Site Overview
site name:
Wylde Street Apartments
architect(s):
Aaron Bolot
date of commission:
1948
date of completion:
1951
address:
17 Wylde Street, Potts Point, Sydney NSW Australia
classification/typology:
Residential / Housing (RES)
protection status:
Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012 (I1198)
Description
Wylde Street Apartment’s streamlined form, curved to maximise the site’s open north-facing elevation and reflecting its logical and efficient radial planning, is one of Sydney’s exemplary post-war architectural designs. Architect Aaron Bolot’s use of modern materials in the reinforced concrete frame and steel-framed ribbon windows provided a unified facade articulated by the strong horizontal bands of spandrel and glazing, and punctuated by regular vertical projections and recessed balconies. The 10-storey, 38-unit development was one of the largest buildings to be constructed in inner-city Sydney following World War II.
Bolot’s plan ingeniously fanned the main rooms out to capture the light and views with the service areas pushed to the rear of the building. The apartments are grouped in pairs that are directly connected to the twin lift and stair cores, avoiding a central corridor and allowing for increased privacy and cross-ventilation. Wylde Street Apartments offered owners a sophisticated, compact urban living option that was instrumental in transforming the concept of higher-density living in Australia.
Text adapted from an entry by Rebecca Hawcroft in Australia Modern: Architecture, Landscape and Design 1925-1975 (2019, Thames and Hudson).