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.