A sustainable high-rise with lofty ambitions.
January 19th, 2010
Melbourne’s latest high rise project by Valad Property Group ‘AIR Apartments’ – is a residence with serious ecologocial ambitions.
Situated in Valad’s master planned community of ‘Pentridge’ in Coburg, the AIR residence will feature roof top wind turbines to capture wind energy, transferring it to the grid to power lighting in the communal areas of the building.
Designed by Kim Lowman of Rothe Lowman Architects, AIR reaches dizzying heights at 18-storeys high, comprising a total of 275 apartments, the highest in the Coburg area.
“The entire building has been designed to reduce its impact on the environment, to the point of producing its own energy, harnessing the wind’s natural power and heating and cooling powers as well as catching rain water for toilet flushing and garden re-use”, said Andrew Leoncelli, development executive.
“The wind turbines atop AIR make a significant environmental statement as well as producing a stunning architectural impact. We are extremely proud to be the first to bring this technology to residential buildings in Australia”.
An extensive series of solar panels will be installed on the roof of the northern tail of AIR in order to harness solar energy and reduce the need for gas as a provider for hot water.
AIR is part of the Valad Group project to revitalise a six and a half hectare Pentridge site eight kilometres from Melbourne’s city centre.
Valad and Rothe Lowman architects have worked closely with sustainability consultants Norman Disney Young to execute these revolutionary design initiatives.


INDESIGN is on instagram
Follow @indesignlive
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
In an industry where design intent is often diluted by value management and procurement pressures, Klaro Industrial Design positions manufacturing as a creative ally – allowing commercial interior designers to deliver unique pieces aligned to the project’s original vision.
At the Munarra Centre for Regional Excellence on Yorta Yorta Country in Victoria, ARM Architecture and Milliken use PrintWorks™ technology to translate First Nations narratives into a layered, community-led floorscape.
Iken are launching the FutureWall interior building platform in Queensland at their Fortitude Valley showroom. FutureWall offers a suite of solutions that gives unprecedented freedom to design and create spaces of any scale. These removable partitions and cladding are available in a variety of materials and finishes. Speaking at the event on Thursday 16 June […]
On Thursday 27 November the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology held their Industrial Design Graduate show at the Guildford Lane Gallery in Melbourne.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
As specified on a quietly spectacular beach house on the New South Wales South Coast, customised drainage by Stormtech is successfully combining style with substance.
The Commons opens new Sydney and Melbourne locations by DesignOffice, blending hospitality, design and community.