“Create something you love”: A personal touch at Alba
A flexible floor plan is high on the must-have list of most property buyers, but for those looking to buy an apartment, they’re often left hemmed-in by what’s available.
“If you have a strict physical barrier, every room becomes very small,” Bridgehill Group managing director Yibin Xu says. “You’re not always in bed, it’s usually only for eight hours a day, so why are we just stealing the space for your bedtime use?”
The solution? Xu says it can be found in his company’s latest Green Square development, Alba, where, with input from McNally Architects and Sissons Architects, moveable or transparent walls make it easier for residents to curate their space.
Xu says the feature will be available in more than 20 per cent of Alba’s apartments, allowing people to configure rooms to suit their lifestyle, perhaps creating an extra living zone, a home office or an additional bedroom for the occasional guest.
“We always leave some potential in the room for the end user,” he says. “They have their own personal touch to redefine the boundary of the area or space.”
In a bid to attract buyers looking for a low-maintenance home without living cheek by jowl with neighbours, Alba includes a handful of one-bedroom apartments with no shared walls and a single car space on title.
Xu says his idea was to deliver low-density features – similar to those found in a free-standing house – to a high-density project.
He says there are also multifunctional loft apartments on both the ground and top floors that could suit home businesses.
“As a developer I’m always thinking: if I’m the buyer, what do I want?” says Xu, who has more than 40 years of experience in architectural design and property development.
The Green Square precinct takes in Sydney suburbs – including Zetland, Beaconsfield and Alexandria – boasting walkability, well-connected streets, activated laneways and excellent public spaces. A 2016 City of Sydney transport report forecast the area would attract 61,000 residents by 2030 and 21,000 new jobs in the same time frame.
Xu says the location is one of the key draw-cards for buyers, especially with the train station 200 metres from the front door and so much infrastructure already in place.
Case-in-point – the Joynton Avenue Creative Centre, home to more than 25 artists, creative practitioners and startups, plus the Gunyama Park Aquatic and Recreation Centre with its four pools and multipurpose sports field, and the award-winning Green Square Library fronted by bar and eatery Café Noun.
The precinct’s 6200-square-metre park, The Drying Green, opened to the public in October last year and work has begun on a new primary school.
To reference Green Square’s industrial heritage, Alba will be clad in textured terracotta masonry, while inside a vaulted lobby space will showcase a mix of retail on the ground floor, adding to the shops and eateries already established in the area.
All apartments come with energy efficient LED lighting, digital door locks and multi-zone air-conditioning – all must-haves in today’s modern home. Dwellings on the upper floors will capture district views, with some overlooking the Sydney CBD.
And it’s not just the apartments that are fitted out with mod-cons, the building itself includes a rooftop terrace on level 15, electric vehicle charging stations, a pet-wash bay and a facial recognition system in the lobby.
For Xu, differentiating his apartments from others available in the Green Square precinct is important, allowing people in all stages of life to live comfortably.
“At Bridgehill we’re not addressing only one particular type of person – we want to appeal across the board. We’re open to custom design. You can amalgamate multiple apartments to fit a family. We invite that personal touch, so you can create something you love.”
At a glance
ALBA
499 Botany Road, Zetland
Developer: Bridgehill Group
Architect & interior designer: McNally Architects and Sissons Architects
Number of apartments: 130
Internal size (sqm): One-bed 53-70; two-bed 70-85; three-bed 91-174
External size (sqm): One-bed 7-14; two-bed 6-10; three-bed 10-23
Prices: One-bed from $715,000; Two-bed from $1,130,000; Three-bed from $1,480,000.
Completion: October, 2024
Contact: 1800 899 928
Open for inspection: By private appointment. Sales office DG01/18 Paul Street, Zetland
Transport: Green Square train station; buses
Originally post by: domain.com.au