DARC
HITECTURE & INTERIORS
BONDI BEACH APARTMENTS III
Role: Architect & Designer
DARC Design Arcs:
Horizontal - Vertical Proportionality
Curvature - Linearity
Symmetry - Functionality
Developer: STM Realty
This project is for 17 to 21 Curlewis Street in Bondi Beach, a consolidated mixed-use development on a highly visible corner site that sits right at the meeting point between Bondi’s commercial activity and its surrounding residential neighbourhoods.
The site currently reads as fragmented and underdeveloped for its location, despite being at a key intersection and within walking distance of Bondi Beach, public transport, and local services. Our aim from the outset was to bring these three lots together into a single, cohesive building that feels grounded in the character of the area, while also contributing positively to its future evolution.
The design intent is fairly straightforward: to anchor the intersection with a building that feels appropriate in scale, active at street level, and comfortable to live in above. We didn’t set out to create a landmark object, but rather a building that belongs here - one that responds to the varied built form around it and reinforces the established mixed-use pattern of shops below and housing above.
In terms of form, the building is organised around a clear street wall that aligns with neighbouring development, with the upper levels carefully recessed to reduce visual bulk and maintain a pedestrian-friendly scale.
The architecture takes cues from the surrounding context the awnings, the bay window rhythms, and the robust coastal materials and interprets these in a contemporary way that will age in the context of the area.