Pica Apartments - 8 New Street, Richmond

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<p>Continuing on our journey of taking a look at Melbourne's development along each tram line, we're kicking off 2017 with the 48 - the first of the "south of the river" routes, and the 75 - both of these routes leave/enter the city on the same corridor: Wellington Parade / Bridge Road.</p>

<p>As a reminder, I'm not including projects from the City of Melbourne or City of Port Phillip in any of these individual route analyses, for the simple reason that as the network "bunches" its routes the closer to the city, the more irrelevant an individual line becomes.</p>

<p>Nevertheless, such is the nature of the tram network in the east, that routes interact with each other on a grander scale compared to Melbourne's north (use the navigation section below to view routes in the north already covered) where the network is just like our heavy rail: mainly radial. The 48 &amp; 75 could be described quite easily as radial as well however the routes link up with others in the inner suburbs, particularly in Richmond, Kew, Hawthorn and Camberwell.</p>

<p>The 48 uses the relatively new Collins Street to Spring Street southbound junction and then continues along Wellington Parade and is one of the two main routes on Bridge Road. Crossing the river the 48 turns north to Kew and then continues in a north-easterly direction to its terminus at North Balwyn.</p>

<p>The 75 begins outside Edithad Stadium and runs down to Flinders Street and shares the same track as the 48 along Wellington Parade and Bridge Route.</p>

<p>Where the 48 turns northward once crossing the river, the 75 heads through Hawthorn, turns south on Power Street then heads east along Riversdale Road - sharing the tracks with route 70 in the process - then at Camberwell junction heads south east to Toorak Road and then all the way out to Vermont South on the Burwood Highway.</p>

<h2>The numbers</h2>

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Aspect</th>
			<th scope="col">Number of projects</th>
			<th scope="col">Number of dwellings</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Planning Assessment</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">21</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">1174</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Approved</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">13</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">1071</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Registration and Sales</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">20</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">983</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Under Construction</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">19</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">1013</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>TOTAL</strong></td>
			<td class="rtecenter"><b>75</b></td>
			<td class="rtecenter"><b>4241</b></td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><a href="https://static.ptv.vic.gov.au/siteassets/Maps/Routes/PDFs/2903_Tram48.pdf">Linear route 48 map</a></p>

<p><a href="https://static.ptv.vic.gov.au/siteassets/Maps/Routes/PDFs/958_Tram75.pdf">Linear route 75 map</a></p>

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Tram routes 48 &amp; 75</th>
			<th scope="col">Further information</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekday peak frequency</td>
			<td>48: 5-6 minutes (11-12 trams per hour) 75: 9-10 minutes (6-7 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekday off-peak frequency</td>
			<td>48: 10 minutes (6 trams per hour); 75: 10 minutes (6 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekend daytime frequency</td>
			<td>Both routes: 12-15 minutes (4-5 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled night-time frequency</td>
			<td>48: 20 minutes (3 trams per hour); 75: 30 minutes (2 trams per hour) - 30 minutes (24/7 operation Friday/Saturday nights)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Raised-platform stops?</td>
			<td>
			<p>Not uniform limited to inner city Melbourne, Richmond, some scattered at the outer edges of route 75.</p>
			</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Where do the trams go to sleep?</td>
			<td>48: <a href="http://vicsig.net/index.php?page=trams&amp;depot=kew">Kew Depot</a>, 75: <a href="http://vicsig.net/index.php?page=trams&amp;depot=camberwell">Camberwell Depot</a>
</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Primary tram class that operates on the route.</td>
			<td>B2 (high-floor, articulated).</td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2>Richmond</h2>

<p>It should come as no surprise that within Richmond, the section of Bridge Road between Punt Road and Church street has a very high concentration of projects - 12 in total.  Further down the hill toward the river, 5 projects are located either side of the tram corridor.</p>

<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/image9_8_0.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="10 Bromham Place, Richmond"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="336" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image9_8_0.jpg?itok=0ChjPMDK" title="10 Bromham Place, Richmond" width="580"></a>

<figcaption><a href="https://www.urban.com.au/buildings/10-bromham-place-richmond">10 Bromham Place, Richmond</a></figcaption></figure><h2>Hawthorn</h2>

<p>Both 48 and 75 routes diverge as Bridge Road crosses the Yarra River and both routes within the suburb of Hawthorn (and Hawthorn East) have a smattering of projects, although not on the same scale as Richmond</p>

<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/render007_exterior_c.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Maple, Hawthorn"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="413" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/render007_exterior_c.jpg?itok=QuHPWgt5" title="Maple, Hawthorn" width="580"></a>

<figcaption><a href="https://www.urban.com.au/buildings/maple-121-power-street-hawthorn">Maple, Hawthorn</a></figcaption></figure><p> </p>

<h2>Kew &amp; Balwyn (route 48)</h2>

<p>Kew junction features 5 projects with a further 3 located not far from the tram corridor. As route 48 climbs up the hill, the project density becomes sparse however there is one notable project located - depicted below - not far from the terminus.</p>

<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/image59_1_0.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="76-78 Doncaster road, Balwyn North"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="318" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image59_1_0.jpg?itok=lsvcggsb" title="76-78 Doncaster road, Balwyn North" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>76-78 Doncaster road, Balwyn North</figcaption></figure><p> </p>

<h2>Camberwell, Burwood &amp; Vermont South (route 75)</h2>

<p>The 75 is one of the longest routes in the city and transitions through a wide variety of streetscapes.  In particular, as the route leaves Burwood-proper, the wider Burwood Highway sees the tram route run in its own right of way.  Interestingly, in this section, near Middleborough Road, a cluster of pipeline projects exists.  Ditto near Deakin University and Burwood East - clusters of 2 and 3 projects exist.</p>

<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/image24_5.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The Poplars, Burwood"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="344" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image24_5.jpg?itok=aSRX0rTp" title="The Poplars, Burwood" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The Poplars, Burwood</figcaption></figure><p>​​​​​​​</p>

<h2>Navigation</h2>

<p><a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/melbournes-development-by-tram-the-86">Anti-clockwise: the 86 - Bundoora RMIT to Waterfront City Docklands</a></p>
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Alastair Taylor

Melbourne's development by tram: the 48 & 75

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<p>Following on from <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/welcome-to-boom-town-melbournes-low-rise-high-density-projects-in-one-long-list">Friday's list of 2, 3 and 4 floor low-rise high-density projects</a>, today we're looking exclusively at projects which have either 5 or 6 floors.</p>

<p>There are 243 current projects in the list below and while the overwhelming majority of projects are residential, there are a few notable commercial projects such as the ABC's expansion of its offices and broadcast facilities on <a href="/new-apartments/southbank-vic-3006">Southbank</a>, the <a href="/developments/burnley-vic-3121">East Edge Botannica</a> project in Richmond and <a href="/developments/hawthorn-vic-3122">8 Hall Street</a> in Hawthorn.</p>

<p>Factoring in purely residential projects, the list of projects below yields 10,781 dwellings from planning assessment to construction.</p>

<h2>The low-rise high-density story</h2>

<p>Combining the numbers across both lists - that is, buildings with 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 floors - there are just under 18,000 dwellings across 453 projects (2 more low-rise projects have been added since Friday's article). 46% of all projects on Urban.com.au <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/developments">Project Database</a> have 6 or less floors.</p>

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Project Status</th>
			<th class="rtecenter" scope="col">Number of Projects</th>
			<th class="rtecenter" scope="col">Number of Dwellings</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Planning Assessment</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">99</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">4175</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Approved</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">97</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">3866</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Registration and Sales</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">141</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">5116</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Under Construction</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">116</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">4808</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Total</strong></td>
			<td class="rtecenter"><strong>453</strong></td>
			<td class="rtecenter"><strong>17,965</strong></td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Furthermore Urban.com.au has site area data on 214 of the 453 projects outlined in the table above; this subset has an average of 312 dwellings per hectare. Dwellings per hectare = 10,000 ÷ (Site Area m<sup>2</sup> ÷ Dwellings).</p>

<p>Where Friday's list has projects which provide a good insight into what is possible in the residential growth zone throughout the Metropolitan area, today's list looks at the small step up into areas where suburban structure plans encourage higher-density development.</p>

<p>See <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/welcome-to-boom-town-melbournes-low-rise-high-density-projects-in-one-long-list">Friday's article</a> for the list of projects with 2, 3 or 4 floors.</p>

<p>And it's over to the Project Database once again. Here's the list of projects with either 5 or 6 floors.</p>
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Melbourne's low-rise high-density: all projects with 5 or 6 floors in one long list

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<p>Urban.com.au recently caught up with <a href="http://www.chc.com.au/">ClarkeHopkinsClarke</a> Partner Toby Lauchlan to discuss their Pica development in Richmond which forms part of their growing body of work.</p>

<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/140623_-_richmond_aerial_-_final_2000_reduced.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Pica Richmond Aerial. © Clarke Hopkins Clarke"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="435" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/140623_-_richmond_aerial_-_final_2000_reduced.jpg?itok=BOkbv51t" title="Pica Richmond Aerial. © Clarke Hopkins Clarke" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Pica Richmond Aerial. © ClarkeHopkinsClarke</figcaption></figure><p><em>Laurence Dragomir: Can you provide us with a brief overview of Pica's internal specs including apartment sizes, finishes and what differentiates the development from a buyer's perspective?</em></p>

<p>Toby Lauchlan: We started Pica back in 2011, it comprises 19 bespoke apartments over six storeys at 8-10 New Street in inner Richmond. It's a brilliant location, in really close proximity to parks, Fitzroy Gardens, the MCG and so forth. The developer owns a ballooning company called <a href="http://www.picturethisballooning.com.au/">Picture This Ballooning</a> and has operated onsite for many, many years in the current building so there was a strong reference to this ballooning culture in Melbourne and the history of the site.</p>

<p>In essence it's about reinventing the site for the new generation of people that are going to live there, so the exterior responds to this with a strong ballooning reference which has been abstracted over the height of the building. We've now got a series of rectilinear forms that appear to float up and over the streetscape, and then there are a number of large panels that began as direct images of balloons and through working closely with David Pidgeon (graphic designer) the images evolved into a series of pixellated references of clouds, skies and balloons. The panels also incorporate visual cues to Melbourne's four seasons in a day.</p>

<p>There are taller buildings around Richmond, but this is taller than its immediate context so it offers up some spectacular views. Much of the marketing material associated with the project revolved around the views and the artwork.</p>

<p>Croten Investment's Damian Crock has been closely involved all the way along the process, working together with the interiors team at ClarkeHopkinsClarke (CHC) to create a neutral palette inside. It's a very black and white scheme but with really crisp finishes; black taps and other fittings, black high-gloss overhead cupboards above the kitchens with a white joinery base. We've tried to keep the palette simple internally but quite vibrant externally.</p>

<p>The development targets the owner-occupier market; every apartment is different, no two apartments are the same and there's a mix of 9 one-bedroom and 10 two-bedroom apartments ranging from approximately 50sqm to one that is over 100sqm on the top floor with views towards the city. There's a small café on the ground level near the main entry, 14 car spaces, 20 bicycle parks and 2 motorcycle spaces spread across ground and first floor.</p>

<p>With only 19 apartments it's quite a compact development, very boutique but with some great height on it.</p>

<p><em>LD: With no two apartments being the same did that throw up any challenges for the design team?</em></p>

<p>TL: If you compare it to other apartment buildings that we're doing across Melbourne within the middle ring and inner urban areas, predominantly we do try and get repetition where possible. This leads to efficiency in apartment types but on a project like Pica, which is quite constrained site-wise, has setback requirements and so forth, the inevitable result was that we ended up with different apartment types. In saying that there's a lot of standardisation in joinery units, kitchens and bathrooms. So that did throw up some challenges but nothing too extreme.</p>

<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/140611_-_richmond_-_living_-_kitchen_-_final_-_2000.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Pica interior. © Clarke Hopkins Clarke"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="390" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/140611_-_richmond_-_living_-_kitchen_-_final_-_2000.jpg?itok=4Y42jHM0" title="Pica interior. © Clarke Hopkins Clarke" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Pica interior. © ClarkeHopkinsClarke</figcaption></figure><p><em>LD: Can you tell us a bit about the practice, the type of work you do?</em></p>

<p>TL: There's 65 people in the practice, so it's a large practice and we're quite diverse in the sectors that we target. The practice was founded in 1960 by partners Les Clarke, David Hopkins and Jack Clarke, designing houses but also with a real focus on the retail and education sectors.</p>

<p>Melbourne’s ClarkeHopkinsClarke has more than 50 plus years’ experience in creating vibrant communities across the design of entire urban communities as well as education, multi-residential, health and aged care projects.</p>

<p>CHC’s extensive knowledge of technical requirements and ability to lead design trends, across a variety of building types are critical to our success.</p>

<p>As well as our multi-sector portfolio of works CHC are currently carrying out a major research process into the key elements that make up a vibrant community and are actively leading the discussion on our St Germain greenfield development with the State Government’s Metropolitan Planning Authority as to how these theories can be tested in reality. www.creatingvibrantcommunities.com aims to start to bring together a wider array of stakeholders, designers and government and provide new tools to help improve the quality of life for those living in new greenfield suburbs.</p>

<p><em>LD: Would it be correct to say that CHC seem excessively strong in mixed-use developments. Would you say that this is now the practice's area of expertise?</em></p>

<p>TL: We've developed and evolved over the years so yes we do a lot of mixed-use and Pica for example is essentially a mixed-use project with retail being a very small component to it. We do a lot of <em>pure </em>residential but also a lot of mixed-use with a residential focus that include a small cafe at ground floor, SOHO's or offices for example. There's also a number of large retail focused projects with apartments, with townhouses etc, so there's a real cross section.</p>

<p>Then there's the outer urban but my focus within the practice is multi-res and mixed use in the middle and inner urban developments.</p>

<p><em>LD: What do you / the practice consider to be the main factors which most influence a CHC design and sets it apart from other architectural practices in Melbourne?</em></p>

<p>TL: I think having a real experience across all sectors allows us to bring that experience into individual projects, particularly those middle ring areas like Brunswick, Doncaster, Essendon Glen Huntly, Kew; sort of scattered everywhere. We work closely with a lot of councils during the town planning and pre-application phases, we provide community spaces, a strong retail base to the building that the apartment focus can really drive off that as well.</p>

<p>We have a really good design ethos in the practice, we attempt to push every project, getting individuality and strong identities to our buildings, driving off those for the marketing. But then there's also a real focus on the provision of amenity and really maximising it: the natural light, the openness, terraces, the interface with the public realm and then creating a sense of community within.</p>

<p>We do a thorough site analysis looking at the context, the history of the site, the amenities within the precinct that can be used by future residents, how does the retail respond to the existing retail strip. There's a lot of aspects that we look at to bring into and help inform the project as well as responding with our clients' imperative and ensuring the project will be successful for them. There's the marketing side of it so if a project's not marketable, if it doesn't generate any interest or residents and tenants don't like the building then it's not a successful project.</p>

<p><em>LD: It seems like the practice places a strong emphasis on the macro scale as well. Looking beyond just the site in question at not just its immediate context, but also how it fits in within a greater precinct?</em></p>

<p>TL: Our practice works on a number of new growth suburbs, new town centres and so we're doing a lot of urban design work in those areas with projects like <a href="http://www.chc.com.au/soho-village/">Soho Village</a> which is a project CHC Partner Dean Landy has been working on down at Point Cook. It comprises apartments, townhouses, a small boutique supermarket (name to be confirmed), church and office buildings; essentially designing that whole community, making sure that it works and that it fits in within a predominantly single storey, single dwelling suburb.</p>

<p>Having that experience through to working with Coles and Woolworths who are a couple of our bigger clients that are also involved with a lot of mixed-use developments such as <a href="http://www.chc.com.au/highett-road-shopping-centre-and-apartments/">Highett Road</a>. The project was completed a year or so ago and features 130 apartments above a full line Woolworths supermarket with 17 specialty stores and office space. Having those projects and the connections they create within the community; this type of project influences our inner urban residential work and other mixed use projects.</p>

<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/2013_udia_vic_awards_highett_mixed_use_02.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Highett Road Shopping Centre and Apartments. © Clarke Hopkins Clarke"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="325" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/2013_udia_vic_awards_highett_mixed_use_02.jpg?itok=xG8I8cuJ" title="Highett Road Shopping Centre and Apartments. © Clarke Hopkins Clarke" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Highett Road Shopping Centre and Apartments. © ClarkeHopkinsClarke</figcaption></figure><p>A few projects that I'd like to mention are one that was just completed and launched last week in Doncaster, Six Thiele Street. A purely multi-residential development of 50 luxury apartments, with no retail component as it's located on the fringe of Doncaster's retail precinct close to Westfield Shopping Centre, and features a mix of one and two beds over 4-storeys with a three bedroom apartment on top.</p>

<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/thiele_-_exterior_-_final.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Six Thiele Street Doncaster. © Clarke Hopkins Clarke"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="337" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/thiele_-_exterior_-_final.jpg?itok=fR9AgQfT" title="Six Thiele Street Doncaster. © Clarke Hopkins Clarke" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Six Thiele Street Doncaster. © ClarkeHopkinsClarke</figcaption></figure><p>We then have a few in Brunswick such as Fabrik Apartments on Albert and Beith Street. The area is seeing quite a number of apartment buildings going up, one which we've been working on that's just been approved by council is in Breese St. It's 7 levels and has been praised by the council for its architecture and design. There's a cafe at ground with 60 or so apartments above that feature 6-star apartments with rain gardens and an environmental focus.</p>

<p><em>LD: Lastly, to finish us off, is the practice looking at making the transition to working on high-rise multi-residential projects?</em></p>

<p>TL: Going back many years we started off working on a number of 3-4 storey apartment buildings and it has increased with the middle ring being in the vicinity of 5-7 storeys which we're doing a lot of at the moment. We have looked at and are currently looking at a number of high-rise projects so stay tuned. One of the taller projects we have worked on is the <a href="http://www.chc.com.au/mutual-store-and-empire-apartments/"> Mutual Store and Empire Apartments</a> on Flinders Street, and that involved the construction of 14 new floors so still high-rise but not the 100-storey scale.</p>

<p>Stay tuned as there are definitely some high-rises in the pipeline as part of our portfolio of creating vibrant communities around all of our projects across every sector.</p>

<p><em>LD: Looking forward to hearing more about them in the not-too-distant future. Thanks again for your time Toby.</em></p>
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Pica Apartments

Sales Status

Apartments

Year completed

Buildings

Development information for Pica Apartments

Meet the team behind Pica Apartments

Location of Pica Apartments

News about Pica Apartments

Melbourne's development by tram: the 48 & 75

Melbourne's low-rise high-density: all projects with 5 or 6 floors in one long list

Interview with Toby Lauchlan from ClarkeHopkinsClarke

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