I had the pleasure of being involved in a design competition for a residential tower in Darwin. Initially the client provided me with a basic set of plans to produce a 15 story tower. The submission put forward by the client was successful! A neighbouring property owner who saw the submission, was so excited about the proposal that he asked to be involved. The podium was extended to accomodate for both sites; increased to 30 stories; and the facade widened to create 4 very generous balconies.
It was important for the site to celebrate ‘tropical Darwin’ in all its glory. Understandably, the podium well and truely maximised planting opportunities, but we felt it was important to continue the planting up through the tower facade – not only reducing the mass of the tower, but more importantly breathing life into the balconies. The balcony recess could have been explored more to create a more engaging organic breakup, but deadlines and exhaustion always limit creativity. Overall, I think the updated tower has enormous potential. I look forward to see how the client progresses this site.
