Architects unveil $60 million project that will serve as new model for Geelong – realestate.com.au

The architect behind a $60 million, four-storey inner-city apartment project admits he is ‘geeking’ about the opportunity to add to Geelong’s suburban architecture, given the city’s status as Australia’s only UNESCO City of Design.

Austin Maynard Architects co-founder Andrew Maynard leads the design team behind the Hope & Autumn project, a development of 56 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments across two buildings at 51-53 Hope St and 66-76 Autumn St, Geelong West.

The Up Property project was submitted through the state government’s Development Facilitation Program and received such widespread support that the proposal is seen as an example of how to approach the suburban infill developments needed to meet 2050 housing targets.

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Mr Maynard said it is great that Geelong is being recognized as a UNESCO City of Design.

“We’re going into that because the legacy of Geelong’s design history is one based on pragmatic solutions rather than decorative things, if you know what I mean,” Mr Maynard told a gathering to celebrate Up Property’s Hope & Autumn showcase in Pakington St.

“Like wetsuits, cars and utes, and how do we really use design thoughtfully to solve real problems?”

The challenge in this case was fitting a four-storey proposal into an area dominated by single-storey detached houses.

“In Geelong, like so many major regional centres, it is very easy to expand, when what we really need is thoughtful density,” Mr Maynard said.

A rendering of the Hope & Autumn development of 56 apartments at Hope St and Autumn St, Geelong West by Up Property shows a kitchen, living and dining room.

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“What we really like is the idea that, rather than opening up large tracts of land and putting up huge towers and pumping out as many houses as possible, do we really need great examples like this of where we’re going from the Australian dream – the quarter-acre block – and how can we thoughtfully increase density next door?

“What’s been really great is that the state government has also gotten on board saying that Geelong, as always as a design city, is going to enable a place that will hopefully send shockwaves in a good way.

“That was so amazing, not just loving Geelong as it is, but also looking at the fine grain and actually getting the time to stand on Pakington St and the surrounding area and realize that all the ingredients are there and all we have to do is synthesize it and not just land a spaceship – which is what we see so often these reckless little developments of a concrete box.”

A rendering of the Hope & Autumn development of 56 apartments at Hope St and Autumn St, Geelong West by Up Property shows a master bedroom.

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Mr Maynard said the design borrows from the aesthetics of the area, such as sloping roofs, white cladding and large gardens on the ground floor.

They also embody sustainable design features such as rooftop solar panels on the east-west field that achieve maximum gain during the busiest times of the day – morning and evening, an exterior white aspen panel that not only reflects heat but also encapsulates the thermal mass of the concrete structure, minimizing the need for heating and air conditioning.

And recognize our culture, such as allowing residents to throw open doors and windows on a hot day to bring in fresh air, meet their neighbors in generous outdoor spaces, or design apartment hallways so that bedrooms and bathrooms don’t open directly onto the living space.

A rendering of the Hope & Autumn development of 56 apartments at Hope St and Autumn St, Geelong West by Up Property shows the outdoor gardens between the buildings.

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The project also recognizes the environment, giving up the communal gym and pool that many won’t use, but still paid for in the owners’ operating costs, recognizing that Geelong is already well stacked in that regard, and emphasizing shared outdoor spaces.

“We have invested in a large garden – which you will always use – a shared communal area, and there is even a guest suite,” Mr Maynard said.

“What we’ve found, with all the development we’ve done, is that people tell you they ‘just need a one-bedroom apartment’, and then they’re under price pressure, and suddenly it’s a two-bedroom apartment, because mum’s from Brisbane and coming for two weeks.

“So in this development we actually have the guest suite so your mother can come from Brisbane, and she can be in that guest suite, and you can meet in these shared common areas.”