Oasis Cronulla by Bronxx is a luxurious collection of 11 three-bedroom waterfront apartments. A glamorous confection of limestone cladding and crisp white render, swathed in lush, cascading greenery, the apartments boast expansive ocean views and direct access to the sparkling water and jetty at Gunnamutta Bay in southern Sydney.

Bronxx is an award-winning builder-developer operating in Sydney’s ultra-high-end property market. Every apartment project they undertake is created with a vision for ‘placemaking’, celebrating and enhancing our connection to nature while delivering unsurpassed luxury and beauty within the built environment.

Oasis was designed by Vic Lake Architects to specifically meet the needs of local downsizers – people used to living in large homes by the water. They consciously sought to increase visible and physical access to the ocean and sky through soaring windows, high ceilings and expansive balconies edged with frameless glass. Styled with a dash of Mediterranean magic, the entire building has a glamour and sparkle that evokes the beauty of the beach on a glorious sunny day. Bronxx Director Ciaran Goodman says they ‘understand the buyer, good design and good living’, and this approach informed the decision to include just 11 apartments within the complex rather than 22. The construction team arrived on site in April 2021 and works began with six months of excavation and site prep (COVID lockdowns delayed progress by around eight weeks during these early stages). Excavating in an urban infill environment can present a raft of challenges. In this case, Ciaran says the biggest issue was the proximity of the neighbouring buildings.

‘It’s always challenging because you have to protect everyone’s assets around you, so we use vibration monitoring. We strategically place them around our properties and the neighbours’ properties, then monitor them daily, and if there’s too much hammering, we introduce more cutting. You always have to look at your data and make sure you’re doing the right thing.’

Each apartment within the complex has a unique internal layout and a mix of inclusions – pools, gardens with waterside access, wrap-around terraces, separate family rooms, master suites and secure parking. The elegantly curated interiors embody the concept of ‘quiet luxury’: expanses of honed limestone, marble and travertine, a muted tonal palette and millimetre-perfect backlit joinery. The spaces are punctuated with bold architectural details: dramatic pendant lights, a bespoke staircase and gently curving walls.

It’s all beautiful. But Ciaran describes the penthouse, spanning the top two storeys of the building, as ‘the jewel in the crown’. This residence takes prestige living to a whole new stratosphere and has more than earned its title of 2024 HIA Australian Apartment of the Year. Ciaran says it was designed to ‘push the boundaries of what you’d expect from penthouse living.’

It feels like a ‘beach house in the sky’: three bedrooms, all with ensuites and private outdoor terraces; primary living zone with open-plan lounge and dining areas, opening via stacking glass doors onto the balcony. There’s a family media room, a butler’s pantry and secure parking for six cars. Integrated Clipsal C-Bus, a home automation system with built-in AI and touchscreens, allows voice or touch-button control of lighting, air conditioning and security.

Then there’s the lavish, marble-paved rooftop terrace, which features 360-degree water views, a sparkling six-metre pool, a state-of-the-art outdoor kitchen and bar, and a landscaped dining and lounging area.

Oasis was built with an exceptionally high degree of intentionality. Inside and out, every material and finish has been considered to optimise liveability and comfort, functionality and durability. Because the building faces west, for example, the exterior floors are paved in Turkish limestone – ‘it’s comfortable to walk on barefoot without being too hot.’ And the Tongue n Groove Chevron flooring used throughout the apartments was selected for its strength, stability and sustainable production process.

The extreme coastal location necessitated the use of marine-grade materials. ‘To accommodate the intense wind loads, we used a complete commercial window system and double rebated drains in sub-seals.’ The exterior’s streamlined aesthetic was achieved by casting all drainage pipes into concrete, hiding them from the facade. ‘This innovation provided a beautiful canvas for our vertical landscaping’ – which in turn offers shading and privacy to the balconies.

Oasis was sold out prior to completion, and owners started moving in by March 2023. ‘Delivering a beautiful project like this, we have happy clients,’ Ciaran says. For Bronxx, building is not a set-and forget scenario: they are active about after-care and believe ‘what we create at the end is just as important as at the start. It’s the whole experience.’

The finished project is a testament to the Bronxx team’s professionalism and tenacity: ‘As a team, how we work together, the way we came together and dealt with the issues, everyone really dug deep on this. We knew there was something special about it. It was the most rewarding thing we’ve done.’

Winning the HIA awards represents a professional pinnacle for Bronxx, which is shifting its focus to building luxury hotels, starting with a project in Sydney’s CBD. ‘For the past 10 years, we’ve been trying to win a HIA award. And then, on our last residential project, we won the best awards you could win, so it’s a huge achievement.’

Awards:

• 2024 HIA Australian Apartment Complex of the Year | Partnered by: Daikin Australia
• 2024 HIA Australian Apartment of the Year | Partnered by: Bondor

Materials:

External

• External walls: Armatex Texture and Energy Star Dirtguard IR Elastic
• External cladding: Silver travertine (sand blasted) from Lithic Australia
• Window and door frames: Alspec
• Driveway: Laguna, Lithic Australia

Internal

• Floors: Tongue n Groove Chevron in Ardesia
• Joinery: Navurban by New Age Veneers in Toorak; Polyurethane in Dulux Lexicon ¼
• Doors: Corinthian doors from Spartan Doors
• Stonework: Alyana Dark marble.

First published on 12 June 2024