Horizon Apartments is located on an exceptional waterfront site fronting the Honeysuckle harbour edge in Newcastle. Designed and documented in partnership with CKDS Architecture, the building is the third piece in a series of high-quality buildings redefining the former working harbour precinct. Developed in consultation with the Government Architect’s Design Excellence Panel, Horizon apartments represents a considered response to the scale and character of the site and the area’s evolving urbanity.

Beyond the privileged outlook and harbours edge, the site adjoins two new open green spaces – the extension to Steel Street at the eastern edge, and the new open space beside Cottage Creek to the west – and the sinuous street alignment of Honeysuckle Drive on the south. Interrogating the qualities of these varied interfaces, the building form gives a considered response to each by opening to the expansive views, making a robust edge to the activity of the street, and defining the scale through inflections of the plan and framing of the expressed structure.

Articulated as a series of three independent urban buildings, each are united by their waterfront alignment, scale, design, and material palette. Through the insertion of a pair of landscaped courtyards, equitable view access between the buildings is enabled from both the public domain at the rear, and between the dwellings.

The ground plane has been considered as a holistic plinth – gently raised from the predominant public domain level to provide flood-proofing and prospect over the adjoining public spaces. The corners have open and playful colonnades with retail spaces and generous outdoor terraces activating the major public spaces throughout the day and evening.

110 generous new apartments are provided in a range of refined types and all achieve high amenity. The majority of apartments are north facing with views to the harbour, over 75% of the apartments are naturally cross ventilated enjoying multiple orientations, and all living rooms open directly to courtyards or balconies. Horizon Apartments is an exemplar in delivering a mixed-use urban building in a waterfront context for the high quality and amenity of the new dwellings, ground plane and public spaces created.