Project: The Commons
Submission Extract: The Commons is a proposal for John Dalton’s former Student Residences. It utilises modern
technologies in the application of a modular CLT prefabrication construction method. with cost
as a driving factor, the Residual Land Valuation report indicated that CLT saves 18% in
construction costs and land interest rates as compared with traditional building methods. The
architectural intent was driven by the values reflected in Dalton’s original design coupled with
findings in economic analysis of the surrounding context of Kelvin Grove, to provide a program
that directly serves the needs of the wider community. The resulting proposal is a mixed use,
loose fit residential lot, catering to a wide demographic of possible tenancies; commercial and
residential. All apartment layouts are repeatable to optimise modular construction. In terms of
fabrication, adaptive reuse of the site has been approached using an entirely prefabricated Cross
Laminated Timber solution. This approach meets the conservation guidelines for the heritage-
listed property. A complete construction programme has been presented in addition to a
manufacturing, methodology, and material handling plan. In all, the transdisciplinary approach
across architecture, construction management and property economics allowed for a unilateral
approach to synthesising design solutions.
