Military Road Boarding House
288 Military Road is a new-generation boarding house development providing high quality affordable accommodation for singles, retirees, students and essential workers in Sydney’s Inner North. Conveniently located on a major transport route, the bespoke design successfully balances the privacy of residents with shared community facilities while sensitively fitting with the surrounding area.
Sanctuary and community
The four-storey building consists of 20 self-contained units, two of which are accessible. Each studio boasts a high level of amenity, including a generous indoor communal spaces and well-designed self-contained rooms with natural light, ventilation, timber sun shade and privacy screens. Offering a liveable and connected lifestyle for residents through shared facilities.
Awards
- 2021 Shortlisted, Excellence in Affordable Housing, Urban Development Institute of Australia (NSW)
Material and form
The building form and material selection respond to the scale and character of the local area: bricks, timber and render create an honest yet innovative solution that responds to the Federation-era houses nearby. Setbacks on the top two floors minimise the scale and overshadowing while maximising the potential of the site. Staggered vertical windows provide compositional interest, indicate the type of use behind and contribute to the fire rating. The façades oriented towards the street—the public face of the building—are brick, while the facades oriented towards the adjacent houses are rendered. Timber slatted shading and privacy screens create a warm and consistent visual language across all elevations.
The new boarding house is an opportunity to provide affordable accommodation and to design well-crafted contextually appropriate buildings.
Ian Armstrong
Director, DesignInc
The boarding house … would be of significant value in meeting the need for single room affordable housing in the North Sydney area.
North Sydney Council
People
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