173-175 PHILLIP ST | MULTI-RESIDENTIAL + COMMERCIAL STAGE 1 DA
173-175 Phillip Street is a Stage 1 Development Application proposal for a highly prominent end of block site located on the north western corner of Hyde Park in the center of Sydney. Bounded by Phillip Street, King Street and Elizabeth Street, the site sits directly adjacent, and forms the setting for, the historic collection of buildings known as the King Street Courts.
The Stage 1 DA process involved extensive consultation with the City of Sydney Council in the search for a permissible building envelope that simultaneously maximised the development potential, maximised the solar access potential of the site, minimised overshadowing impacts to Hyde Park, and offered the scope to craft a contextually appropriate and architecturally engaging building form.
In an unusual achievement in the context of a central Sydney Stage 1 DA, the endorsed proposal varied the controlling development control plan (DCP) setbacks applicable to the site. This was justified through a rigourous and iterative testing process involving both physical and digital modelling techniques. The outcome was a site specific angular envelope form that captures the winter sun at the top of the building (taking apartment solar access from 25% to 50%) whilst reducing the overshadowing impacts.
Detailed resolution was applied to the building base to facilitate a ground plane that is visually connected to the surrounding urban fabric and that can engage with the city from all key vistas and approaches.