North was engaged as Design & Construct partner to deliver a new 7 storey affordable housing project in Wickham for Compass Housing.
The project comprised the demolition of an existing building, decontamination, design finalisation, building construction and extensive services infrastructure works, all within a short timeframe.
The design maximised the potential of the small 410m2 footprint achieving 16 residential dwellings, comprising of 9 one-bedroom apartments and 7 two-bedroom apartments, a commercial space as well as a modern rooftop garden and BBQ area offering 360-degree views of Newcastle. Each apartment also has its own outdoor balcony.
Overall, the development achieved a NatHERS rating of 7.5-star rating with some apartments achieving an 8.4-star rating. All apartments were constructed to a silver standard under the Liveable Housing Design Guidelines.
A challenge for the team was site constraints due to its small block size, the extent of the building footprint over the site; and its proximity to the CBD and the Newcastle heavy rail corridor.
Some innovation on the projects was adopted a precast concrete solution for the façade and key structural elements to help address the access issues and proximity of the building to the boundary. Our team demonstrated significant design attention through the design phase with the use of BIM modelling to mitigate any onsite issues and increase the speed of construction.