Harbord, New South Wales, Australia
Architectus in collaboration with CHROFI and JMD Design have completed the design for the redevelopment of the Harbord Diggers Club at Freshwater.
Sited on one of Sydney’s iconic headlands, the development is surrounded by spectacular coastal sandstone formations and native coastal landscape.
The vision of the client, Mounties Group, informed the teams’ conception of an Intergenerational Community Hub combining a hospitality precinct with club, health, fitness, childcare and retirement living.
Selected through a design competition, the winning concept responds to the local character of the area and takes advantage of the site’s panoramic views.
The challenge was to design a vibrant, inter-generational social environment without impacting the beauty of the natural headland, and to organize the mixed-use program without impacting the amenity of residents.
The design conceals much of the program within the contour of the land with the retirement village organized around a courtyard above the hospitality precinct below.
The headland landscape extends across the courtyard to amplify the scenic quality of the precinct while a pair of sandstone buildings rise above as sculptural counterpoints with flowing forms framing coastal views.
Lower scale buildings address the streets in a stepped manner to both maximize views while creating a fine-grained edge to address Freshwater Village to the west.
Apartment interiors with operable facades and flexi-rooms accommodate different resident requirements and provide flexibility in the way the apartment is arranged to engage with the headland environment.
“The outcome is a diverse set of facilities nestled gently into one of Sydney’s most iconic coastal headlands, cleverly arranged to celebrate and highlight, yet respect the natural environment and surrounding residents”, said Jennifer Husman, Senior Associate at Architectus.
Project: Harbord Diggers Club at Freshwater
Architects: Architectus, CHROFI and JMD Design
Client: The Mounties Group
Photographers: Clinton Weaver, Tom Evangelidis, Grant Leslie, Brett Boardman, Ubird, Simon Whitbread, and Katherline Lu
