For the trifecta, conscientious residential design is born out of detailed site analysis, resulting in bespoke, architecturally designed developments with a uniquely local inflection that insinuates seamlessly into its urban fabric.

Gore Street materials are an expression of familiar Victorian and Edwardian compositions, with a redbrick podium and recessed glazed levels above. Generous spatial compositions paired with liberal apertures to the outdoors creates a breathable, capitulating built form with connections to natural breeze.

“It’s about creating places that feel like homes in their proportions, their spatial organisation, and their materials,” says Woods Bagot Principal and project leader Peter Miglis. “While being a part of the neighbourhood, it should also feel like leaving the energy of Fitzroy for something that is much more of a sanctuary: a quality living environment with a level of luxury, homeliness, authentic materials and biophilic connections.”

Natural light and ventilation permeate through the north-south axial breezeway of hit-and-miss brickwork – an architectural gesture that breaks down the scale and massing of the building. The brickwork creates a sense of solidity and privacy, while a walled garden sequesters the development from the bustling street.

“The Piccolo name has a quality assurance to it,” says Miglis. “There’s a level of care to and consideration to their projects – it’s about setting a new benchmark for Melbourne inner-city living.”

In concert with the architectural design, Hecker Guthrie’s Stacey Van Harn is marrying the architectural form with meticulously curated interiors that create a resolved and harmonious built narrative.

“As with all of his projects, Michael [Piccolo] wanted there to be a really strong and seamless connection between the architecture and interiors,” says Van Harn. “It was about the elevating of finishes, the spatial quality and amenity.”

Each residence incorporates a natural colour palette of robust materials, from oak floorboards to brushed nickel tapware, terrazzo benchtops, steel joinery.

“The location was essential to the design response. It was about understanding the market and who would be living there, and making sure the interior design is commensurate with the end user. Being in Fitzroy, we had the opportunity to select materials that reference that inner-city-industrial aesthetic, where materials like terrazzo and robust concrete counters do really well,” she says.

“But we also wanted it to be timeless, and to enable people to apply their own stamp on the space. It is quite pared back in other ways, with light timber and clean finishes; we don’t want to dictate the aesthetic of anyone who lives here. It’s about balancing something that is relevant to its location, but flexible enough to be lived with forever.”

Van Harn adds that one of the of the greatest innovations to the residential design is the “guesthouse” that sits on the ground level and looks into the courtyard. This self-contained unit operates on a time-share basis for residents to have their visitors to stay while maintaining sense of independence and privacy.

“We are driven by the desire to create homes that come with the promise of longevity and also enhance the lives of our residents and the surrounding community with timeless developments,” adds Piccolo. “In addition to finding the right partners, the ability to find the perfect site for every Piccolo home is an important part of achieving this goal. A building should be about more than just the residents who occupy it – if it’s loved by the community, it will remain for generations.”

Gore Street will be a bespoke and finely crafted residential development that intimately reflects the neighbourhood character, urban grain and scale. The project is forecast for completion mid-2025.

Previous successful collaborations between Woods Bagot and Piccolo include Garden House, a 46-residence project in Carlton, and the 30-apartment Elwood House.

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Isla Sutherland
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