. Stepping away from these University buildings the proposal establishes itself along Parramatta Road stepping up in height, striking a conversation with the broader context. 1/400

MODEL IMAGE II

Reimagining the existing greenhouses on the site, a butterfly roof structure sits atop each of the blocks providing rooftop gardens for use by residents and the wider University community. These gardens provide opportunities to reuse harvested rainwater, to create and connect with the communities formed within the proposal, and to connect more broadly to Country. The bronze motif extends beyond the centre pivot blades and internal staircases in the form of external staircases and balustrades, establishing continuity and a juxtaposition with the heavy masonry building.

UNIT PLAN

A minimalistic and efficient unit plan provides students with the essentials to cook, sleep, study and relax, whilst encouraging them to reach beyond their private spaces and interact with the larger communities formed within the proposal. The implementation of intentional views, privacy gradients and generous storage ensures the small size of the unit does not hinder a student’s experience living within the space.

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PLAN DIAGRAMS II

The unit plan subtly integrates gradients of privacy to ensure individuals feel safe and comfortable within their space. Angled entranceways into the more public realm of the room ensure passers-by cannot see into the more private sleeping quarter of the individual unit, whilst also offering a smaller sense of community with one’s neighbour at their shared doorway. A large frameless glazed window, centre pivot blades and a narrow strip window provide generous outlooks to the rewilded landscape of the scheme, in addition to ensuring natural light and providing natural ventilation.

Both individual iterations began with minimal and efficient individual rooms, with large windows to capture the green outlooks of the site. As such, the unit plan evolved in its efficiency gaining more flexible uses within an increasingly compact space. Ideologies of a private sleeping space nestled to the South and opportunities to connect beyond the walls of the room progressed with each iteration of the scheme.

PLAN DIAGRAMS II

MODEL IMAGES III

Entering your room after a long day of university classes and social interaction, you are greeted with streams of sunlight and expansive green views of the rewilded ground floor and mature native trees, providing a reprieve from bustling city life. Dumping your belongings in the open entrance way, you retreat to your private bed, desk, or window seat to soak in the warm sun and views - your own piece of the campus. You open the centre pivot louvers allowing the breeze to trickle into the room, providing a sensory experience to relax and rejuvenate.

FAÇADE DETAIL

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A double brick façade connects the external skin of the building to its context, whilst providing a durable and thermally sound face of the proposal. Large glazing panels are framed by vertical brick lintels and windowsills, allowing the frame to be recessed and thus hidden from view. Structurally, the bricks rest on a J-Bar lintel shelf that is cast into the reinforced concrete floor, connecting the structural column grid of the scheme. Two centre pivot bronze-coloured louvers provide ventilation to the individual units, whilst their junction with the slab, each other and the aluminium frame carefully mitigates water penetration into the interior and structure.

Structural Reinforced Concrete Floor

Brick Lintel on J Bar Lintel Shelf

Carpet Floor

Double Brick Wall with Insulation

Brick Sill

Centre Pivot Recessed Frame

Centre Pivot Metal Louvers (Bronze)

Aluminium Framed Fixed Double Glazed Window

Timber Stud Partition Wall with Plasterboard Interior Lining

Plywood Underbed Storage

Plywood Window Bench Seat with Storage

FAÇADE AXONOMETRIC

1. Timber Entrance Door

2. Tall Timber Wardrobe with Hanging Rail

3. Carpet Flooring within Rooms

4. Insulated Timber Stud Wall

5. Small Kitchenette with Built-In Sink

6. Single Bed with Timber Bedhead

7. Reinforced Concrete Floor

8. Centre Pivot Metal Louvers

9. Window Bench Seat

10. Structural Concrete Columns

11. Timber Desk with Storage Drawers

12. Brick Lintel

13. Aluminium Framed Fixed Double Glazed Window

14. Brick Window Sill

15. Double Brick Facade

Located just off the main corridor, two rooms meet at their shared, angled entrance ways. Each of the individual units features internal planning, which is mirrored, whilst the external façade retains consistency. This decision enhances the cost and spatial efficiencies of the room as all electrical and plumbing services are integrated into the shared, lightweight timber partition walls. All internal and external walls are insulated to maintain thermal and acoustic comfort, whilst the concrete structure is embedded into the design, ensuring functionality is not lost and aesthetic appeal is enhanced.

MATERIAL PALETTE

1. White Painted Plasterboard

2. Light Brick

3. Bronze Coloured Steel

4. Plywood Joinery

5. Black Aluminium Framing

6. Polished Concrete

7. Concrete Column

Recognising the impact of constructing five new buildings on the site, the material palette considers methods of giving back to the site. It is the intention that the bricks used for the external façade will be made from locally sourced earth, creating connections to Country whilst repurposing displaced clay.

Understanding the structural requirements of the proposal, concrete columns, and polished concrete slabs ensure the taller buildings will remain structurally sound for many years. The implementation of timber partitions to separate spaces encourages manipulation around the structural grid for potential future adaptive reuse. On a smaller scale, plywood joinery is complimented by bronze-coloured elements, adding a sense of playfulness and warmth to the masonry construction.

CONSIDERATIONS OF COUNTRY

Recognising the sites rich Indigenous history, the proposal pays respects to the traditional owners of the land, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. The scheme encourages the interaction of internal and external communities through large, open-plan, flexible spaces with an emphasis on bringing groups of people together to celebrate and reflect amongst the natural landscape, furthering connections to Country. The rewilded ground plane encourages native flora and fauna to take control of the landscape, reflecting the sites original state with unprogrammed footpaths mimicking traditional walking trails which followed the path of least resistance. By engaging with Indigenous students and community members throughout the design process, their storytelling and advice has been integrated into the scheme whilst also inviting the broader University community to connect with Country and the Indigenous culture. 1,2

1. Celebrate Storylines of Country and Cultural Practices

2. Health and Wellbeing of Place

3. Engagement with Indigenous Communities

4. Embed use of Aboriginal Language and its Belonging to Country

5. Materials and Landscaping to Care for and Heal Country

6. Design and Implement Distinct Concepts Relating to Country

MODEL IMAGE IV

You wake to the morning sun creeping through the Eastern sawtooth window. Repositioning yourself from the bed to the window seat, you are greeted by the warmth of the morning sun and a cool breeze trickling in from the pivot blades. As you prepare for the day you move to your spacious desk filled with warmth and natural light. The custom plywood joinery of the room provides you with ample storage for your belongings, whilst furthering this feeling of warmth as you connect with the natural material and the generous outlooks to the environment just outside your room.

INTERNAL VIEW

The communal living and kitchen areas are light filled, ventilated spaces for up to nine people to interact as they cook and dwell on each floor. This strategy encourages each floor to build small communities within the larger proposal. Vertical louvers allow residents to control the amount of natural ventilation into the shared space or completely close it up in bad weather.

PRELIMINARY BUDGET

The preliminary budget outlines the potential expenses associated with the proposal highlighting areas where costs can be reduced. By providing only communal bathrooms as opposed to individual ensuites, the costs associated with plumbing and other services is dramatically reduced. This cost saving allows funds to be distributed into other areas deemed more important within the scheme such as a high quantity of external glazing per room and the large rooftop gardens.

CHECKLIST

[3] Understand the principles of project planning, considering implications for Country, environmental sustainability, communities, stakeholders and project costs.

[8] Understand how to implement culturally responsive and meaningful engagement processes that respect the importance of Country and reciprocal relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples across architectural services

[12] Understand how relevant building codes, standards and planning controls apply across architectural practice, including climate change implications, the principles of fire safety, and barriers to universal access.

[17] Have an understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ aspirations to care for Country and how these inform architectural design.

[19] Understand the purpose of project feasibility assessments, including research of site constraints, opportunities and risks, and methods of determining preliminary cost analysis.

[23] Understand the purpose and process of generating a return brief for approval by the client and relevant stakeholders, including an awareness of the implications of non compliance

[24] Understand how to identify and evaluate project development options in response to a project brief – its objectives, budget, user intent and built purpose, risks and timeframe, including environmental sustainability considerations.

[26] Be able to undertake site, cultural and contextual analysis as part of preliminary design research.

[27] Understand how to embed the knowledge, worldviews and perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, shared through engagement processes, into the conceptual design in a meaningful, respectful and appropriate way.

[34] Be able to apply principles and methodologies for presenting conceptual design proposals and associated information to clients, stakeholders and communities, including using culturally responsive methods appropriate to different audiences.

[36] Be able to apply creative imagination, design precedents, emergent knowledge, critical evaluation and continued engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to produce a coherent project design. This should be resolved in terms of supporting health and wellbeing outcomes for Country, site planning, formal composition, spatial planning and circulation as appropriate to the project brief and all other factors affecting the project.

[39] Understand how the integration of material selection, structural and construction systems impacts on design outcomes.

[40] Be able to resolve and present a coherent detailed design solution within necessary timeframes to obtain client and stakeholder approvals.

[44] Understand the roles and types of relevant consultants and suppliers as well as applicable construction terminology.

[45] Understand processes for selecting materials, finishes, fittings, components and systems, based on consideration of quality

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9, 14, 22, 26

5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 15, 16, 20

5, 9, 10, 14, 22, 25, 26

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11, 12

6, 13, 21, 26, 29

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9, 10, 22, 26

4 , 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28

5, 11, 12, 16, 20, 24, 25, 26 23, 24, 25

6, 13, 21 23, 24, 25, 26 23, 24, 25

Reflecting on the semester, Kangaroo Grounds has evolved from individual concepts of clustering and constructing horizontal communities through polyvalent spaces into a scheme encompassing communal student living whilst meeting the individual and collective needs of busy 24/7 student lifestyles.

Big moves included separating the housing into five separate blocks, providing only communal facilities and rewilding the ground plane, demonstrating an analogy for the type of student housing Sydney should urgently embrace. We recognise the risks that come with these decisions including reduced privacy and independence for our students as they are forced into communal ways of living, however ultimately believe this method is necessary to maximise space efficiency and reduce loneliness and isolation which are only increasing in the aftermath of a global pandemic. Therefore, by refining and developing spaces on smaller scales, architectural techniques could be employed to enhance the performance of the building whilst achieving the unorthodox communal form.

Connecting to Country became a component of the brief that was difficult to navigate as non-indigenous designers with a limited understanding of the Aboriginal culture. Taking onboard the advice from focus groups with Indigenous students, we negotiated a scheme which we hope pays respect to the rich Indigenous culture of the University of Sydney and the wider community.

Kangaroo Grounds intends to provide an innovative form of student housing providing comfort and safety to Indigenous students who are displaced from their own Country whilst ultimately, using architecture as a catalyst to discuss the relationship between culture and co-living. It is only through communal living that students will truly embrace Country and community.

KANGAROO GROUNDS

James Counihan & Larissa Gafa

Tutorial 8 - Jessica Spresser