SEPP 65 - Apartment Design Guide

04 I Building4B Ground floor apartmentsGround floor apartments offer the potential for at-gradelandscaped private open spaces and direct accessfrom the street. They also provide opportunities for theapartment building and its landscape to respond to thehuman scale of the streetscape. On steep sites they maybe located over different floors of the building steppingdown the site.Ground floor apartments can be of particular benefitto the elderly and disabled as they are generally moreaccessible. They also suit families with small childrenand extend the lifestyle choices available in apartmentbuildings by facilitating activities such as home business,gardening, outdoor play and pet ownership.Figure 4B.2 The ground floor component of this double storey apartment isflexible and can be used as a home officeGround floor plan - home officeFigure 4B.1 Ground floor apartments should address the public domainand be accessed directly from the streetAlternative ground floor layout - residentialAlternative solutionsGround floor apartment layouts support smalloffice home office (SOHO) use to providefuture opportunities for conversion intocommercial or retail areas. In these casesprovide higher floor to ceiling heights andground floor amenities for easy conversion.Figure 4B.3 Plan and section of a double storey apartment which isdirectly accessible from the street78 DRAFT | Apartment Design Guide I September 2014