The Cook Housing Cooperative is a group of over 100 townhouses sited in natural bushland at Wybalena Grove, Cook. The housing group was designed by Sydney architect Michael Dysart in 1974, with construction completed in 1977.

Wybalena Grove was established when a group of residents, dissatisfied with the way the development of the Urambi Village Cooperative was progressing, split off and formed a separate group, developing the Cook Housing Cooperative. Wybalena Grove is a larger development than Urambi, being sited on roughly 28 acress of land compared with Urambi’s 11 acre site.

The townhouses are typical of the late twentieth century Sydney regional style: split level with dark tiled roofs, clinker bricks, stained timber posts and beams situated on a sloping site in a natural bushland setting.

It’s interesting to compare the landscape setting of Wybalena Grove (natural bushland) with the other Sydney regional style townhouse developments at Urambi (native but largely man-made) and Stage 1 of Swinger Hill (higher density with less landscaping).

The RAIA’s Architectural Guide to Australia’s Capital (RAIA ACT Chapter, Canberra, 1982) describes the Wybalena Grove development:

Triangular brick party walls and associated tile roofs unify a series of house rows completely integrated with the natural site.

— RAIA ACT Chapter

Further reading

• Short biography of Michael Dysart
• Urambi Village Housing Cooperative
• The late twentieth century Sydney regional style

The idea of the Urambi Village Housing Cooperative, or Urambi Village as it is now known, was conceived by a group of public servants who came to Canberra to work in the Whitlam Government’s Federal Department of Urban and Regional Development in 1973. This group wanted to establish a new style of housing that provided a better environment and facilities than the standard single lot residential unit.

At the time, use of large blocks of land for medium density housing was prohibited by local planning regulations and it was necessary to change the land tenure laws to allow large sites such as Urambi and Wybalena Grove to be developed and sold through strata title. Public meetings were called to gauge interest in the concept and a Housing Cooperative was formed to develop the village. Various disagreements saw the Cooperative split into two groups: one continued to develop Urambi while the other formed the Cook Housing Cooperative at Wybalena Grove.

The Sydney architect Michael Dysart was commissioned to design both developments in 1974.

Significance

The housing group is a relatively rare and well-preserved example of 1970s housing in the late twentieth century Sydney regional style. The place exhibits the principle characteristics of modern residential architecture in a National Capital Development Commission planned neighbourhood suburb—appropriate human scale and functional domestic planning. The housing is notable for being situated within a natural bushland setting and the intact landscaping surrounding the buildings. The setting and the architecture combine to produce a precinct of integrity, illustrative of modern architecture.

Urambi is a well-preserved example of the move towards the introduction of diverse housing types procured through communal and co-operative processes for the purpose of demonstrating a socially responsible residential alternative and environmentally sensitive form of housing.

The real achievement of Urambi lies in the way the houses have been grouped to achieve a total result which is greater than the sum of the parts.

— RAIA ACT Chapter Awards Jury, 1977

Urambi is the first of two examples of medium density housing designed by Michael Dysart in Canberra, one of Australia’s nationally noted architects. The other is Wybalena Grove in Cook.

The housing exhibits creative and artistic excellence as an entity possessing an architectural theme of modern architecture in the late twentieth-century Sydney regional style. The housing is aesthetically significant for its massing reflecting function and landform, juxtaposed with fine detailing, all expressed in the textural and tactile qualities of natural materials.

The Sydney Regional style

Urambi is an example of the late twentieth-century Sydney regional style of architecture with its asymmetrical massing, tiled skillion roofs (courtyard houses) and use of stained timber. Other architectural elements of the Sydney regional style displayed in these buildings that relate to the external forms are:

• clerestory windows
• exposed rafters
• timber decks
• timber awning sash

The following design features are of additional significance:

• site planning where the clusters are staggered across the site
• native landscape setting with paths and retaining walls
• brick courtyard walls
• external finishes—western red cedar framed glazing, panelled front doors, face brown-grey brickwork
• timber balustrades
• separate covered car parking
• split-level designs, and original detailing and finishes

Pedestrian access to the houses from the parking areas is by pathways through native landscaping.

Description

The housing group is planned around the curve of the northwest crest of a low hill, set between a golf course and the elbow street corner formed by Crozier Circuit forming an inverted ‘L’ site plan. The residential groups are approached off vehicle circulation paths and the car accommodation, which is accessed off Crozier Circuit from five evenly spaced entry roads. The site has a mature native landscape of trees and shrubs.

The Murrumbidgee Country Club golf course forms the north and west edge of the site and is linked to the Canberra Nature park. The land slopes to the north and west with westerly views across to the Brindabella Mountains.

The houses were situated within an existing bush-land setting and further planting of Australian natives within the public areas has re-enforced the ‘naturalness’ of the setting. The 43 split-level houses are located closest to the circuit and are arranged in groups or clusters of three to seven, placed to form parallel rows of terraces. The clusters are serviced by six car parking areas comprising carports and visitor car parking spaces.

Extending around the north and northwest edge of the site facing onto the golf course are 29 ‘L’ planned single storey courtyard houses, in clusters of three to seven, placed to form enclosed and partly enclosed private courtyards for each house.

The design philosophy revolved around a pedestrian street with both arms leading to a community centre, forming an agora or public space.

— Michael Dysart

Pedestrian access to the houses from the parking areas is by pathways. The complex has a communal meeting room, a swimming pool, ball court, seating areas, letterboxes and garbage collection areas. The entries to most dwellings, with their vertically panelled cedar doors, are placed seemingly without concern for a formal front facade.

All houses are constructed with brown tile pitched roofs, brown-grey face brickwork, stained exposed timber, and western red cedar framed glazing combining to provide a distinctive aesthetic appearance of textural unity. The different designs range from two to five bedroom dwellings. Spaces within the split-level dwellings are arranged on three levels taking advantage of the slope of the site, some with clerestory glazing and skylights.

By staggering the houses the external walls of adjacent dwellings help enclose the courtyards providing additional privacy, and combined with native planting, the whole provides a perception of buildings settled in the natural landscape following the contours of the hillside.

Urambi Village was awarded the RAIA ACT Chapter C S Daley Medal in 1982. In 2002 it was awarded the RAIA ACT Chapter 25 Year Award.

Sources and further reading

• Alastair Swayn of Daryl Jackson Alastair Swayn Architects, Canberra
• Royal Australian Institute of Architects RSTCA Draft Citation for Urambi Village
• Profile of Wybalena Grove: Cook Housing Cooperative
• Short biography of Michael Dysart
• The late twentieth century Sydney regional style

Michael Dysart is an important architect of the second half of the twentieth century in Australia and a leading practitioner of the late twentieth century Sydney regional style of architecture. He played an important role in the development of public buildings in NSW, notably educational buildings, and affordable housing, specifically in the development of modern architect designed project homes and co-operative communal housing in NSW and the ACT.

His most important works in Canberra are Urambi Village and Wybalena Grove. Both are significant ACT outcomes of a rare communal and co-operative approach to development.

Born in 1934, Dysart won one of the small number of NSW Government Architect traineeships in 1955 and on graduating from the University of Sydney in 1958 he was the last to join of the four key trainees who became part of the design office working under Harry Rembert. The other members of the design office at the Government Architects were Peter Weber, who later became the Government Architect, Ken Woolley, who later became a partner at Ancher Mortlock Murray and Woolley, and Peter Hall, who later combined with others to take over the Sydney Opera House from Jorn Utzon. Dysart remained with the NSW Department of Public Works until 1969.

NSW Government Architects

The NSW Government Architects were responsible for designing public schools, amongst other buildings. During the period from 1947 to 1972 the high school student numbers in NSW grew from around 80,000 to 280,000. The High School Programme (within the NSW Government Architects office) was a major thrust.

Dysart joined the Schools Section in 1964 and was responsible for various programs including the Secondary School Wyndham scheme, a program to build some 43 high schools in three years. One of the schools was highly commended in the 1967 Sulman Award and the Taree Technical College received the Blackett Award in 1965.

Michael Dysart developed the doughnut design solution for high schools with a series of pavilions with central courtyards. Dysart was regarded as one of the most productive and impressive of the designers from the Design Room. Unlike many of the young modernist architects of the middle period of the twentieth century in Australia, Dysart did not travel to Europe or take up scholarships in the U.S until 1976, due to the unique design opportunities given to him by the NSW Public Works Department. His understanding of international trends was based on references in publications and not first hand observation.

Project housing

With Ken Woolley, Dysart designed the Lowline project home for the project building company Pettit & Sevitt, established in 1961. This was the first architect designed project home for the company and was initially displayed at North Rocks, Sydney, in 1963. In Canberra there are many examples of Pettit & Sevitt project homes of the models he designed with Ken Woolley. There are also a number of project homes he designed with other companies after the demise of Pettit & Sevitt, such as Trend, Aspect and Habitat. These are mainly in Aranda, Kambah and Weston.

Dysart’s interest in project housing led to innovative housing co-operatives in Sydney as well as the two major projects in Canberra.

He has designed numerous private houses including the Masterman House in Woollahra, 1969. Dysart has designed public buildings including the Polish Millennium Church at Marayong in 1964, Stewart House, Curl Curl, 1969, and townhouses for the Housing Commission in Woolloomooloo, 1977.

Later work

Dysart joined with Peter Bell to form the practice of Michael Dysart & Partners in 1970. To expand the range of projects, the firm merged with the Queensland based Davis Heather Group, creating Davis Heather & Dysart, to design hotels and resorts including the Regent Hotel in Sydney and the Hilton Hotel in Cairns and other commercial buildings in New South Wales and in Queensland. The firm subsequently was known again as Michael Dysart & Partners. By the early 1980s the firm had five Directors and a total staff of 35.

Awards

Dysart designed himself or in association, numerous projects that have received major architectural awards including the:

• RAIA NSW Blackett Award, 1965, for the Taree Technical College
• RAIA NSW Sulman, 1967, Highly Commended Award for the Ryde High School
• RAIA NSW Chapter Project House Design Awards, 1968, $10,000–$13,000
• ACT Chapter C S Daley Medal, 1977 and the RAIA Twenty-Five Year Award, 2002, for Urambi
• RAIA NSW Sulman Award, 1991, for Grosvenor Place, Joint Architects with Harry Seidler

Houses profiled on this site

• Urambi Village Housing Cooperative, Crozier Circuit, Kambah, 1974
• Cook Housing Cooperative, Wybalena Grove, Cook, 1974

Other works in Canberra

• 13 Wolgal Place, Aranda, 1969

Other works

• Polish Millennium Church, Marayong, NSW, 1964
• Taree Technical College, Taree, NSW, 1965
• Ryde High School, Ryde, NSW, 1967
• Stewart House, Curl Curl, NSW, 1969
• Housing Commission Townhouses, Woolloomooloo, NSW, 1977
• Grosvenor Place, Sydney, NSW, 1982 (with Harry Seidler)

Source

• Royal Australian Institute of Architects RSTCA Draft Citation for Urambi Village