Our architects with our builders alongside.
Our design team works out how the house sits on its slope and opens to the harbour. Our builders join the access and structural discussion as the concept develops.
Point Piper / Harbour outlook and hillside construction
Builders in Point Piper who plan the whole route from street to water
A harbour outlook sets the ambition for a home. We match it to where the house sits on the slope, the views your neighbours share and how the build will physically reach the site.
ALOFT / Darling Point / Completed 2021
01 / The proposition
How you reach the house matters as much as the view
As builders in Point Piper, we look at how a home is reached as closely as how it faces the harbour. Council describes large houses, some reached through narrow access handles, alongside interwar and later apartment buildings.
We work with your architect or design the home in our own practice. Our first meeting puts the rooms and outlook you want next to the access, the existing structure and where the house sits on the hillside.
Access before form
Plan how the big pieces arrive
For a home below the street or behind another property, we work out material handling before committing to large structural components. Testing a lifting position, delivery route and temporary storage area shows which design choices need more engineering or a different construction sequence.
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Darling Point · residential
[ ALOFT ]
Five apartments arranged around Sydney Harbour views, with two basement levels. Completed in 2021, with architecture and interiors by Xpace.
Map locationDarling Point · Indicative location
Xpace (Architecture & Interiors) · SHORE (Construction Delivery)
Explore project details Point Piper planning
Houses and apartments sit under different rules here
The peninsula holds both R2 and R3 residential land. We check your site's zoning and current controls before treating any neighbouring building as a guide to what you can propose.
- 01
Step with the hillside.
Council wants buildings that step with the slope and keep harbour glimpses from public places. Private view sharing is part of the design assessment too.
- 02
Look at what is already there.
The precinct guidance seeks to retain interwar flats and stone or brick retaining walls. Even without a broad conservation area, individual heritage listings still need checking.
- 03
Know the waterfront rules.
A harbourside proposal needs its own foreshore and heritage checks. Listed items cannot use the Low Rise Housing Diversity Code and every other proposal still has to prove its eligibility.
- 04
Understand the access handle.
Council's precinct description includes harbourside houses on battle axe lots. If yours sits behind another property, we measure the available approach and check access rights before planning deliveries or removing material from an excavation.
Building on the peninsula
The Point Piper build strategy grows with the design
The way into a waterfront house can matter as much as its floor plan. We review the route from the street to each working level while the design is still being resolved.
Walk the construction route.
We measure the usable access and find where deliveries, lifting and storage can happen. Any limits around retained walls or neighbouring buildings go to the engineers.
Compare views in section.
We draw the proposed roof and terraces against surrounding homes and public sightlines. Form is judged on that drawing, not on the height of a nearby apartment block.
Coordinate the lower levels.
Excavation support and water management are resolved with the structural design. Temporary works and handling are priced with the permanent building, so the scope reflects the real site.
Who is on your team
Start with the property or bring your architect's scheme
Some Point Piper projects start with a home that needs rethinking. Others come with an architect already on the design who wants a builder's input.
We build with your architect.
We go through the proposed materials, consultant documents and site sequence with your existing team. A renovation or knockdown rebuild gets its own scope and approval assessment before a contract price is set.
Explore our work
ALOFT, built by SHORE in Darling Point
[ ALOFT ]
Darling Point, NSW
Completed 2021
Completed 2021. Five apartments with architecture and interiors by Xpace, built by SHORE.
- Architecture
- Xpace
- Interiors & facade
- Xpace
Nearby on the harbour
ALOFT, our build in Darling Point
We built ALOFT's five apartments to architecture and interiors by Xpace. Completed in 2021 in Darling Point, it shows how we work with an independent design practice.
Point Piper and Darling Point are about 1.5 km apart, measured in a straight line between the two suburb centres. That is not the distance to the building or a trip by road.
Questions to bring early
Building in Point Piper: what owners ask
Can a taller Point Piper apartment block establish the height for my house?
No. Your property's own controls are the starting point. Point Piper has more than one residential zone, so a nearby apartment building is not a reliable guide to what a house can do.
What changes if my Point Piper home is behind another property?
The access handle can limit equipment size, delivery methods and where materials are held. We review those limits with the building's levels before choosing a construction sequence.
Is an unlisted Point Piper building a straightforward knockdown rebuild?
Individual heritage status is only one check. Council's precinct guidance also covers interwar flats, retaining walls and harbour views, so a replacement is assessed in its full setting.
Start at the front gate
Plan your Point Piper home with us
Send photos of the access and a survey showing the change in level. If a design is underway, add the drawings and we will work through the construction questions with your team.
Talk to us about your Point Piper home
