Layers of history and modernity. An intimate sitting garden implying refuge from busy Kings Park Road was the essence of the brief for this complex which melds a heritage-listed function centre and cafe with a contemporary apartment block. Sitting courts are created by the articulation of planter walls, stack stone walls and pavement levels. A large water wall and lily pond at the entrance creates a sense of arrival, screens views to a transformer compound and quells traffic noise. Plantings of Pyrus, Liriope and Cycads, and the choice of ornamentation and textures, reference the Federation period architecture while crisp lines impart a contemporary edge.