The goal is to create a highly connected, interwoven series of programs that generate a critical mass of activity, population and place making. Shops, secure parking and offices combine with cafés and restaurants to open out onto plazas and landscaping. Overlooking this are the private apartments. Careful planning has ensured the maximum number of apartments have city views and a sunny northerly aspect.

The architectural expression of Tooronga Village is governed by two archetypal elements; podium and tower. Each is informed by program, site and boundary conditions. The podium is a lifted folding ground plane that recalls an imagined landscape.

It is set into the hillside and held up by dynamic sculptural web or tree like columns.  Users are able to access the development at multiple levels of ‘ground floor’ entry, continually challenging the notion of what lies above and below. The roof of the podium becomes a ground plane for the towers, restaurants, plazas and gardens.

The two apartment towers above form a more reserved backdrop to the public spaces below. The facades are a collection of snapshots of the city skyline they face. Rectilinear forms and frames break down the building faces into a collection of scaled elements rising out of this new urban-suburban village.

The principal architectural language for the building is characterized by its form. The design employs generous sweeping curves to provide a softer, gentler edge to the site than that of the CML office building.  The silhouette of the building is of a stepping nature. At the western end, adjacent to the plaza and looking out over the central park, the built form is at its highest to screen the CML office building behind from view and provide a bookend to the plaza.

The steel sections placed on edge and separated at regular intervals allow, if viewed from in front, an open aperture which affords maximum light penetration to apartments and uninterrupted access to views.  The steel sections of the balcony treatment, if viewed from an angle however, present a solid face which reinforces the sinuous form of the building behind. 
 

The Victorian Harbour water frontage was the focus both physically and visually for the masterplan. The design maximises access and views to Victoria Harbour, the Yarra River, the CBD, and beyond. The waterfront becomes a visual marker and a focal point for the precinct’s activity. This is achieved through highly interactive social spaces which were provided to encourage participation and human activity.

These include the marina, a promenade, public squares, cafes, and restaurants.The 5.9ha eastern half of the site incorporates 1300 apartments in five residential towers and a commercial space of 6700sqm consisting of restaurants, bars and retail outlets along the promenade.

The towers have been designed to optimize the views of the Victorian Harbour and the city skyline. The presence of quality and original artwork is seen as one of the unifying elements in the development of the precinct. 

Plus Architecture was awarded the RAIA Victorian Chapter 2003 Commercial Award for the NewQuay Retail and Commercial Precinct and the 2004 Property Council Award for NewQuay.