K2 Sustainable Housing

Hansen Yuncken constructed the $29 million K2 Apartments, a striking complex of 96 ESD social housing units in Windsor in Melbourne’s inner east.

The development was to set a new benchmark for environmental sustainable design in residential construction. Problem-solving was a vital part of the project, with several technical challenges that had to be overcome. Innovative construction techniques were developed by Hansen Yuncken in order to realise the architect’s vision. Several related to safety on site.

The design called for pre-glazed aluminium-clad timber windows and doors. The largest of these units weighed more than 300 kilograms, and 96 had to be installed. To complicate matters, the units could not be installed from within the apartments, and each installation location could not be accessed directly due to overhanging stacked balconies. This called for clever thinking to minimise or eliminate manual lifting and shifting, while maintaining on-site productivity.

— George Mihos, Contracts Manager