Hope Street Apartments
Type: Multi-residential, affordable and social housing
Location: Brunswick, Merri-bek
Client: Private
Status:
DA Approved
This 57-unit apartment building is part of a wider development comprising five distinct 8-storey communities. Each community is designed by a separate architecture practice within a collaborative masterplan. Each addresses the proposed ‘linear park’, a publicly accessible offering to the wider neighbourhood stretching along the Upfield rail corridor. Positioned at the southern end of the development, Hope Street Apartments acts as a bookend to the site, exploring program and apartment types that make the most of this unique floor plate and end condition.
The project accommodates a wide diversity of housing types, ranging from 1-bed studios to 3-bedroom townhouses. Family-friendly duplex units on the ground floor interface with the 'linear park' and 'big backyard' shared garden - each finding a careful balance between privacy and interaction. The communal rooftop offers generous shared facilities, including laundry, drying area, garden bath, and a ‘muck around’ recreational space with a basketball ring enclosed by netting.
The façade is characterized by predominantly solid balustrades and balcony rhythms that help diminish the sense of scale and ownership. Adjustable shading is provided to the western outlook – to mitigate summer solar gain and provide visual relief through varied use.
Beyond energy ratings metrics (average 7.5 stars) sustainability is targeted through reduction of non-functional elements, and accepting the building for what it is – a background to life.
Collaborators:
Hayball (Principle Architects), Kennedy Nolan, Wowowa, Neeson Murcutt
Openwork, Urban Design
Simone Bliss Landscape Architects, Landscape
Arup, Sustainability
BCE, Structure
Stantec, Systems