The Gadigal People of the Eora Nation
NSW
Staged over a period of 10-15 years, completing in 2000, Moore Park Gardens remains one of Australia’s leading medium-density residential developments. As its master planners, architects and interior designers, AJC’s vision was to create an integrated neighbourhood balancing sustainable design with communal amenity. A new type of apartment living, not previously seen in Sydney on this scale.
Its high- and low-rise buildings house a diverse mix of 560 apartments. The towers use a crossover design, giving 90 per cent of apartments natural cross-ventilation and a north-orientated living area. The new central street, publicly accessible open spaces and landscaped courtyards work to integrate it seamlessly into its surrounds, along with community facilities including street-level neighbourhood retail.
As the need for quality higher-density housing becomes increasingly urgent, Moore Park Gardens is a compelling case-study for any architect grappling with multi-unit housing at a range of scales.
Completed in 2000, the project was ahead of its time, setting new benchmarks in design standards informing SEPP 65 and the Residential Flat Design Code in 2002.
Moore Park Gardens transformed a post-industrial 2.6ha site into a thriving high-density mixed-use neighbourbood, with 560 apartments, three rejuvenated historic buildings and new public amenities including a park, a street, a footbridge to Moore Park and childcare facilities.
The site’s built form is both articulate and distinctive, with efficient planning and excellent apartment amenity that extends across towers, street edge blocks, maisonettes, and cross-overs. The robust and workmanlike material fabric shows few signs of age 25 years on, and the hundreds of residents that have maintained tenancy over this time demonstrate the ongoing success and relevance of the architecture, and the rich legacy it provides.
The ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ acknowledges First Nations peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands, waters, and skies of the continent now called Australia.
We express our gratitude to their Elders and Knowledge Holders whose wisdom, actions and knowledge have kept culture alive.
We recognise First Nations peoples as the first architects and builders. We appreciate their continuing work on Country from pre-invasion times to contemporary First Nations architects, and respect their rights to continue to care for Country.
