Original post 23 March 2014:
Only #housingcommision towers built in brick (1969). Heard it was built as private then bought by commssion but I think just #urbanmyth to explain why its not pebbledash #precast like all the others.
(one hiding the other)
28 November 2024
I just saw this on Jacinta Allan’s Facebook page billed as ‘New Carlton Housing Towers’ and thought there must be some mistake, because they look pretty much like the existing ones. This is the Elgin Nicholson Street estate, where the towers had some sewerage issue, and so they’ve been empty since 2022. From what I can tell, these are to be all social housing, and funded by the Feds, so not part private like usual, which sounds good, but not entirely sure (update yes all social housing part Fed funding). There will be 26% more flats than before, and will of course be better built and serviced, but I am surprised they’re much the same height and bulk as now. I guess more smaller flats, the towers tend to be mostly 3 beds. The design, by @architectusau, has solid balconies like the existing towers, and sides that look more like the other prefab Housing Commission towers, when the existing towers were the only ones that they tried to make nicer, by calling in Peter McIntyre who suggested red brick rather than the usual precast pebble mix. The economics of this is all rather puzzling, because we don’t get to see the reports on whether or not they can just be fixed up, we just get press releases. The site is already very dense with two recent 8 storey (private) blocks on what was open space next to the towers, so I can’t help but think it’s all rather ad-hoc, and maybe if they’d started with a big empty site we might have got a better new bit of the city. Or if we’re going to have towers might as well make them 20 storeys and get even more social housing. The recent blocks are shown in the tenders in white, as if they’re not really there.
After some criticism in the Age, more detailed renders were published on 13 December, and they show yes plain beige precast for much of the walling, but some balconies are actually open railings, and the podium bits are brick (likely brick tiles). The architects also said they had to deliver within a budget.
I also discovered that Heritage Victoria were asked to make an ‘exclusion’ determination (effectively saying whether they thought they might be listed), and they said no in Sept this year. Good to have the research though, outlining McIntyre’s role, and showing that yes they were the only commission towers they tried to make nicer looking. But that didn’t make them State level significant. But maybe one of the others ?
20 March 2025
Some pics of the first stage redevelopment of the Elgin /Nicholson corner housing commission estate, with the red brick towers coming down soon. I took them in 2014 when just finished. The 2 walkups on the west half of the block were replaced by three blocks using the public private partnership model, where one block was new social housing, funded by the other two as private housing. First pic is the public one on the south side from the inside of the block, varied but a bit massive, designed by @fenderkatsalidis. They also designed the block opposite facing Palmerston Street, much more varied, lots of nice detailing. Inside the block is a nice public lawn area, though a little over shadowed, with rather odd origami conc seating. The extension of Station Street is hard surfaces, planting and play equipment (I didn’t photograph because full of kids, so quite a success !). The third block facing Canning Street is by @armarchitecture, in their then black and gold domino look; and there’s interesting walkways either side of that one. Last pic is the walkups, they were very ordinary, and just realised some people had to go up five flights ! I don’t mind the whole thing, though clearly more effort went into the private blocks, and 8 floors right on Elgin in such a big block a bit much, but now there’s so many similar everywhere.
Storey of Melbourne 