Located off the coast of South Coogee, Maraboo Island represented a major opportunity to deliver an holistic precinct vision starting from the masterplan and following continuously through to the completed homes. Designing the precinct as a whole afforded us the ability to control the entire island to ensure a highly successful outcome. The vision was to carefully strike a balance between consistency and variation of building types. Housing types were carefully developed in order to add interest through differentiation while still appearing to be related. In this sense the precinct was conceived of in the form of a village.
Aesthetically, the development was intended to be highly clean, modern and contemporary. Simple playful forms create a sense of openness and lightness in keeping with the coastal aesthetics. To maximise the development’s financial success, house designs were developed to maximise repetition and economies of scale. Techniques of simple façade and materials changes created the illusion of different typologies while keeping floorplans identical.
Some desirable product variation was created however, in order to have diversity of sales product. Variations ranged from economical investment grade townhouses up to luxury mansions. This desirable variation was then utilised within the masterplan to create a natural variation of building types, allowing the entire development to feel natural and organic. This was further enhanced by the buyers themselves who requested changes and adjustments to meet their personal requirements and tastes.