Air Apartments (ETSA Building) Redevelopment, Eastwood

Green features are present throughout the design and serve to promote the potential for community

Australian Institute of Architects, Commendation (Commercial Interiors), 2006

Urban Design Institute of Australia, (Excellence in Urban Regeneration), 2006

Urban Design Institute of Australia, (Excellence in High-Density Residential), 2006

The “old ETSA building” had stood in empty neglect on the edge of the Adelaide Park Lands for a decade. In 2002, a new owner, The Pickard Group, came with both the vision and the resources to breathe new life into the building. It charged Tectvs with turning the 40-year-old cream brick edifice into Adelaide’s premier apartment complex, incorporating the high level of amenity and servicing that ‘empty nesters’ and young professionals were demanding in their migration to a convenient urban lifestyle. Market research on the requirements of the contemporary apartment identified a strong demand for three-bedroom apartments, balconies that could be used as a genuine outdoor living area, two car parks for each apartment and large storage areas adjacent to the car parks; lifestyle-enhancing amenities were essential. These were the parameters – the bare minimum – on which Tectvs set its design solution. 

The outcome was Air, a $100-million transformation comprising 140 apartments with unsurpassed panoramic views across Adelaide, the Park Lands, and the inner suburbs, from the hills to the sea. The hotel-style porte-cochere arrival opened into a foyer area highlighted by a reflection pool and populated with lounges and artwork. There was a gymnasium, 25m lap pool, spa, and sauna. A wine cellar was provided for individual wine collections, and there was a family entertainment area comprising a function room, a 20-person theatre, and tennis court; an entertainment pavilion opened on to an outdoor plaza and pool. Tectvs also incorporated a new basement car park, inserted a new floor level into the existing double-height ground floor to accommodate communal facilities, and placed two-level penthouse modules atop the 10-storey north tower.