Award winning on a tight site

3 December 2024

Bit surprised by this one, jammed up against the 96 tram line at South Melbourne, though I’d seen the other side in passing. I suppose I shouldn’t be, there are others almost as close. And then more surprise, it was designed by @sixdegreesarchitects, and won the Australian Institute of Architecture National Award for multiple-residential last month. It’s got all the nightingale-style features, like cross ventilation, open access corridors, nice materials, low energy use, communal roof etc. Built by @hipvhype, they also bought offsets for the carbon the project produced ! You can rent a top level maisonette from @hv.hotel. I guess some triple glazing would deal with the sound of the first tram at 5.30 am. And of course if Melbourne just keeps adding up to 100,000 people a year, we’re going to see more squeezy and taller developments.