baxter road design concept

What do you do with a skinny, unfriendly block of dirt on a gateway site in one of the busiest locations in Mascot? Here is a design concept that was part of a tender for development. The tender was unsuccessful but we still like what we did so thought I'd post it in our "might-a-beens" just for fun.

We collaborated with our great friends, Sam Rigoli (Studio R) and Mark Szczerbicki (Mark Szczerbicki Design Studio) and created a dynamic architectural form that was a mix of hotel, advertising panels, commercial and retail. Expressed egg crate hotel rooms, office spaces, a rooftop bar and viewing area, a car display with suspended ferraris and a waterfall with image displays, lit up at night. The flying form also referenced the nearby airport.

Looked good in our minds.....

concept 3D

baxter road 

satellite view

concept panel

daytime view

night time view

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balls point

A lovely short walk, even on a wet day.

At least there's plenty of parking.

Balls Point is easy to get to and is an interesting slice of Sydney history. Home to the Cammeraygal people who left rock art, petroglyphs and middens, then named after Henry Lidgbird Ball, a Royal Naval officer who commanded the Supply on the First Fleet. Henry Lawson wrote about it in protest to the building of the coal bunkering depot in 1916 and Jack Lang made it a nature reserve for the benefit of the people in 1926. 

It's a combination of lost in nature, an experience of a leisure area from a bygone era, combined with the natural connection to the working harbour, navy and city. 

And to make it a typical Sydney experience, there is a coffee shop a the end of the walk.

misty harbour view
city skyline and goat island

hmas waterhen

original coal loading jetty, needing some love

last of the many original coal scuttles

coal loading tunnel

coal chutes

lovely port jackson fig
smaller leaves than it's moreton bay cousin

shady paths
complete with a golden orb native
in it's water dropped web

lovely angophora costata
shimmering in the wet

no wonder it's also called the "smooth barked apple"

like a collossus

red like rust
which is why it's also called the "sydney red gum"

sydney rocks and sydney red gums

lovely wax flower

eriostemon australasius

original amenity block

be warned.......

happy coast banksia
banksia integrifolia

rewarding view from balls head

beautiful soft greenery

a bubbler in the middle of the bush

water for mans best friend

more soft wet greenery

young eucalypt
looks like a nicholii

picnic area with an old man banksia
banksia serrata

can see how they can look a little scary to gumnut babies

shady picnic space

here's the spot

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Cape Solander

Easy access to a spectacular walk.

With plentiful parking close by Cape Solander is a uniquely Sydney experience. Scary drop offs to churning ocean, long views to the heads of Botany Bay, beautiful sandstone terraces and flat rock areas and wind shaped coastal vegetation are all the hallmarks of this walk.

May to November has the added bonus of whale watching.

local fishermen wearing floatation vests
they should have worn parachutes
the water was at least 30m down

typical Sydney sandstone cliffs
rising as they head south

tumble down rock sections

beautiful banksia integrifolia

easy walking rock shelves
view to the heads of Botany Bay

linear weathering and tannin coloured water

gorgeous surface waves

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castle cove progress

Started stage 1 for this house in 2011.

Big alts and adds like these are complex and require perseverance and deep pockets. It's been a grind for neighbours, builders and client but we are finally getting close to completing this spectacular build. Look for the finished version in a month or so from now.

spectacular north facing decks

vaulted roofs

eyebrow highlights add interest to the interior

flush glass feature window provide a view to the cellar.

touch of classical cornices as a juxtaposition to the modernist interior

living room. yet to be revealed chandeliers

master ensuite waiting for marble columns

refurbished pool in the process of being filled

smaller shower room/ensuite

roof/pool deck covered area. Temporary fencing till feature balustrading approved

master bed fireplace, waiting for tear drop unit to be installed

main entry void looking east. Waiting for balustrades.

main entry void looking west

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