Church Street
The Church Street project is a mixed use development consisting of basement parking, ground floor retail, commercial offices, 3rd level gym, café and terrace, and residential apartments.
The overall design focused on several key aspects: sustainability, accessibility, indigenous integration, nature and incorporation and acknowledgment of the industrial heritage of the area. With the overarching design concept blending industrial and biophilic design. Primarily utilising brick for the main podium façade and a striking dark cladding for the main tower with large planters surrounding the perimeter of each level allowing for draping plants to fall over the edge and soften the façade. Due to a heigh restrictions along Shamrock Street, each level of the rear of the building steps back. This was advantageous as it allowed for better access to natural lighting for the areas further inset into the site.
Throughout the entire building, careful consideration has been made to allow for equal access to all occupants, with wide hallways, openings and doors, open spaces, and free flow of movement.
The project consists of 4 elements of indigenous integration the first of which is an inset water feature throughout the ground floor foyer and courtyard, showcasing a section of the Yarra River, nearby to the site. The second element is a simplistic Yarning Circle in the centre courtyard. The third is located in the 3rd floor terrace, 5 large pillars, clad with artwork commissioned from local indigenous artists depicting the 5 core values of the culture. The final element is a large, winding pathway along the rooftop terrace in the shape of the Rainbow Serpent.
While all the retail spaces have been designed with the flexibility to change depending on the tenants needs, the spaces depicted in the project consist of a café along the bustling main road as well as a furniture and home décor store. These tenancies allow for greater visibility and foot traffic to enter the building and further the community aspect for the development. Deeper into the building there is a grocer, allowing both residents, office professionals and the community quick and easy access to essential. At the rear of the building, is a restaurant accessed along Shamrock Street or via the courtyard. In this location, the atmosphere is calmer as it is separated from the busy main road, allowing for a more intimate feel.
The commercial offices allow for a similar level of flexibility, with glass partition walls allowing for free movement and reorganisation of spaces to suit the needs and requirement of the client
With 29 residential apartments, spread across the terraced apartments towards the rear of the site and the residential tower above the main podium ranging from 2 to 4 bedrooms. Each designed to allow for free flow of movement throughout and prioritising natural lighting and cross ventilation utilising the sites large northerly facing elevation along Shamrock Street.
