Hill Thalis

St Peter’s Green, located on a 0.7 hectare block at the corner of Mowbray Road and Felton Avenue, Lane Cove North, provides a new grouping of community and aged care accommodation integrated with its neighbourhood. New uses include a community library and meeting room for Council, a café / small local shop, a seniors living hostel, a group of Independent Living Units with a communal room, an entry court and a new public park.

The proposal comprises a grouping of social elements set in landscape. The buildings and spaces are of varying scale, use and character;

• The new public park, 1 000 m2 in area, occupies the prominent street corner, and retains all the mature existing trees on the site. The park has a playground, and is the address for the Library.
• The Residential Aged Care facility (RAC) is the largest building, H shaped in plan, varying between 1 and 4 storeys in height. The building will provide accommodation for approximately 86 high care and dementia residents.
• The Library, meeting room and entry occupy a glazed single storey perimeter of the RAC, facing the new park and entry court.
• The Café, a predominantly glazed single storey pavilion, frames the new park and entry court and adds the activity of outdoor seating. The café will also sell milk, bread and the like, services for the new and existing community.
• The Independent Living Units (ILU’s) define the site’s northern boundary, comprising 5 linked buildings, 2 and 3 storeys in height. There are 27 apartments and a community room.

Hill Thalis led the overall site planning, and carried out the detailed design and documentation of the Independent Living Units. In a compact arrangement, the ILU’s achieve northern sun, cross ventilation, a garden outlook and full accessibility for all 27 apartments. There are a variety of 1, 1.5, 2 and 2.5 bedroom plan configurations. The buildings have a robust brick and concrete form, overlaid with lighter painted fc, aluminum and timber battened elements to create a contemporary expression, that is well suited to both the target residents and the context. The ILU’s comply with both SEPP 65 and the SEPP Seniors Living.

TEAM
Philip Thalis, Janine Keating,Alexander Rink

PHOTOGRAPHS
© Hill Thalis