Upper House is a boutique development consisting of 110 apartments and two commercial tenancies over 17 levels located on Swanston Street - where Carlton meets the CBD.

The building employs community space as an amenity orientated design principle, acknowledging that sustainability is both social and environmental.

The building is defined by two urban design gestures, the podium (ground to level 10) and the cloud (levels 12 to 17) these are split by a communal area with outdoor terraces on level 11.

Through a commitment to ESD principles, and as a response to the pressing need for environmentally responsible building construction, Piccolo engaged Ark Resources to create an ESD model of the building in the planning phase where the bar was set for the building to achieve a six- star energy rating which Jackson Clements Burrows have incorporated into the buildings architecture.

KEY INITIATIVES

  • 6-Star - 'First Rate' rating
  • Provision of "share cars" and 65 bicycle spaces
  • Apartment layouts have been designed to minimise solar orientation to the south
  • Building is fragmented by a "ravine" that provides a naturally ventilated "breezeway" where occupants access their homes
  • Automated breezeway utilises BOM website live weather data to control louvres and effectively maximize corridor ventilation or prevent the ingress of strong wind or rain
  • Steel loop shrouds, provide wind and sunlight protection to the living windows and balconies
  • All apartment glazing between levels 12-16 are double glazed supertoned with 10mm argon gap and low e glass with a window U value of 7.32
  • Strategically located R2.5 insulation;
  • Local manufacturing/prefabrication utilised to minimise embedded energy;
  • Thermal mass of precast walls and a concrete roof deck;
  • Centralised hot-water system with pumped loop to minimise dead legs;
  • Light wells to throw natural light and ventilation deeper into the floor plate;
  • Sensor lighting to common areas to reduce electrical consumption;
  • LED lighting throughout the building;
  • Invertor A/C units