Assembly - 181 Capel Street, North Melbourne

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Cbus Property has sought to challenge the concept of typical apartment design with the completion of Assembly, a low-rise, architecturally designed development on the fringe of the CBD. It is the first in a series of design-led apartment projects by the developer and has been targeted at the owner occupier market.

Bordered on three sides by Capel, Courtney and Queensberry Streets in North Melbourne, Assembly creates a boutique address across four distinctive buildings, in a unique residential enclave.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/fullsizerender_0.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Assembly as seen from the corner of Capel and Queensberry Streets."><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="435" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/fullsizerender_0.jpg?itok=sux_zfkE" title="Assembly as seen from the corner of Capel and Queensberry Streets." width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Assembly as seen from the corner of Capel and Queensberry Streets.</figcaption></figure>The $80 million development has been designed by architects Woods Bagot and comprises 138 apartments across a series of highly crafted metallic forms, organised around a central common landscape, with the smallest building containing just 20 units.

Adrian Pozzo, CEO of Cbus Property has identified that the Gen X and Y market is largely under-serviced by property developers and is focusing his strategy on servicing this demographic, citing the demand for design-led, generous, fringe CBD apartments.

Assembly is almost completely sold out with only three of the 138 apartments left for sale.

<blockquote>
Assembly is a different kind of project for Cbus Property and one we can be proud of.
We deliberately chose a low rise design to respond to the surrounding area and create a community residential feel. The market has responded enthusiastically to this unique project, with only three apartments left for sale.
There is an owner occupier market in the inner fringe that has largely been forgotten as the industry has raced to fill investor and downsizer needs. There are a lot of young professionals, couples and affluent singles in Melbourne willing to pay more for generous, well-designed and quality apartments where they can live and entertain.
Providing this type of owner occupier product is a focus for our business in the current market, as we can see this segment is greatly under served.

<cite>Adrian Pozzo, Chief Executive Officer, Cbus Property</cite>
</blockquote>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/fullsizerender_6.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="A common internal landscape ties the four volumes together."><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="773" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/fullsizerender_6.jpg?itok=d__ccDk-" title="A common internal landscape ties the four volumes together." width="580"></a>

<figcaption>A common internal landscape ties the four volumes together.</figcaption></figure>Creating a development both unique to its surroundings but with an element of familiarity, Assembly draws on North Melbourne’s architectural vernacular and the materiality of the area, comprising a series of low rise sculpturally formed buildings interconnected by common landscaped laneways. The intent was to create a collection of distinctive buildings, of a similar architectural expression which foster a community feel.

In order to address the requirements of residents and the planning scheme with regard to privacy, natural light and ventilation, a strategy was adopted to split the site into four buildings. This allowed ample separation between the buildings which in turn provided access to natural daylight and ventilation in apartments.

Through the crafting of raw, honest materials, which draw on the surrounding neighbourhood, the buildings have their own individual identity via the use of a variety of tones for the metal and zinc external cladding. This provides the development with a contemporary industrial aesthetic.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/fullsizerender_2.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The metallic forms of Assembly with steel reveals to windows."><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="773" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/fullsizerender_2.jpg?itok=Yk89Qhm8" title="The metallic forms of Assembly with steel reveals to windows." width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The metallic forms of Assembly with steel reveals to windows.</figcaption></figure>Woods Bagot Principal and lead designer Peter Miglis said it was important to express this meticulous crafting through the design of the development.

<blockquote>
We wanted to build on the history of North Melbourne, with its light industrial warehouses, as well as the neighbourhood’s emerging sense of cool. The design draws inspiration from the North Melbourne skyline's silhouette of pitched church roof profiles and re-imagines them with a contemporary twist.

Carefully considered elements and details are brought poetically together from the walls, cladding, window reveals to the ceilings, providing a sensitive human scale for residential living. The individuality of each building enables occupants to identify their own home within the overall development.

Assembly seeks to discover a more personalised and intimate scale through the use of punch windows in each apartment which frame a view and create a piece of art within the interior experience,

Drawing on the architecture of the area, Assembly features a series of laneways that make the buildings permeable. Each building features its own foyer and once residents step off the lift, there is a view back down onto the central courtyard, making the entire space enjoyable for its inhabitants.
<cite>Architect Peter Miglis, Principal, Woods Bagot</cite>
</blockquote>

Inspired by the local warehouse architecture, the interiors have been considered with a robust, industrial material palette employed consistently throughout. The concrete soffits to living spaces provide apartments with an industrial feel which expresses the construction process employed.

The formwork used during the construction visible on the soffits. These complement the timber floors while the open plan kitchen and living areas are loosely defined by kitchen bulkheads. The finishes used for the balconies extend to the periphery of living areas acting as an extension of the living spaces, while projecting bay windows highlight and frame views beyond.

The communal rooftop terrace has also been carved into the building as a result of strict planning requirements and features timber bench seating, plants and BBQ area for residents. The CBD views from this area are expansive and impressive, allowing residents a glimpse of the hustle and bustle and bright lights of the city beyond.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/fullsizerender_8.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The view of the north of the city from the rooftop."><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="435" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/fullsizerender_8.jpg?itok=uOhhBANI" title="The view of the north of the city from the rooftop." width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The view of the north of the city from the rooftop.</figcaption></figure>Assembly adds to Cbus Property's growing repertoire of quality, inner city apartment projects, including Volaire in West Melbourne, which is about to start construction in September and caters to the same demographic of owner occupiers, Classic East Melbourne and a yet-to-be-revealed project in Collingwood.

Woods Bagot, in collaboration with SHoP Architects of New York, has been engaged by Cbus Property to deliver the design for Collins Arch at 447 Collins Street. Cbus Property held a ceremony to mark construction commencement on Collins Arch this morning.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/collins_arch.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Collins Arch, 447 Collins Street. Image courtesy Woods Bagot + SHoP"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="326" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/collins_arch.jpg?itok=RksT1UqZ" title="Collins Arch, 447 Collins Street. Image courtesy Woods Bagot + SHoP" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Collins Arch, 447 Collins Street. Image courtesy Woods Bagot + SHoP</figcaption></figure>
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Laurence Dragomir

Woods Bagot and Cbus Property's Assembly

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It's very easy to assume that Melbourne is only building skyscrapers and high-rise towers in the inner city and low-density detached housing on the fringes.  Skyscraper proposals attract headlines across a wide range of media outlets but there's an equally huge story of Melbourne's current development scene that is easily overlooked.

What of the middle ground between skyscraper or sprawl?  There are in fact hundreds of small stature apartment projects in Melbourne's suburbs that are easily glossed over.

At the time of writing there are 983 projects listed on the Urban.com.au Project Database.  208 of those are made up of either 2, 3 or 4 floors and when combined contain over 7,000 dwellings across all phases of the development cycle: that is from planning to construction.

If the search criteria is expanded to include projects up to and including 5 floors, the total number of projects rockets up to 339 with over 12,000 dwellings in play.

The following (long!) list is every low-rise project with either 2, 3 or 4 floors that Urban.com.au is tracking on within our  <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/developments">Project Database</a>.  <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/">Data Portal</a> subscribers can pull this information directly by exporting the database and filtering through a spreadsheet program like Excel or OpenOffice Calc.

I'm going to let the database do the talking from this point on - so get off your mobile, turn your tablet to portrait layout or jump on a desktop/laptop: here's Melbourne's low-rise high-density story.
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Alastair Taylor

Welcome to boom-town: Melbourne's low-rise high-density projects in one long list

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Synonymous with large-scale commercial developments for much of its history, Cbus Property is increasingly turning its hand to apartment development in Melbourne. The unique property investor and developer - backed by its superannuation parent - has recently lodged plans for a sizeable Collingwood development, its fifth current Melbourne residential apartment pursuit.

With the lodgement of plans for 61-71 Wellington Street Collingwood, Cbus Property now holds hundreds of apartments in its Melbourne development pipeline in addition to the 408 dwellings currently under construction over two Melbourne sites.

<h2>The latest addition</h2>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image72_0.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Cbus Property's latest pursuit. Images courtesy John Wardle Architects"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="316" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image72_0.jpg?itok=3J_27jWH" title="Cbus Property's latest pursuit. Images courtesy John Wardle Architects" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Cbus Property's latest pursuit. Images courtesy John Wardle Architects</figcaption></figure><ul>
<li>61-71 Wellington Street and 37-39 Langridge Street, Collingwood</li>
	<li>13 level residential development</li>
	<li>196 dwellings: 98 x 1BR, 82 x 2BR and 16 x 3BR</li>
	<li>163 car parking spaces and 93 bicycle spaces within three basement levels</li>
	<li>117sqm retail space</li>
	<li>Three commercial spaces: 392sqm total</li>
</ul>
Designed by John Wardle Architects, the proposed glazed tower is to sit behind a partially retained and restored brick facade onsite, with new podium brickwork set to match the existing exteriors.

John Wardle Architects provided a design response for the project, which reads as follows:

<blockquote>
The Collingwood silos have been a significant part of Melbourne's skyline since the expansion of industry and the development of production in the mid 20th century. Originally used to house Barley for brewery/malting works, today the remaining silos are either idle or have been converted into apartment buildings.

The apartment building slab edges have been generated using a negative imprint of a cylindrical form that contextually references the historical Collingwood silos. The curved, scalloped slab edges are expressed around the entire perimeter of the building which also form the apartment balconies.
<cite>Design statement, John Wardle Architects</cite>
</blockquote>

<h2>The Cbus juggernaut gathers momentum</h2>

Construction progress on <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/buildings/35-spring-street-melbourne">35 Spring Street</a> is set to hasten as the premium 43 level residential tower moves beyond its podium structure, while North Melbourne's <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/buildings/assembly-181-capel-street-north-melbourne">Assembly</a> sees its concrete structure for the 138 associated apartments nearing the midway point. Assembly was purchased from private developer Equiset just as public sales began for the project.

It remains to be seen what will be achieved with Cbus Property's forthcoming <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/cbus-enters-west-melbourne-with-9-dryburgh-street">9 Dryburgh Street</a> West Melbourne project which was met with refusal from Melbourne City Council during April 2015, although is now shown as being at referral. In its initial guise 9 Dryburgh Street would have seen 217 apartment over 13 levels, although Cbus now suggests a yield of approximately 160 apartments is likely with construction commencement anticipated during 2016.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image64_3.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Assembly's progress and a more recent image of 447 Collins Street"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="676" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image64_3.jpg?itok=kdXxWzC7" title="Assembly's progress and a more recent image of 447 Collins Street" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Assembly's progress and a more recent image of 447 Collins Street</figcaption></figure>Last in line is 447 Collins Street which in previous incarnations has involved residential applications within the mixed-use project. With reports a revised planning application is set to be lodged shortly, it is likely a portion of the project will be set aside for apartments which would command top dollar given the project's premier location and unimpeded southerly views.

Incidentally should the project resemble the above recent render, the upper reaches of 447 Collins Street will bring a new design dynamic to the Melbourne skyline; perhaps a unique selling point for future apartment sales?
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Assembly

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Woods Bagot and Cbus Property's Assembly

Welcome to boom-town: Melbourne's low-rise high-density projects in one long list

Cbus Property pushes further into the Melbourne residential market

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