It was late 2021 when luxury Sydney developer, Aqualand, launched sales for their stunning new project, AURA by Aqualand.

Within the first week of marketing, over 70 per cent of the apartments released in the first stage were sold.

AURA was conceived as a game-changer for Sydney's growing second CBD, with designs by renowned architecture Woods Bagot who were tasked with creating both a placemaking project which would contribute to North Sydney, as well as offer residents a sanctuary above a thriving new retail and dining precinct.

Fast forward just over two years from when the project hit the market, and now the building exterior is complete and display apartments have been finished and furnished, there's certainly nothing comparable in the apartment space in the area.

At a time where the development industry has been plagued with construction difficulties, Aqualand's own in-house building arm, Aqualand Construction, has pushed on through the challenges. One of the pillars of development Aqualand pride themselves on is timeliness of delivery.

Aqualand Construction delivered their first project, BLUE at Lavender Bay, in 2021, which points to both their efficiency in delivery and the quality of delivery. BLUE at Lavender Bay won the 2022 AIB Professional Excellence in Building in the category of Adaptive Reuse, as well as the 2023 Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat Award of Excellence in the repositioning category.

The quality of design and construction is on show again at their new display apartments in AURA. The interiors were led by Richards Stanisich, who focused on creating palettes which evoke the natural beauty of Sydney Harbour.

Kirsten Stanisich, Director and Founder of Richards Stanisich, said their design interprets the architectural concept for the building to reflect the sculptural shorelines and cliff faces of Sydney Harbour. Three schemes are available, light, mid, or dark palettes.

All apartments afford a seamless flow from open space living to glorious winter gardens or balconies, while some apartments feature a multi-functional room that facilitates use as a secondary living area, an office, bedroom, or guest room. Completing the offering, select apartments enjoy sunlit glazed studies instead. 

The heart of the home is the luxurious kitchen, complete with natural stone benchtop and splashback, integrated Gaggenau appliances including oven, microwave, rangehood and dishwasher, and an island bench with pendant lighting.

Residents will have access to a suite of five-star resort-style amenities including a podium level pool and gym, a dining and entertaining area on level nine, and outdoor barbecue facilities, a sun deck, and dining rooms on the top level.

The apartments will sit above an activated ground floor plane, part of the placemaking initiative by Woods Bagot.

To be managed by hospitality arm Etymon Projects, there will be a mix of venues on the doorstep of AURA including a providore, a bakery, café, wine bar, an all-day diner, as well as a contemporary Japanese eatery.

Having topped out the 28-level glass structure in July last year, Aqualand is expecting residents to be settling around the same time this year.

There are still a handful of one, two and three-bedroom apartments remaining in AURA by Aqualand.