Art Group Canberra has a way of raising the bar with each new development. Photo: Art Group.
Ever walked into a building of unquestionable quality, but been unable to put your finger on what exactly makes it so?
Gabe Szivek could tell you. The development director at Art Group Canberra oversees a team whose job includes devising all the tweaks to industry standards that ensure their buildings stand apart from the crowd.
He says the devil is in these details: “We’re here to question what is the ‘best’.”
This is the nucleus of “The Art Standard” – the quality and consideration that goes into every facet of an Art Group development.
The Art Standard is the reason Gabe has never walked through a newly completed building with the project’s architect and approved it for market without making changes for function or aesthetics. Tradespeople who regularly work on Art Group projects are accustomed to this.
“The people we work with know we’re not interested in what’s easiest, and we’re not necessarily happy to just go with methods because ‘it’s always been that way’,” Gabe says.
“The Art Standard means always asking ‘Why is this ‘best practice’? Is there a better practice? Why do you need to step over a hob to get on a balcony – why can’t all the floors have a smooth and flush transition from room to room? Do those bulkheads have to be visible? Why can’t the window stretch from the roof to the floor?
“We expect each person on the job to tap into their expertise and experience what we’re not thinking of. We challenge our designers and engineers to create buildings that maximise space and aesthetics, not just what’s easiest to build, which means addressing all the things we ‘put up with’ in our living spaces, which most of us barely notice anymore. Except we notice when it’s been corrected, we notice how it makes life easier or the space feel better.
“We need everyone on the project to be driven by that same goal: deliver something people are not expecting, something that makes it better than the last time, then make that the new standard.”
The Art Standard plays a big role in Art Group Canberra’s long list of awards, including MBA Multi-Unit High Rise Apartment of the Year 2024 for Kashmir in Dickson. Photo: Art Group.
Collaboration is a cornerstone of The Art Standard: partner with the architect, builder, engineer and tradespeople with the best reputation, then rely on their expertise to create a building that fits the site and constraints. Everyone gets agency and creative licence, but nobody is above the question: Is this really best?
Hiring locally also helps.
“If we want someone who will care about the outcome like us, we know we have to look to people who live here,” Gabe says.
“Art Group is local – the owner is Canberra born and bred, we all live here, our kids go to school here and the people who purchase in our buildings are people we live alongside. Canberra is a small place, so when you engage local crews, it’s not a hard sell – they all want to create something they and their families can be proud of long into the future.
“In that way, our buildings are our legacy.”
The Art Standard plays a big part in Art Group’s long list of awards including Stewart Architecture’s win of The Sydney Ancher Australian Institute of Architecture (AIA) ACT Award – the highest honour in Architecture for Residential Multi-unit Housing – and, more recently, the MBA Multi-Unit High Rise Apartment of the Year 2024, both for Kashmir in Dickson.
“Art Group homes are for the discerning buyer. Dickson might not seem like a luxe location compared to say, the Kingston Foreshore, but we have a good record of picking locations where purchase values for our buyers will go up considerably,” Gabe says. “Then, we build them their own oasis of luxury within their own apartment, to The Art Standard.”
Looking to compare quality when buying off the plan? Download The Art Standard checklist.
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