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Emmeline on Elizabeth: Preserving Stories in Our Community.

13/11/2019

Emmeline on Elizabeth ticks many boxes of good development outcomes including great design, sustainability, innovation and community dividend. The site represents an important piece of history within the community and acts as a conduit for understanding the story of the past and the present.

The built environment is one of the most tangible ways we can encounter history.  Whether it’s an actual building, or simply a historical place or position, it’s knowing and sharing of the stories that is important.

 “Historic community buildings, neighborhoods, and landscapes embody the intentions, assumptions, and lives of those who built or lived or worked in them. They have stories to tell about what the community was and how it became what it is, and that help us understand who we are. Preserving those stories can be an important part of building a healthy community”. Source.

The beautiful new development, Emmeline on Elizabeth, truly preserves a moment in history. It has been named in honour of the original owner Emmeline Chowne, who was gifted the land in 1885 by her father, Thomas Forrester, before her wedding.  Mr. Forrester was a respected member of the community – an alderman in the West Ward of Brisbane and the first mayor of the Ithaca Shire Council. Later, Emmeline divided the land to build mirror-image rental cottages and lived in one of them with her husband. Source.

Emmeline on Elizabeth therefore acts as a conduit for understanding the history of the site into the future. Through specific historic data it became evident that this project brought numerous key and exciting challenges for such an historic development site including the existing heritage cottage and surrounds, specific planning rules, as well as designing in response to the sites topography and historical significance.

Community engagement was another, to ensure neighbours understood the proposal and had the opportunity to discuss it with the developer prior to approval. This resulted in more letters of support than objection.  Only two objections were received at first, not objecting in principle to the development but rather focusing on specific interface issues that were addressed as a result.

Wolter Consulting Group’s Planning and Landscape teams worked closely with award-wining architectural firm Ellivo and Inertia Engineering to achieve an excellent development outcome on many fronts for our client.

The outcome is in part three storeys, despite two storey zoning, based on site context and response to topography, with the final outcome appearing as two storeys from the street and to the rear.

Emmeline on Elizabeth is an excellent example of how small spaces can be utilised to provide high quality, private open spaces for its users. Visitors and residents are greeted at street level by lush sub-tropical planting which has been designed to subtly guide people to embark on a journey that takes them up a stairway to ground level which opens out onto the communal open space.

The landscape design planned for and provides moments of pause and reflection for both residents and visitors, through the inclusion of design elements such as communal outdoor green rooms which provide opportunity for outdoor dining, seating nodes and reflection by the pool.

Remaining sensitive to the neighbouring properties, lush tiered planting in both ample deep planting garden beds and raised landscaped planters has been provided to site boundaries where possible, ensuring the sense of seclusion and tranquility is evoked when in these spaces.

Quality landscaping and liveability was made possible through strong design coordination between Ellivo and WCG to maximise the amount of high-quality green spaces throughout the entire development. This development is a prime example of how the WCG design team can add extreme value through landscape architecture no matter the size.

The idea of Emmeline was to create a luxury boutique development, perfect for downsizers who wanted to stay in Brisbane Western suburbs (their home) even though their lifestyle needs have changed. 

Walkable distance to Suncorp stadium and Rosalie village - full of life, with café choices, the famous deli and Blue Room Cinemas, Emmeline on Elizabeth offers seven spacious residencies – six apartments and one cottage, preserved as part of the history of this site.

Featuring elements of great design, sustainability, innovation and community dividend, Emmeline on Elizabeth is surely a place many of us would love to call home.

Emmeline on Elizabeth has experienced exceptional level of interest and presales, with construction commencing soon under the watchful eye of the team at Bluebird Property Partners.

Images: Artist impressions of Emmeline on Elizabeth, by PHNX Digital.