203-211 Lonsdale
XO Projects’ latest town planning approval for a boutique office project at 203-211 Lonsdale Street for Papasavas Group.
XO Projects’ latest town planning approval for a boutique office project at 203-211 Lonsdale Street for Papasavas Group. The design embodies the 2020 recalibration, which disrupted the workstyle and shifted towards quality, attainable sustainability and locality. A workplace that will explicitly exhibit the sense that something important happens in this space has inspired our site-inclusive design to drive value and amplify the people working there.
203-211 Lonsdale Street has a site footprint of 602m² circa with its main frontage onto Lonsdale street along with a minor frontage onto Celestial avenue and access onto Heffernan lane.
The proposed development aims to provide high-quality office building along with retail and F&B opportunity on ground and basement levels. The new development will retain and renovate the existing heritage building of 203-207 Lonsdale, while the new construction alongside will house all the major services , stairs and lift elements. The ground plane focuses on street activation with cafe and bar spaces opening out onto the vibrant Lonsdale Street to the front while at the rear the new development will have pedestrian and cyclist access along with the currently unused Celestial Avenue with the aim to unlock its hidden civic potential.
The retail/F&B spaces on the ground floor of 203-211 Lonsdale Street will capture the vibrancy of the street and merge with the activities within. The heritage building will be retained with minimal alternations to the ground level facade will result in greater street permeability.
The general architectural concept is based on a distinctive contrast between the heritage and the new. The visual break between the two is reinforcing the design intent.
The proposal is articulated in establishing a solid, ‘grounded pedestal’ of the first three storeys (the existing height of 203-207 Lonsdale Street heritage building).
The new extension on the top of the ‘grounded base’ is separated with a clear and transparent break. It forms the horizontal and vertical recess between the existing and the new.
The new is lightweight, translucent, and elevated above the grounded street wall and addresses the future skyline of Lonsdale Street.
