Planning
Planning

Large Lot Apartments 02 by Bennett and Trimble

Residential flat building at 3–6 storeys with dwellings ranging from studios to 3 bedrooms.

Street view of brick apartment with 2 storey entry in the centre and 4 storeys on either side. Image credit: Choi Render.

A courtyard design that combines 2 familiar housing types, the terrace and the apartment, into a contemporary and flexible pattern for large lots.

Large Lot Apartments 02 by Bennett and Trimble is a 3- to 6-storey development, offering studios, one-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments. The design combines the familiar terrace typology with articulated corner blocks, addressing both primary and secondary street frontages. This makes it well-suited to both brownfield and greenfield residential sites.

A central courtyard and through-site link enhance outlook and connectivity across the urban block. The building is arranged in small-scale clusters, with no more than 17 apartments per cluster. This supports a sense of community and familiarity, with private outdoor space for each dwelling complemented by a shared central courtyard.

The layout is functional and highly adaptable with flexible apartment mixes to suit diverse household types. The design can be scaled from 3 to 6 storeys and supports a range of parking configurations, including basement or on-grade parking. It accommodates slopes of 0–4 m and lot sizes from 36 m to 172 m wide and 57 m to 80 m long. The layout is functional and highly adaptable with flexible apartment mixes to suit diverse household types.

Download to preview Large Lot Apartments 02 (ZIP, 133 MB).

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Key metrics

Each pattern provides a design for low- and mid-rise (LMR) housing areas with some of the designs providing options to suit non-LMR housing areas. The key metrics reflect the compact designs for low-rise patterns and the range of options for mid-rise patterns.
  • Number of dwellings 24-216
  • Bedrooms per dwelling0-3
  • Gross Floor Area (GFA) 2734-18060 m2
  • Efficiency (NSA:GFA)79-96%
  • Parking spaces per building 15-100
  • zoom_in_map Minimum lot area 2052-12040 m²
  • Minimum lot width 36-172 m
  • Number of storeys 3-6
  • Floor-Space Ratio (FSR) 0.76:1-1.93:1
  • Livability rating (ABCB)Standard and beyond minimum
  • Site gradient front to back0-4 m

Key metrics

Each pattern provides a design for low- and mid-rise (LMR) housing areas with some of the designs providing options to suit non-LMR housing areas. The key metrics reflect the compact designs for low-rise patterns and the range of options for mid-rise patterns.
  • Angled street view of 4 storey brick apartments with trees, cars and planting in the foreground. Image credit: Choi Render.
    Illustrative street view, the design addresses primary and secondary street frontages.
  • Interior view of living room with 2 adults and 2 children stretching, talking and playing.
     
    Credit: Choi Render
    Illustrative interior view, open plan living connects to private outdoor spaces.
  • View of central communal outdoor area with 4 storey apartments on the left, two storey entrance in the background and families and planting in the foreground.
    Illustrative communal view, central courtyard is a cohesive feature connecting the 4 buildings.
  • View of front entry to an apartment building with yellow sign and open staircase.
     
    Credit: Choi Render
    Illustrative front entry view, a warm and inviting arrival point.
  • View of front entry to an apartment building with yellow sign and open staircase.
     
    Credit: Choi Render
    Illustrative side entry view, with expressed concrete and brickwork in two tones.
  • Street view of brick apartment with 2 storey entry in the centre and 4 storeys on either side. Image credit: Choi Render.
    Illustrative front view, design combines familiar housing types: terraces and apartments.

Floor plans

Explore the floor plan layouts. Refer to the pattern pack for more floor plan variations to suit your preferences.

  • Architectural drawing of the ground floor plan on the right and the first floor plan on the left.
     
    Credit: Bennett and Trimble
    Typical floor plans (not to scale), featuring a modern combination of apartment and terrace buildings.
  • Architectural drawing level 1 basement floor plan on the right and the level 2 basement floor plan on the left.
     
    Credit: Bennett and Trimble
    Basement floor plan (not to scale), ample underground parking for cars and bicycles over 2 levels.
  • Architectural site plan showing four buildings positioned around a shared communal courtyard.
     
    Credit: Bennett and Trimble
    Ground floor plan (not to scale), all four buildings are positioned around a central communal courtyard.
  • Architectural drawing cutting through the courtyard to show the northern half of the ground levels of Buildings 1 and 2, each containing four apartment units. A shared communal courtyard is shown at the bottom of the image.
     
    Credit: Bennett and Trimble
    Building 1 and 2 floor plan (not to scale), featuring a mix of studios to 3 bedrooms.
  • Architectural drawing cutting through the courtyard to show the southern half of the ground levels of Buildings 1 and 2, each containing 3 apartment units. A shared communal courtyard is shown at the top of the image, and a driveway and basement ramp off the street at the bottom of the image.
     
    Credit: Bennett and Trimble
    Building 3 and 4 floor plan (not to scale), communal room opens onto a generous courtyard.
  • Architectural drawing of a roof plant level on the left side and a roof plan on the right side.
     
    Credit: Bennett and Trimble
    Roof plans (not to scale), featuring building services and solar panels.

Fixed and flexible features

Fixed features must be included in your planning application. Flexible features can be modified within agreed parameters.

Axonometric section of the Large Lot Apartments 02 Bennett and Trimble
Tap to explore

  • Fixed features
    • Courtyard with through-site link

      The base pattern is organised around a central courtyard with a publicly accessible through-site link connecting to the street. 
    • Sun filled living rooms

      The terrace apartments are designed to follow the sun (facing north) to provide comfortable, light filled living spaces.
    • Bike and pedestrian friendly

      Both cyclist and pedestrians benefit from the sloped entry ramp and mid-block connection, with bike storage located at ground floor and basement.
    • Communal space

      The communal courtyard represents 18% of overall site area and is complemented by common rooms on ground floor and the through-site link.
    • Waste

      Waste storage is on ground level with designated weekly on-site collection and separate bulky waste storage.

  • Flexible features
    • Corner and terrace modules

      Apartment blocks on the site corners connect to terraces, expanding in size when more terraces are added to enable various size adaptations.
    • Height and size

      The pattern can accommodate 3- to 6-storey adaptations and adaptations for sites 0–4 m downslope and 0–4 m upslope.
    • Irregular site shape

      Components can be offset in plan, if required to accommodate an irregularly shaped site.
    • Parking and car ramp

      Basement or on-grade parking options are available. On sloping sites, the basement entrance can be positioned to suit the lowest terrace frontage.
    • Material type and colour

      Four modest material palettes are provided using familiar, robust materials like concrete, brick and compressed fibre cement.

Materials and character

Large Lot Apartments 02 features a restrained and elegant façade, designed to suit a variety of neighbourhood contexts. Four brick palette options are provided, with subtle contrasting colours applied to balconies and entrances to respond to local character.

The design is simple, practical, and cost-effective to construct. Materials are modest but durable, and construction detailing is efficient. The pattern supports modern methods of construction, with stacked service cores, efficient floorplates, and modular components that streamline delivery and reduce complexity. 

Street view of corner apartment with sand and light tan bricks and 2 street frontages. Image credit: Bennett and Trimble.
Sand and light tan bricks

A sand-coloured brick with light tan brickwork to spandrel areas.

Street view of corner apartment with blue and grey bricks and 2 street frontages.
 
Credit: Bennett and Trimble
Blue-grey face brick

A light blue-grey face brick is combined with mid blue-grey brick in spandrel areas.

Street view of corner apartment with white and off-white bricks and 2 street frontages.
 
Credit: Bennett and Trimble
White painted bagged brick

White bagged and painted brick is used alongside off-white tones in spandrel areas for a clean, neutral finish. 

Street view of corner apartment with grey and green bricks and 2 street frontages.
 
Credit: Bennett and Trimble
Grey painted bagged brick

Mid grey bagged and painted brick is complemented by lighter grey tones in spandrel areas.

About the architect

Bennett and Trimble is an architecture practice with a diverse range of projects including large-scale masterplans, infrastructure, housing and education projects, public architecture and heritage adaptation. The practice has also contributed to a range of independent assessments, strategies and projects to guide policy reform. Current and former clients include NSW Government agencies, major universities and several large private sector developers.

For more of Bennett and Trimble's work, visit Bennett and Trimble.

Meet the pattern book design team

Getting into the detail

Learn more about turning your pattern book project into reality with guidance for designing your landscape and gaining fast-track planning approval.

Illustration of landscape design. Credit: Felix Saw
Illustration of landscape design. 
Credit: Felix Saw

Complement your proposal with beautiful, resilient, landscape designs.

Illustration of approvals process. Credit: Felix Saw
Illustration of approvals process. 
Credit: Felix Saw

All patterns are eligible for a fast-tracked planning assessment pathway.

Preview or purchase this pattern

View the pattern drawings at no cost to help you select the most suitable pattern for your project.

To use the pattern for your planning application, you must purchase the full suite of documents, accept the terms and conditions and reference your unique identification number. When you pay the fee, you will receive technical drawings in PDF and DWG formats, an editable design verification statement and your unique identification number.

Purchase the pattern design