Scene Apartments

Win-win outcome

The Scene Apartments are located on Malcolm Street, between Perth’s CBD and the iconic Kings Park. 42 dwellings are distributed across 8 floors on the sloping 1,700 m2 site.

Our client for this project required a high quality residential development appropriate to its prominent inner-city context. The building houses a range of apartment types from single occupancy units to 2 and 3 bedroom apartments at the higher levels.

The building takes advantage of prominent views to the east (the City) and the south (the Swan River). Balancing good climatic design with the expansive eastern views, banks of louvres are deployed with deep balconies to become a major element of the facade design strategy.

This development is undeniably dense, driven by the commercial imperative to maximise yield. Several design strategies were deployed to articulate the external massing of the building to provide a legible tectonic hierarchy.

“Careful consideration was given to articulating the mass of the building so as to relate to street users and adjacent buildings.”

Vertically, the building has a conventional base, middle and top (entablature). The lower two levels projects forward and merge with the entry canopy to articulate the main entrance. The double-level penthouse module is distinguished from the levels below with a projecting balcony plane that is merged formally at key points with the principal roof/eaves element to the eastern elevation.

Elsewhere, subtle uses of primary colour and lightweight cladding are deployed to bring further interest and tectonic delight to the building.

Innovative construction techniques and unconventional procurement methods for key building components, developed in collaboration with the building contractor, allowed us to achieve further efficiencies for the project. The development also incorporates substantial landscaping for a project of its type.

The site is subject to numerous (and sometimes contradictory) design guidelines and policies. We worked closely with the various authorities to establish a conditional development envelope that was able to exceed previous limitations imposed on the site. Through this process we were able to maximise yield for our client in an appropriate and collaborative way.

The outcome is a ‘clever’ design that responds to inherent development conditions and achieves a ‘win-win’ outcome for both client and the built environment.