THE LIGHTWAVE BLOG

The Palisades, Kingscliff – a luxury duplex

“The Palisades” is a recently completed luxury duplex at Moss Street, Kingscliff. Made up of two 400m2 apartments, the dual level boutique apartments will provide a resort lifestyle for their future owners.  From the street the apartments are noticeable for the aubergine egg shaped form; a curved roof that extends from a lower level dining area and ascends to a roof top entertaining area.  The roof design was a direct response to local planning restrictions and height controls and allows greater floor areas than would normally be achieved, as well as providing an enclosed stairway to the roof deck.  The curved ceiling and walls create a remarkable and powerful space. In what otherwise could have been a small room with a low overbearing ceiling, is now turned into a unique and exciting space.

Constrained by very tight parameters to work within, Lightwave engaged some clever design solutions, such as cantilevered living areas to maximise achievable floor area sizes suited for a boutique apartment.  Each living area responds to its climatic needs, its functions and form a result of this criteria.

As with any project in a prime location, organisation of the spaces and consequently architectural form were of a high priority, and significant analysis was undertaken to capture and highlight views throughout the dwelling. As the land had been owned by the developer’s father, the site was imbued with stories from its previous life.  The views and location were the inspiration for author John O’Grady who penned the Australian novel “They’re A Weird Mob”, while staying at the prior holiday flats which were named “Sam’s Place”.  The novel went on to become a feature film in the 70′s.

The project was constructed by Ken Jamieson of Jamieson Developments, a local builder, who has constructed a number of architectural apartments with Lightwave.  The project had been tendered following completion of the detailed design drawings when a minor technicality was presented.  That minor technicality (a global financial crisis) demanded some budget cuts to achieve a more appropriate sales price in a very different property market.  As with the way we approach all our undertakings, collaboration between architect and contractor was essential to complete this project.  An intensive design management process before and during construction resulted in cost savings without significant compromise on the design integrity and we believe the final result supports this view.