SEPP 65 - Apartment Design Guide

03 I SitingPerformance criteria3F-2Site and building design elements increase privacywithout compromising access to light and air,balance outlook and views from habitable roomsand private open spaceFigure 3F.9Fencing of ground floor apartments should not be solid to allowfor surveillance of common open space and the public domain.Privacy to apartments can be improvedby locating circulation cores at theinternal corners of a building.Acceptable solutions1. Communal open space, common areas andaccess paths are separated from windows toapartments, particularly habitable room windows.Design solutions may include:• setbacks• windows offset from the windows of adjacentbuildings• recessed balconies and/or vertical fins betweenadjacent balconies• solid or partially solid balustrades to balconiesat lower levels• fencing and/or trees and vegetation to separatespaces• screening devices• raising apartments/private open space abovethe public domain or communal open space• planter boxes incorporated into walls andbalustrades to increase visual separation• pergolas or shading devices to limit overlookingof lower apartments or private open space• on constrained sites where it can bedemonstrated that building layout opportunitiesare limited, fixed louvres or screen panels towindows and/or balconies2. Balconies and private terraces are located in frontof living rooms to increase internal privacyNote: Gallery access circulation in high traffic large developmentsshould be treated as habitable space when measuring privacyseparation distances between neighbouring properties.3 3Building layout anddesign features suchas off set windowscan contribute toincreased privacybetween apartments.Figure 3F.10 Examples of solutions to increase privacyDRAFT | Apartment Design Guide I September 201465