Inspired by the idea of living close to the city but with all the peace and tranquillity of a real community, Frasers Property Australia’s range of contemporary, apartments, terraces and freestanding parkside homes within the leafy green neighbourhood of Putney Hill, offer a level of sophistication not seen before in the area of Ryde/Putney.

Comprising a total of 791 dwellings including a mix of 2-3 storey homes and terraces, as well as 5-8 storey apartment buildings, these Cox Architecture designed homes & apartments seamlessly integrate with the natural landscape, while the undulating topography presented an opportunity to maximise picturesque views of the city & Parramatta river. Established trees merge with new plantings and an array of residential styles and home sizes create streetscapes with character and charm.

Over 50 per cent of Putney Hill is dedicated to green space. Landscape designers Environmental Partnership created a sanctuary of native trees, family-friendly playgrounds and a stunning central lake within the 2.4 hectare Lardelli Park. Homes encircle open spaces, with walking trails and cycle paths providing a green link connection to Lardelli Park and Putney Village. Residents also have access to outdoor fitness stations, tennis and basketball courts, while residents in apartment buildings can access community rooms and gardens.

Putney Hill highlights best practice building design founded on the principles to deliver architecturally designed medium-density dwellings and low rise housing diversity ‘the missing middle’, and achieve a better balance between density and amenity.

A project spanning over a decade with construction of the parklands commencing in November 2011 and final works completing in 2020, Putney Hill is now a thriving new connected neighbourhood home to over 2,000 residents. Prices achieved were between $440,000 and $4.05 million over an 8 year period appealing predominantly to mature families, successful professionals and established downsizers.

Judges Comments

The judges were impressed by the overall residential subdivision as it implemented the master plan of The Hermitage including the inherent respect of the landscape and topography of the site. The design of the estate provides a high amenity context for the delivery of good quality residential housing. The project has been developed in a range of low density and missing middle housing typologies. The Judges were most impressed by the outcome of a subdivision designed as a comprehensive project with an emphasis on good quality design and sustainable housing.

The project serves as an excellent example of high quality housing, delivered in an integrated way over a large residential and mature subdivision. The developer has a housing construction capability and has chosen to integrate their good housing design with a number of high quality sustainable approaches, including optimizing layouts for passive solar and maximizing the amenity of homes to open space and open space corridors.

The homes themselves showcase high levels of passive solar design to improve the thermal performance of the homes and to make them comfortable in Western Sydney. The showcase home we visited was Shikha house which was a finalist for green smart, sustainable home in 2019. This home showcased several important sustainability features that have been implemented throughout the estate.

The quality of homes constructed by other builders is controlled by Design Guidelines to encourage good architectural and landscape outcomes.

The Judges consider the project should be the winner of the Residential Subdivision category as it showcases high quality design integrating both the overall subdivision master plan, and the increasingly sustainable housing.