Wicks Place: The new residential community hub celebrating Marrickville’s industrial heritage
Elicia Murray | 13 Aug 2020
A new community in Marrickville blends the inner-west’s famed industrial heritage with a fresh new laneway culture to create a vibrant place for residents to live, work and socialise.
Wicks Place from developers TOGA and Danias Group will include more than 250 new homes, as well as shops, creative spaces and direct access to Wicks Park as part of the wider revitalisation of the Victoria Road precinct.
Raw materials such as brick, metal cladding and concrete will be incorporated into the design of the new buildings, as architect Stephen Cox, a director at Turner Studio, explains.
“Our vision for Wicks Place draws upon Marrickville’s longstanding community spirit and its dual residential and industrial past,” Cox says. “We’ve sought to create a place that brings delight to those who live and visit and leave a lasting legacy for the evolving suburb.”
The design connects a podium courtyard and ground-level retail stores to Wicks Park. More than 2300 square metres of retail and commercial spaces are planned. New laneways and footpaths create links to nearby streets and the surrounding neighbourhood.
“Just as Marrickville gains strength in diversity, there’s real diversity in the design layouts here too. There are triple and dual aspect apartments in one, two and three-bedroom homes. Even better, everyone gets an outlook,” Cox says.
The five buildings are up to 12 storeys high. Homes on the upper floors offer sweeping city, district and park views. Closer to ground level, residents will have a vivid green backdrop from the communal gardens and Wicks Park. Many of the residences have oversized terraces and studies.
Kirsten Stanisich, director at Sydney interior architecture studio Richards Stanisich, outlines the vision behind the interior design.
“We’ve taken cues from the building’s architecture, the people who’ll live there and the natural environment,” Stanisich says. “Nature shapes the interior palette – a great counterpoint to our increasingly urban lives.”
Buyers have a choice of two palettes, both of which embrace natural stone and soft colours to create a feeling of calm. “We’ve steered away from fads and trends and really sought to capture the unaffected spirit of the neighbourhood.”
The developer’s vision for the precinct includes craft breweries, gin distillers, coffee shops, artisan food outlets, boutique music venues, local pubs and a new creative arts centre.