Architecture

Raising the bar in North Melbourne, Orb Property Partner&rsquo;s, WOBO residences bring a new dimension to urban living.

Comprising a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments, along with three luxury penthouses, WOBO makes the first introduction to a new thriving urban lifestyle precinct - The Tapestry.

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The Tapestry Project is a multistage mixed-use precinct, that includes a range of residential buildings, along with a wellness centre, fresh food marketplace, 220 seat theatre, co-working spaces and specialty stores.

Designed by leading architects Fender Katsalidis, WOBO combines New York style warehouse living with the traditional foundations of a home.

Drawing inspiration from the industrial fabric of the area, a striking articulated brick podium creatively re-uses materials from the former factory site.

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The raw materiality continues inside WOBO, with recycled brickwork greeting residents in the lobby and exposed concrete ceilings set high inside the apartments.

Living spaces are framed by white oak, while timber floors lie under foot, with exposed concrete ceilings above.

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Light and bright kitchens of refined joinery, premium SMEG appliances and natural stone benchtops connect to bathrooms, fitted with future-retro style fluted glass and bronze finishes.

The Penthouses at WOBO feature large, open layouts with natural light, complimented with rich textures, adding character to the space.

Finely crafted herringbone timber floors meet with high ceilings and custom lighting, stretching out onto large private balconies commanding some of the best skyline views north of the city.

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Crowning WOBO is the expansive rooftop terrace, set high above North Melbourne, the area is complete with outdoor dining, a firepit and views to the city, Royal Park and Docklands.

A collection of one, two and three-bedroom apartments can still be snapped up in WOBO, with the one-bedders starting from $456,500, covering 57 sqm of space.

The larger offering in the three-bedroom apartments, span 103 sqm, with two-bathrooms and two car spaces, from $880,000.

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With a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments, including three luxury penthouses, WOBO forms the first part of the new lifestyle precinct, The Tapestry project



alisonwarters@gmail.com

Pushing the boundary; inside the Fender Katsalidis designed WOBO residences

The Australian Institute of Architects Awards program offers an opportunity for public and peer recognition of the innovative work of Victorian architects.

The Institute also acknowledge the awards as a valuable mechanism to promote architects and architecture not only within Victoria, but across Australia and internationally also.

The Multiple Housing category honours the best architecture in the multi-residential sector, from the striking high-rise towers that define the city skyline, to low-rise projects and townhouses across the state.

It was no surprise to see the likes of Fender Katsalidis make the list. They had three projects featured; Australia 108, Queens Place, and Paragon. Cox Architecture have two nominations They also worked on Queens Place with FK, and were recognised for the designs of the first stage of Melbourne Square.

We&#39;ve taken a look at some of the nominated projects in more detail.

<h2>Australia 108</h2>

<h2>Developer: World Class Global</h2>

<h2>Architect: Fender Katsalidis&nbsp;</h2>

Developed by World Class Global, Australia 108 is one of Melbourne&#39;s most well known, and well regarded, buildings.

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Having completed construction toward the end of 2020, the striking tower, offering the highest residences in the Southern Hemisphere, was designed by FK, whose goal was to form a bridge between earth and sky.

With its now signature &quot;gold starburst&quot; on the exterior of the building 60 levels up, no doubt&nbsp;a point to the sky feature from the street, the apartment complex features hotel-quality amenities, including grand lobbies, a ground-floor lounge and porte-coch&eacute;re.

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Australia 108, on Southbank Boulevard, sits next to Eureka Tower, also talked about as one of&nbsp;Melbourne&#39;s best buildings. That too was&nbsp;designed by the team at&nbsp;Fender Katsalidis.

<h2>Queens Place</h2>

<h2>Developer: 3L Alliance</h2>

<h2>Architect: Cox Architecture &amp; Fender Katsalidis&nbsp;</h2>

The master plan represents a competition-winning design for 3L Alliance, completed as a joint venture between&nbsp;<a aria-label="Fender Katsalidis - opens in new tab" data-uw-rm-brl="false" data-uw-rm-ext-link="" data-uw-styling-context="true" href="https://fkaustralia.com/" target="_blank" uw-rm-external-link-id="https://fkaustralia.com/$fenderkatsalidis">Fender Katsalidis</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a aria-label="Cox Architecture - opens in new tab" data-uw-rm-brl="false" data-uw-rm-ext-link="" data-uw-styling-context="true" href="https://www.urban.com.au/architects/cox-architecture-0" target="_blank" uw-rm-external-link-id="https://www.urban.com.au/architects/cox-architecture-0$coxarchitecture">Cox Architecture</a>.

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Conceived as a twin tower development, the design of Tower One features an 80-storey residential building with five-level podium, enriching the ground plane through new linkages and an enhanced public setting within the Queen Victoria Market precinct.

Comprising one, two and three-bedroom apartments, the residences are a collaboration between&nbsp;<a aria-label="Cox Architecture - opens in new tab" data-uw-rm-brl="false" data-uw-rm-ext-link="" data-uw-styling-context="true" href="https://www.urban.com.au/architects/cox-architecture-0" target="_blank" uw-rm-external-link-id="https://www.urban.com.au/architects/cox-architecture-0$coxarchitecture">Cox Architecture</a>, Fender&nbsp;<a aria-label="Katsalidis Architects - opens in new tab" data-uw-rm-brl="false" data-uw-rm-ext-link="" data-uw-styling-context="true" href="https://www.urban.com.au/architects/fender-katsalidis-architects" target="_blank" uw-rm-external-link-id="https://www.urban.com.au/architects/fender-katsalidis-architects$katsalidisarchitects">Katsalidis Architects</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a aria-label="Hecker Guthrie - opens in new tab" data-uw-rm-brl="false" data-uw-rm-ext-link="" data-uw-styling-context="true" href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/hecker-guthrie-discusses-west-ends-latest-building-the-spencer" target="_blank" uw-rm-external-link-id="https://www.urban.com.au/news/hecker-guthrie-discusses-west-ends-latest-building-the-spencer$heckerguthrie">Hecker Guthrie</a>, offering a choice of finish levels, amenity and view opportunities.

<h2>Melbourne Square (Stage One)</h2>

<h2>Developer:&nbsp;OSK Property&nbsp;</h2>

<h2>Architect: Cox Architecture&nbsp;</h2>

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Rising about Melbourne&rsquo;s internationally acclaimed Arts Precinct,&nbsp;<a aria-label="Melbourne Square - opens in new tab" data-uw-rm-brl="false" data-uw-rm-ext-link="" data-uw-styling-context="true" href="https://www.urban.com.au/new-apartments/melbourne-square-93-119-kavanagh-street-southbank" target="_blank" uw-rm-external-link-id="https://www.urban.com.au/new-apartments/melbourne-square-93-119-kavanagh-street-southbank$melbournesquare">Melbourne Square</a>&nbsp;is at 93-119 Kavanagh Street.

In partnership with&nbsp;<a aria-label="Cox Architecture - opens in new tab" data-uw-rm-brl="false" data-uw-rm-ext-link="" data-uw-styling-context="true" href="https://www.urban.com.au/architects/cox-architecture-0" target="_blank" uw-rm-external-link-id="https://www.urban.com.au/architects/cox-architecture-0$coxarchitecture">Cox Architecture</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a aria-label="Carr Design - opens in new tab" data-uw-rm-brl="false" data-uw-rm-ext-link="" data-uw-styling-context="true" href="https://www.urban.com.au/architects/carr-design" target="_blank" uw-rm-external-link-id="https://www.urban.com.au/architects/carr-design$carrdesign">Carr Design</a>, OSK Property have delivered a five-acre mixed-development with two residential towers soaring above &ndash; the East and West Tower.

The residences on offer are an array of premium two and three-bedroom apartments and penthouses, alongside a wide range of in-house exclusive amenity.

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The contoured terraces of the podium connect to the streets of Southbank across the new gardens, piazzas, caf&eacute;s, retail outlets and supermarket.

Boasting an expansive 14,000 sqm of private and public facilities, the first stage of the&nbsp;<a aria-label="Melbourne Square - opens in new tab" data-uw-rm-brl="false" data-uw-rm-ext-link="" data-uw-styling-context="true" href="https://www.urban.com.au/new-apartments/melbourne-square-93-119-kavanagh-street-southbank" target="_blank" uw-rm-external-link-id="https://www.urban.com.au/new-apartments/melbourne-square-93-119-kavanagh-street-southbank$melbournesquare">Melbourne Square</a>&nbsp;precinct features a host of considered integrations to encourage an active lifestyle, including a full-line Woolworths supermarket, 3,745 sqm public park and 87-place childcare centre.

<h2 data-uw-styling-context="true">Avenue</h2>

<h2>Developer: Skelton</h2>

<h2>Architect: ADDARC</h2>

Brighton East&rsquo;s luxury townhome collection, Avenue, offers nine three-bedroom residences with Japanese and minimalist influence.

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Delivered by Skelton and designed by&nbsp;<a aria-label="ADDARC - opens in new tab" data-uw-rm-brl="false" data-uw-rm-ext-link="" data-uw-styling-context="true" href="https://www.urban.com.au/architects/addarc-0" target="_blank" uw-rm-external-link-id="https://www.urban.com.au/architects/addarc-0$addarc">ADDARC</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a aria-label="Jack Merlo - opens in new tab" data-uw-rm-brl="false" data-uw-rm-ext-link="" data-uw-styling-context="true" href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/jack-merlo-sheds-light-on-the-landscape-design-for-hawthorn-park" target="_blank" uw-rm-external-link-id="https://www.urban.com.au/news/jack-merlo-sheds-light-on-the-landscape-design-for-hawthorn-park$jackmerlo">Jack Merlo</a>, Avenue offers private balconies, ground-floor courtyards, cascading greenery and bespoke kitchens.

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Double glazing, custom bathroom cabinetry and 4.4-metre-high gabled windows also feature within these luxury homes.

<h2>Full list of awardees in the multiple housing category:</h2>

Balfe Park Lane | Kerstin Thompson Architects

Nightingale Ballarat | Breathe

Women&#39;s Property Initiatives Older Women&#39;s Housing | Studio Bright&nbsp;

Australia 108 | Fender Katsalidis

Paragon | Fender Katsalidis&nbsp;

Queens Place | Fender Katsalidis / Cox Architecture

Fitzroy House | Jackson Clements Burrows Architects

Sarah Sands | Jackson Clements Burrows Architects&nbsp;

St Albans Housing | NMBW Architecture Studio in association with Monash Art, Design &amp; Architecture (MADA)

Merri Green | Chamberlain Architects

Terrace House | Austin Maynard Architects

Patrick Walsh Apartments | Allen Kong Architect

Object 07 | Object Subject Architecture

Avenue | ADDARC

231 Napier Street | Edition Office&nbsp;

380 Lonsdale | Elenberg Fraser

Premier Tower | Elenberg Fraser

Eternity Life Apartments | k20 Architecture

Melbourne Square Stage 01 | COX Architecture

17 Union Street | BKK Architects with Clare Cousins Architects

The Multiple Housing category honours the best architecture in the multi-residential sector, from the striking high-rise towers that define the city skyline, to low-rise projects and townhouses across the state.


The multi-residential nominees for the 2022 Victorian Architecture Awards announced

As one of Australia&rsquo;s largest architectural practices,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/architectus-and-ingehoven-on-sydneys-latest-super-skyscraper" target="_blank">Architectus</a>&nbsp;brings a wealth of international experience to their multi-award-winning projects.

Located at 495 Harris Street, the multi-layered building steps down from nine-storeys along Harris Street to six levels facing Bulwara Lane, providing 200 apartments, with a range of single-storey one, two and three-bedroom apartments, two-level terrace apartments and penthouses.

A limited selection of two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments&nbsp;are still on offer in the NewLife Darling Harbour project, with 79 sqm of internal space and 13 sqm balconies, from&nbsp;$1,485,000.

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&ldquo;The building&rsquo;s eye-catching, multi-layered form creates an outstanding place to live, to experience, and to glimpse from its many surrounding environments.&nbsp;Flanked by historic Victorian terraces, we created a lively group of buildings set around the courtyard rather than one amorphous structure to better integrate with the surrounds,&rdquo; said Brendan Randles, Principal, Architectus.&nbsp;

From room to room, wide-format Oak floors ground the interiors in nature, while textured timbers and stone finishes create layers of tactile, organic luxury.

These considered apartments open themselves to Sydney, uniting under-stated modern lines with the drama of the great harbour city.

Light, air and a flow of private indoor-outdoor space add a special dimension to these residences. Open layouts work to maximise the city, harbour, and garden vistas, drawing them inside the home.

Residences enjoy versatile winter gardens, alfresco balconies or sweeping terraces, while many apartments capture northern aspects, with sliding or fixed perforated screens providing privacy and shelter when needed.

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&ldquo;Spacious, wide-fronted apartments and sprawling roof-garden penthouses create a rich residential landscape,&rdquo; Randles added.

New Life&rsquo;s materials, lighting and detailing explore a return to comfort for contemporary inner city living.

Layers of subtle tonal colour and texture reflect a refined and uncomplicated modern signature.

Kitchens are designed with form and function in mind, catering to generous or intimate entertaining to suit every occasion. Rich, full-height cabinets offer space, while clean-edged chrome tap-ware and fittings add glimmers of polish and reflection.

A portrait of repose, New Life&rsquo;s spa-like bathrooms offer a composed space in which to unwind, with frameless glass showers and seamless ambient lighting expanding the sense of space. Open shelves and vanity tops are made up of marble or Caesarstone and storage is cleverly mirrored and concealed, while still providing ample space.&nbsp;

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High-end Miele appliances feature in the kitchens, complemented with spacious island benches or galley kitchens. A flowing sea of grey travertine-look tiles set clean lines and a graceful tonal palette, giving the spaces a very inviting quality.

The development also includes work by renowned international artist Hang Xia, who was selected to activate the new laneway at NewLife Darling Harbour. Titled Memory Tree, Xia transforms and becomes the heart of the laneway with an intricately designed and kinetically-lit, eight metre-high &lsquo;tree&rsquo;,inspired by Xia&#39;s childhood love of early animations like the Transformers series.

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From room to room, wide-format Oak floors ground the interiors in nature, while textured timbers and stone finishes create layers of tactile, organic luxury.



Inside the two-bedroom Darling Harbour apartments in the NewLife development

A limited series of just 20 apartments, La Storia&nbsp;is a considered residential building designed to pay homage to both Carlton and Italy.

M3 Design, led by father and son, Frank and Gianni Mancuso, are behind the interiors, delivering a range of three-bedroom apartments within Marcocci Property Group&rsquo;s development.

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Each residence prioritises natural light and airflow, with functionality at the heart of each floor plan. The design has been inspired by the designs of the late legendary&nbsp;Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa.

The exterior takes on a monolithic presence to reflect the idea of immutability, with finer details of honed stone carrying Scarpa&rsquo;s legacy with mixing the old and the new. The development has four different&nbsp;residences available; Residenza Lusso, Residenza Centro, Residenza Giardini, and Residenza Allegria.

&nbsp;

<a href="https://kuula.co/share/collection/7qdBC?logo=-1&amp;info=0&amp;fs=1&amp;vr=1&amp;zoom=1&amp;initload=0&amp;thumbs=-1&amp;ovd=floodslicer.viewin360.co%22%3E%3C/iframe%3E"><img alt="" height="1420" src="https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/screen_shot_2022-06-16_at_4.06.38_pm.png" width="2544" /></a>

Residenza Lusso offers vast entertaining area, with the building&rsquo;s largest living room and balcony, which face toward the city.

Residenza Centro sits at the corner of Cardigan and Argyle Square, facing the east. With the largest overall floor space, these residences fearure a large kitchen island bench with seating, further encouraging entertaining and interaction.

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Residenza Giardini focuses on the green with the lush trees of Argyle Square immediately in view. Residents can choose to split these apartment in two, placing the living quarters to one side, with the ability to spill out onto the generously-sized balconies.

Residenza Allegria draws on its environment and the hive of Carlton&rsquo;s activity and neighbouring suburbs. Taking in the Scarpa aesthetic &ndash; filtering light with natural reflections, the residences glow and change in various organic tones depending on the time of the day.

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Located at the corner of Cardigan and Pelham Street, La Storia finds its home on the park lined streets of Carlton.

Inspired by the rich history of its surroundings and it&rsquo;s famous immigrant culture, La Storia has been designed to age gracefully and to leave its mark on an area that has provided so much to the culture of Melbourne.

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Each residence prioritises natural light and airflow, with functionality at the heart of each floor plan.

Marcocci Property Group launch Carlton apartments, La Storia

A 111-residence residential project across two buildings in Ringwood, Nelson Bourke, was recently presented their second award from the 2021 Design Matters National building design awards, following a win the previous year.

The project&rsquo;s second stage at 8 Bourke Street was awarded the &lsquo;Multi-Residential Over $6M Award&rsquo; by the leading professional body for building designers.

Delivered by Orion International Group and designed by renowned CK Architecture, the award-winning project also received a commendation for the &lsquo;Medium Density Development Award&rsquo; from the 2019 UDIA awards for excellence for their first stage.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=3313 project_image_fid=20488]

Nelson Bourke and the designs&#39;&nbsp;forward-thinking has been met with a positive reception from buyers, as well as the Maroondah City Council, evidenced in the successful sell-out of the first stage in 10 months.

The 8 Bourke Street mid-rise integrates sophisticated luxury and peaceful sanctuary living, providing 49 one, two and four-bedroom apartments over four levels.

Just metres from the bustling Eastland Shopping Centre, the project brings the sleek and contemporary architecture of the inner city to the suburbs.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=3313 project_image_fid=39028]

Designed to attract with eye-catching street appeal, the signature &lsquo;8OURKE&rsquo; lit sign gives the building a strong presence and sense of identity.

Design cues were taken from the leafy Ringwood area and surrounds, offering a consistent look and field to other properties in the area and replicating the stylish, large homes on a smaller scale.

The fa&ccedil;ade features premium fa&ccedil;ade cladding and stone that elevate the concept of luxury design, but also impart a welcoming and homely feel.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=3313 project_image_fid=39024]

Bespoke, light-filled apartments see stone flowing seamlessly through to the interior, creating a sense of refinement.

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8 Bourke Street was awarded the ‘Multi-Residential Over $6M Award’ at the 2021 Design Matters National building awards

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Back-to-back award win for Ringwood apartment development, Nelson Bourke

ID_Land’s collaboration with Rothelowman blends rough and smooth materiality and culminates into a beautiful expression of modern architecture.

Delivering 62 residences in one, two and three-bedroom configurations, Canvas pays homage to Brunswick’s industrial past.

The project’s sculptural façade fits perfectly into Barkly Street; its industrial form framed by geometric concrete grids that reinterprets the industrial regeneration of Brunswick.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=29358 project_image_fid=85966]

Urban recently sat down with Rothelowman’s Kylie Caruana, who has worked in the architectural studio for 12 years, to discuss the Melbourne development.

MK: How many multi-residential projects has Rothelowman been contracted on within Victoria?&nbsp;

KC: During my 12 years at Rothelowman, we’ve been contracted on countless multi-residential projects (so I had some help to run the numbers). Rothelowman currently has 222 Active projects nationally with 132 Projects in Victoria alone, of these 81 are in planning and 45 have gained planning and are in various stages of construction. 92 of these are residential or have residential components. Historically Rothelowman has completed over 800 projects in Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, ACT and Western Australia.

MK: What spoke to you about Canvas in particular?&nbsp;

KC: Canvas was yet another highly collaborative project between ID Land and Rothelowman, to realise their first multi residential apartment building with an exceptional site in the epicentre of Brunswick. This was an opportunity for urban reconsolidation, in a well-connected precinct around existing culture. Having lived in Brunswick for many years and residing in neighbouring Northern suburbs my entire life, this was an opening to bring my community’s ideals to the table.

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MK: What was the design brief from ID_Land for the project's architectural design?&nbsp;

KC: The design brief from day dot was open and progressive. Our special relationship with ID Land, based on high levels of trust and collaboration, meant the brief didn’t need to talk to specifics. We were to take an urban regeneration site and come up with a design concept for the future, whilst paying homage to the granular nature of the past. We framed our thinking - to embed our thirst for sustainability, balanced living, and to establish new links to the existing community.

MK: Where did you take your inspiration from?

KC: Primarily our inspiration came from the beauty and the eclectic and diverse culture we see, feel and experience within Brunswick. Tucked in a site with an industrial past and an artistic present, Canvas draws links from its surrounding tactile materiality, fluid forms, creative culture and lifestyle.

MK: How did you harmonise Canvas into the Barkly Streetscape?

KC: Very early in the piece, we brought together ideas on what we envisaged for the future urban topography of the area and what we would build upon for the future Brunswick community. Although there are three parts to our streetscape, the lines between our retail, commercial office and residential are blurred behind our façade grid. Our entry is complex, yet holistic whereby it invites patrons, employees, residents and visitors through the one naturally lit entrance.

These elements were then stitched together to create a Canvas. The development provides a sustainable living experience that culminates into a home for families, couples, and individuals.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=29358 project_image_fid=85965]

MK: Were there any challenges during the design process that you had to overcome?&nbsp;

KC: What are maybe typically seen as challenges became opportunities to engage and have an honest and open dialogue with the planning authorities, taking them on the journey and together forming a collective example that exemplifies future-proofed planning outcomes and creates a precedent for future developments.

MK: How important are communal amenities in new developments, and why?

KC: Now more than ever the importance of communal amenity has come to the fore; people have never spent as much time in their apartments before and now they’re receiving a real education in design – seeing how the sun enters the rooms during the day, how much fresh air they receive and how they use outdoor space.&nbsp;

This is changing people’s attitudes and cementing what’s important to them. There’ll be a definite permanent mark left and we’ll be living differently in the future, with more flexible working, both from home and from the office. As a result, people will want greater liveable outdoor space and more personal space. People like the idea of having an escape and this kind of design will become even more popular because of what we’ve been through.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=29358 project_image_fid=85959]

Though designed pre-COVID, Canvas has all the prerequisites for a post-pandemic world and the intrinsic changes it has brought to the way we live, work and play. With an extensive rooftop resident’s amenity floor, Canvas has the answer. Our communal rooftop includes internal and external spaces, work from home places, comfortable lounge areas, kitchen with entertainment dining, north and south facing open air terraces with spectacular views and shared gardens, all sustainably delivered.

MK: What have you tried to do in the design that the average homebuyer may not notice straight away?&nbsp;

KC: A project, be it commercial, residential or retail, isn’t about selling space; it’s about selling the intangibles – the opportunities, the lifestyle and the economic prospects these spaces can provide.

By managing spaces, sharing resources and hosting activities together, residents are empowered to contribute to the surrounding community and the world at large, creating greater connections and happier lives.

[smartcode_project_cta: project_id=29358]

Urban recently sat down with Rothelowman’s Kylie Caruana, who has worked in the architectural studio for 12 years, to discuss the Melbourne development

Designed by a Brunswick local: Rothelowman’s Kylie Caruana discusses the design influences behind Canvas, Brunswick apartments

A leading national architecture and design practice, Rothelowman&rsquo;s work serves premier private and public organisations with innovative design thinking across Australia.

Established in 1991, the architecture firm has been recognised for creating high-quality, innovative designs across a range of sectors and project types. These include high-rise, mixed-use towers, residential developments, interiors, hotels and major retail centres.

Rothelowman believes good architecture is critical to the successful evolution of our cities, and their beautiful designs reflect this.

&ldquo;Our buildings are inspired by the existing context and seek to help define the future. Each building we conceive is an opportunity to respond intelligently to a unique set of circumstances and to improve and redefine the existing built environment&rdquo;, their website reads.

The firm serves both national and international clients, with a number of projects in the pipeline continuing to enhance the Australian landscape.

Urban takes a look at four Rothelowman-designed projects across Melbourne on the market right now.

1. Canvas, Brunswick 
Address: 272 Barkly Street, Brunswick VIC 
Two-bedroom apartments $680,000

[smartcode_project:default project_id=29358 project_image_fid=85958]

ID_Land&rsquo;s collaboration with&nbsp;Rothelowman&nbsp;blends rough and smooth materiality and culminates into a beautiful expression of modern architecture.

&ldquo;We want to engage with the rich tapestry of built form which has shaped Brunswick into the suburb it is today&rdquo;,&nbsp;Rothelowman&nbsp;architect Stuart Marsland said.

Paying homage to Brunswick&rsquo;s industrial past, Canvas&rsquo; sculptural fa&ccedil;ade fits perfectly into Barkly Street. Its industrial form, framed by geometric concrete grids, reinterprets the industrial regeneration of Brunswick.

2. Hawthorn Park, Hawthorn East 
Address: 33 Camberwell Road, Hawthorn East VIC 
Two-bedroom apartments from $670,000

[smartcode_project:default project_id=3730 project_image_fid=158928]

Delivered by the Dahua Group, Hawthorn Park comprises 368 residences spread across seven floors and five buildings, reimagining the norm of apartment living.

<blockquote>
&ldquo;This campus-style residential development is planned around a Jack Merlo designed parkland, creating a dynamic pedestrian connection between Burwood and Camberwell Road.&rdquo;
</blockquote>

The parkland curated by landscape architect&nbsp;Jack Merlo encompasses approximately 2000 sqm, with amenities including Melbourne&rsquo;s first sky pool, theatre rooms and a sky lounge.

The home&rsquo;s feature intelligent floor plans designed for entertaining, floor-to-ceiling windows, large garden balconies and high-end finishes. 
 
3.&nbsp;One Coburg Quarter, Coburg 
Address: 11 Urquhart Street, Coburg VIC 
One-bedroom apartments from $351,000

[smartcode_project:default project_id=3783 project_image_fid=28885]​​

One Coburg Quarter is the latest development from Future Estate, situated in Melbourne&rsquo;s north.

The eight-storey building features 148 apartments with unique features, a residents&rsquo; bar, library and sky garden.

One of the most unique elements of the project&nbsp;is that it is bounded on three sides by bluestone walls that are aesthetically typical of late 19th-century prison construction, paying homage to the site&#39;s heritage as the former Pentridge Prison.

&ldquo;Inspired by its context, the strong horizontal manifestation of the&nbsp;bluestone and mortar courses is reflected in the articulation and&nbsp;expression of the new fa&ccedil;ades,&quot; Rothelowman describe the development as.

4. Sky Garden, Glen Waverley 
Address: 235 Springvale Road, Glen Waverley 
Two-bedroom apartments from $668,000

[smartcode_project:default project_id=2881 project_image_fid=148772]

Delivered by GoldenAge Group, and recently completed, Sky Garden delivers three towers and 555 one, two and three-bedroom apartments to Glen Waverley.

The Rothelowman-designed towers are elevated above the new Glen shopping centre and are architecturally designed to be collegiate, yet each possessing its own distinct character.

<blockquote>
&quot;Each building has been expressed as a sculptural form that has evolved and been contextualised to hold a symbiotic relationship with the movement of the podium forms, context and greater retail precinct.&rdquo;
</blockquote>

The spacious apartments offer landscaped terraces with planters, sun lounge, private dining and residents can access a rewards program to retail outlets at the Glen.

Established in 1991, the architecture firm has been recognised for creating high-quality, innovative designs across a range of sectors and project types

Four Rothelowman-designed properties on the market in Melbourne

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GUEST OBSERVER
We take for granted that buildings are classified and designed according to a specific use: a library, say, or school, prison or hospital.
A room, or an open area (“a space” in our modern jargon), too, is determined by its function, so we label them as bedroom, living room, boardroom, office, study or even a gift-wrapping room (if you are a Hollywood star).
Such classification is relatively new in human history. In pre-19th-century Europe and pre-modern China of more than 3,000 years, there were very few or no building types.
In modern times, overt specificity and its opposite, open planning, have caused a few problems: short building lifespan, on the one hand, and bland, lifeless open buildings, on the other, are two.
Rooms for cooking, washing and answering nature’s call must cater to these specific uses. Still, these rooms, like others, can be conceived and designed with singular or multiple characters.
We can, for example, wash in a particular room, but we may also bathe or even read there for pleasure if the room has a serene character. We often speak of rooms in terms of human character: a secretive room, a cheerful room, a gloomy room, a feminine room, a dreamy room … the list goes on.
A narrative of rooms
What did it do to humans when in pre-modern times a building was composed with a narrative of rooms and gradually given a “life” of its own?
It would be inconceivable for a modern architect to receive the instruction from a client to design a building with rooms of various characters. But this was exactly what Andrea Palladio – the 16th-century Renaissance master – was instructed to do.
Give me a dozen rooms, some for me, some for my wife, some for my sons, some for servants and some for “ease”, asked the Veneto noble when he desired a country villa. Other than the differentiation between more open rooms (entrata, sala) and more enclosed ones (stanze, camere and camerini), these rooms are sequentially characterised from expansive and lofty to cosy and intimate.
Throughout their long summers, the Veneto nobles loafed around in such ensembles of interconnected rooms to pursue otium – a Roman ideal of leisurely time spent away from business and politics in the city to read literature and philosophy, and to converse and revel in the country.
They often travelled with furniture when they visited each other in those splendid villas. Depending on the mood and the need, a canopy bed could be set up in either a stanza or a camera, hence a circumstantial bedroom in the modern sense.
The entire Villa La Rotonda, conveniently positioned on the top of a hill, was on occasions turned into this magical theatre at night with its rooms becoming viewing boxes – from where the guests would be entertained with fireworks in the valley.
Around a courtyard, each room has its place
For more than three millennia, the Chinese built everything – from house, shop, factory, theatre and temple to imperial palace and the entire city – following one configuration, a courtyard.
But the rooms lining and within the courtyard – some elevated, expansive and magnanimous, and some grounded, hidden and secretive – were designated to play different social roles.
The patriarch and his wife lived in the central building on the axis; the married sons were housed in the two side-wing buildings; the unmarried daughter and the servants were tucked away in the rows of rooms in the rear courtyard.
One’s destiny and the character of the room were matched based on the legible Confucian decorum. The central tang – the hall – was elevated on a stone platform with its southern façade open to the lower court.
When the blind musician Mian called in, Confucius paid him the utmost respect by showing him the way up to the hall. When Mian reached the steps, the Master said: “Mind the steps”. Taking him to his mat, the Master said: “Here is your mat”. When everyone was seated, the Master explained: “So-and-so is here, So-and-so is there.”
This must have been an expected and yet imperative sequence: stepping up to the hall, being allocated the appropriately positioned mat, and sitting down to converse while facing the courtyard below.
The hall is reserved for the distinguished; the lesser must remain in the courtyard. To rise to the hall without an invitation from the owner therefore is an offence. In the imperial palace, the emperor, sitting in the hall, would give audience to his ministers, on their knees, in the court.
A place under Heaven
The courtyard itself is a room with a character. Though the four wings of the courtyard frame the sky, the Chinese leave their Heaven “unclaimed” in blandness.
When leaves fell in the imperial courtyard, the emperor was informed about the arrival of autumn. Women and children cut golden leaves in various shapes and stuck them on their sideburns: a long-forgotten Chinese custom under the Song dynasty.
Heaven’s pulse, in this Song celebration of autumn, is felt through the framed sky in the courtyard, but its true meaning remains on earth – that is, the connection of the emperor with his subjects. Unsurprisingly, the emperor is “the son of Heaven”.
The atrium in a Roman courtyard domusis narrow and skyward. Its character par-excellence is akin to the oculus in the Pantheon. This “courtyard” is the Roman emperor Hadrian’s homage to both Heaven and man, but man is contained within and, subordinate to, the internalised cosmos.
Though gods were many in classical antiquity, Heaven was to be held in awe. The coffers of the concrete dome, shrinking gradually in size towards the oculus, and still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world after nearly 2,000 years, are in the mind’s eye of a modern philosopher a chorus of angels ascending to Heaven.
Rain, snow and occasionally hailstones fall from the oculus. But this is the divine sublime. Even to this day, a cascade of ruby rose petals descends from “Heaven’s eye” (the oculus) on every Pentecost.
By the late 19th century, a large country house of the English aristocracy could have up to 50 defined rooms – ranging from parlour, boudoir, music room, library, gentleman’s room and saloon to cloakroom, china closet, gun room and even soiled linen closet. Professor Robert Kerr took the trouble of writing a book in 1865, The Gentleman’s House, to advise architects on the art of segregation in a house.
Unlike that of the 16th-century Veneto nobles, the English country house was fully occupied throughout the year. While the English gentry retreated to some of these enclosed rooms to cultivate a selfhood, this was the end of likening a building and its rooms to a human character, and the beginning of a building as a mechanical apparatus.
“A house is a machine for living in,” declared the French avant-garde architect Le Corbusier in the early 20th century – though his own buildings are more enigmatic than those of his enthusiastic followers.
But not all has been lost. The great New Zealand architect, the late Sir Ian Athfield, and a few of his kindred spirits such as Luis Barragan in Mexico and Geoffrey Bawa in Sri Lanka, conceived and built their buildings as an ensemble of rooms of all sorts of characters.
Their work nonetheless prove the validity of a long-forgotten tradition – that is, architecture was meant to be an art of imitating a human character, rather than “designed” to cater to a specific use only.
Xing Ruan is professor of Architecture, associate dean international and director of Architecture, UNSW Australia and author for The Conversation. He can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/xing-ruan-219197" target="_blank">here</a>.
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Why a building and its rooms should have a human character

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GUEST OBSERVER
Peter Corrigan died last Thursday morning, the first day of summer.
He was 77. He had worked as an architect and theatre designer from the early 1960s, and from 1974 with his collaborator and life partner Maggie Edmond. Their partnership saw through a succession of major projects, each with the intensity of a last design, and often bringing storms of controversy. 
Corrigan’s maxim for his many students was simple. As Vivian Mitsogianni has written, it was: lead a life of integrity. For students and architects, the greatest compliment he could pay anyone was to say they had “a commitment to architecture”.
He supported younger musicians, artists, fashion designers, as well as mentoring a generation of architecture students: “these kids need support”.
He was famous for attending every exhibition at RMIT University’s gallery, and he was unswerving in his dedication to RMIT University, being a major factor in its current status as an architecture school. In his architecture history lectures, which often ran for three to four hours and were supported by hundreds of images, he would trace the principles and the lapses of one modern architect after another: they were architects and dramatic characters, with all hopes and disappointments embedded in them. 
Unlike so many Australian architects, who tended to see architecture generated in some overseas metropolis as a dependable standard of excellence, he saw such “centres” as contested and unstable environments. He placed architects like Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Kahn in what was to us an unfamiliar context of American cultural anxiety. Correspondingly, he totally rejected the Australian cultural cringe.
He saw so much through a prism of integrity, and would pull most of us up short if he sensed any backsliding, glossing or easy options. He waged perpetual war on fuzzy thinking; for example challenging the general assumption of Australia’s “suburban wilderness”.
He would be thinking, all the time. In architecture at least, Corrigan did not make a customary intellectual’s progress: from a youthful enactment of someone else’s theory or passion, towards a fixed pattern of thought and certainties that defined their identity. 
He was never a real adherent of any school or movement. Integrity, and in building design a commitment to architecture, was really the only irreducible element.
<h2>Complexity and contradiction</h2>
Corrigan embraced architecture’s complexity and contradiction, rather than the widespread desire in architectural modernism to simplify tasks and to purify form. The modernist movement in the 50s and 60s embraced industrialism and scientism, demanding refined and replicable forms. This led to such absurdities as architects complaining that the Sydney Opera House was flawed because it didn’t offer an industrially reproducible model.
But Corrigan had already rejected this by the early- to mid-1960s, by the time he was producing his first built designs. He recognised, as did an increasing group of architects, that the complexity of modern living often defied refined form and absolute resolution; posing problems and demanding imagery that polished architectural beauty simply ignored.
He became fascinated by the haunted realms of Old Europe after collaborating with Australian director Barrie Kosky on the Dybbuk Trilogy plays in the early 1990s. His Building 8 at RMIT University, the Library and Humanities Building (1991-5) has winding corridors and internal “streets” that echoed Prague or Lviv, or the old Jewish quarters of the Vienna Neubau. 
The lift foyers spoke of the tiles, colours and raucous movement in the concourses of Berlin U-bahn stations, especially in Berlin’s doomed prewar theatre districts. Externally, Building 8 looms over Swanston Street as a great polychrome folly, tumultuously Gothic in bearing (though without explicitly Gothic detailing); capped by canted rooftop “faces” and quoifs in Colorbond steel, animated in colour and facial expression. 
The nearest counterparts are Antoni Gaudi’s houses and apartment blocks in Barcelona: triumphant follies confronting an often grim industrial city. 
Corrigan would constantly crash ideas and architectural themes together, often in oblique, smudged or “momentary” images and glimpses. If he faced an issue, as his friend and early champion Norman Day said, he would circle round it in a kind of spiral: I found this constantly, as he would draw getting closer to the point by telling anecdotes, parables, in a sense.
These stories were mostly of his own and other people’s incredible luck; he never ceased to be amazed by these tales when recounting them himself. During discussions in libraries, pubs or his little office he would associate an immediate issue with a broader point, and illustrate it with a vivid account of some miraculous occurrence.
Among these he would often recall being sacked from a succession of mighty American architectural firms for, as he put it, “inappropriate enthusiasm” and “asking too many questions!” In one instance he was so fired up he started sketching foliage over an exhibition drawing of one of legendary architect Paul Rudolph’s prize projects. Unfortunately, Rudolph was standing behind him at the time. 
This love of storytelling was reflected and supported by his huge library: 3,000 or more books, which which he was invariably generous. When he moved back to his house in his last year, as Maggie Edmond told me, he was reading constantly. 
<h2>Embracing Australia</h2>
Though he lectured on the greatest of modern architects overseas, Corrigan’s crucial guides were often major Australian architects: Frederick Romberg, to whose raw concrete buildings he eagerly took friends; Roy Grounds, long criticised for the monumental expression and the regional referencing in his Victorian Arts Centre. 
I recall how the McCartney house in Kew, 1981, reshaped my own assessment of 1900s Federation architecture. It brought out the diagonal force implicit or latent in so many of Australia’s suburban house plans, and in so doing became an absolutely precarious arrangement of shapes, which are almost quarrelling with each other.
A polygonal tower bumped against a living room wing that cranked round in facets. The hooded upper windows seemed to form a toothy mouth. The main hall was dominated by a massive crystal chandelier – and what was wrong with a bit of domestic aspiration? Were Australian buildings always to know their place in some divine order?
This sense of “movement and energy”, as Corrigan put it, was at the core of Corrigan’s design. Almost all of Edmond and Corrigan’s buildings expressed mobility and with a constant theatrical flourish.
The Athan House (1988), a v-shaped semi-rural residence with an open triangular courtyard in the centre, brought home to me many of these the dramatic possibilities in a completed building. Instead of a continuous veranda around the house, a series of ramps, walkways and bridges almost stutter out into the bush outside.
The house wings doubled back on themselves, and you would see another room through two windows with an external space in between, so the house interior becomes the compressed and half-viewed proximities of inner city apartments. 
Architecture could be loaded with one item after another – the sky was the limit, because good architecture did not always have to be perfected in simplification. 
When I took students to Edmond and Corrigan’s controversial Resurrection Parish, visited by architects and students from all over the world, the Parish school featured the bright 19th-century polychrome stripes of so many Melbourne railway stations or inner suburban terraces. 
He embraced the suburban bungalow and veranda; the Parish church featured bay windows and and a broad, Vatican II nave. A wide veranda is set in a blowsy, slouching curve. 
<h2>Inspiring a movement</h2>
This was now a realm in which Australian architects could now stay home and in Corrigan’s words “bite and fight”: you didn’t have to go overseas to do “proper” architecture. Your duty, he felt, was to stay in Australia, immersed in its particular complexity, and to sort it out here. 
His influence meant that throughout the 70s and 80s young architects would more often stay on in Melbourne and open offices. In contrast, Sydney absorbed bright young architects into established offices, tending to assimilate them into wider and less queried traditions.
Corrigan was a fulcrum in the 1970s to 1990s transformation in Australian architecture, arguably the most radical shift since the Federation period of 1890-1910, or the full surge of architectural modernism between 1930 and 1950. 
In so being, Peter Corrigan was also at the forefront of a new movement of recognisably Melburnian style that emerged in the 90s. Increasingly foreign architects, often bemused, gravitated to Melbourne, lured by the creativity and innovation of the moment.
Despite his strength of feeling for Australia, he spent significant time overseas. There was the United States itself: Corrigan sought out a Yale degree when the almost universal Australian path was toward British training. When he went to Asia it was in the totally unfavoured year of 1963, through Laos, then at war; through Vietnam, soon to be embroiled in war, to Japan – to study Noh theatre.
Despite Peter’s rejection of orthodoxy, he never relinquished one long-standing myth in architectural modernism: the reforming architect as hero. He gravitated to architects who were often isolated or marginalised, but used their designs to project their ideas into the world.
In many senses this idea looked creaky in the 1980s, in part through feminist critique of the notion of “heroes”, in part through the necessary scepticism and caution of historians and critics. 
He wanted so many of his own students to become heroes too, and this was part of the pursuit of integrity. 
From that broad base of intelligence and enthusiasm, it was natural that his great personal quality was generosity – even if it was sometimes alloyed with a lightning-sharp tongue. Those who really disappointed him dwelled in some eternal Coventry. 
As Jennifer Hocking wrote in 1995, there was scarcely a Melbourne architect coming through in the 1970s and 1980s who was not affected in some way by Corrigan’s example. Among overseas friends were Frank Gehry, Peter Eisenman, Daniel Libeskind, Patrick McCaughey and later, after a reconciliation of sorts, Paul Rudolph. 
All these people, and so many more, I sense will gather, and remember. Peter Corrigan was raised as an Irish (though half-German) Catholic, and into this others read all manner of Irishness and wayward madness. 
Architects in both Melbourne and in other cities, who did not see things as Corrigan did, would say, “well, that’s very Melbourne”, or “the Mad Irish were at it again”. 
But in a most surprising way, Corrigan’s constant search had a streak of the dissenting sternness of John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress:
"Then fancies fly away, He’ll fear not what men say, He’ll labour night and day, To be a pilgrim."
 
Conrad Hamann is associate professor of Architectural History, RMIT University and author for The Conversation. He can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/conrad-hamann-320980" target="_blank">here</a>.
 
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Remembering Peter Corrigan: a life of movement, energy and integrity

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GUEST OBSERVER
The announcement by NSW Minister for Planning, Rob Stokes, that an architecture and design policy will be developed to give a focus on design quality is positive, provided a balance between innovation and regulation is achieved. 
Clearly it is better to have good design rather than bad design of the buildings and precincts in urban areas.
While the intent of the policy is good we need to ensure that design does not become a tick the box assessment criteria measured against prescriptive design manuals.
The draft document states that guidelines, standards and manuals will be developed ‘to assist authorities in the assessment of design proposals.’ 
The draft policy document has many worthwhile statements about the importance of design quality but design quality can be a very subjective issue. The draft policy, for instance, says good design is 'local and of its place' as well as being ‘distinctive, visually interesting and appealing’. This raises the issue of balancing local design that fits in with the existing context compared to the one off exceptional design that stands out.
The Urban Taskforce is supportive of the need for design excellence in the built environment particularly as our urban areas become more compact. Currently State Environmental Planning Policy 65 defines design quality through the Apartment Design Guide for buildings above 3 storeys. 
Any new policy must not duplicate the current SEPP.
The role of The NSW Government Architect is supported by the Urban Taskforce as an advocate for design quality across New South Wales. The current Government Architect, Peter Poulet, is chair of the Taskforce’s Development Excellence Awards jury and we are positive about supporting his role.
The most likely way to lift design quality is to ensure the best designers do the work. This is what SEPP 65 does by ensuring qualified architects design apartment buildings over 3 storeys. The use of design excellence competitions with floor space uplift as an incentive are worthwhile and design review panels with a diverse group of reviewers can also help ensure quality.
The Urban Taskforce is keen to work with the NSW Government to develop appropriate approaches to ensuring design quality as cities like Sydney double in size over one generation. Clearly denser cities need to ensure that design quality gives communities a positive sense about both the private and the public built environment. The NSW Government Architect can play an important role in delivering these quality outcomes.
Chris Johnson is chief executive officer of property development industry group Urban Taskforce and can be contacted <a href="https://www.urbantaskforce.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=97&amp;Itemid=126#.Vdaart55dFI" target="_blank">here</a>.
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