The Orchards

Located to the North West of Sydney’s CBD in the Hills Shire (NSW), The Orchards is one of the most significant residential master-planned communities to be introduced to Australia in over a decade.

Comprising approximately 1300 residencies and mixed-use amenities designed by award-winning architects Turner Studios, The Orchards is bringing a new precinct to Sydney, nestled in preserved forestry and beautifully landscaped gardens – reclaiming the home of Australia’s traditional orchard industry.

Significant development was taking place in the area, which had grown rapidly over the last decade with the introduction of low density detached and semi-detached family homes.  

Apartment developments were then being encouraged due to the increase in demand and Sekisui House acquired 80,000m² to develop a mix of accommodation with buildings ranging from 6 storeys to 12 storeys.  

This is an 8‐year project developed in several stages so “longevity” was key to the branding. As a result, the brand had to be visionary while perfectly in line with Sekisui House’s belief in Satoyama philosophy and other Japanese design principles.

There was already conflict with adjacent developers owning the surrounding area so signing was a predicted challenge and wayfinding to the site problematic. Treatment of the brand was also noted as key, it needed to stand out if used on signage some distance from the development site.

We also needed to create awareness and interest on the apartment offering by providing evidence of the benefits to buying within a master plan while avoiding all the challenges and potential issues from owning a home on your own.

To achieve these outcomes, the brand needed a strong educational component and a very aspirational proposition to engage, elicit interest and generate consideration to purchase off-plan.

The creative platform was based on the principle of building the brand narrative from the legacy of the land. Through the research process, TOAST discovered that the property would be built on one of the first orchards in Australia. We thought it was a beautiful idea to bring back the orchard trees to the community and create a unique brand experience around the overall replanting of the orchards in the area; the tree became the hero of the brand and everything would be framed around this creative idea.

The entire brand remit was based on the creative platform including the delivery of an amazing sales space that draws the visitor in using highly visible cues marrying technology and nature. 

The visitor’s journey has been carefully designed so information is ‘collected’ as an interested buyer navigates the space, assisting the sales team to access relevant and useful information for prospective buyers and sales follow-ups.

This culminates in the Immersion Room (first of its kind in Australia) where a 7-minute brand video takes visitors on an emotional journey of a ‘day in the life’ intending to truly bring the experience of The Orchards' brand alive.

For our work on The Orchards’ branding experience and marketing platform, the TOAST team was presented with 3 awards at the 2018 Sydney Design Awards in the following categories: 

• Gold – Digital – Expanded Service or Application.
• Silver – Graphic Design – Illustration and Type
• Silver – Marketing – Film, Video, Viral