Intentionally Entwined – Urban Coup by Breathe and Architecture architecture

Urban Coup is one of six multi-residential buildings at Nightingale Village in Melbourne’s inner north. Whilst it is grounded in the same environmentally and socially sustainable principles as its neighbours, this project – which is the result of a partnership between Nightingale Housing, Breathe, Architecture architecture and a pre-existing resident community – is an intriguing co-housing concept that ultimately enriches the Village’s offering.

As Nick James, Design Director of Architecture architecture, explains, “Urban Coup differentiates itself from the other buildings within the Village, as it’s a deliberate co-housing community. The client group was pre-formed and it was a much more involved collaboration with the residents.” Urban Coup resident Brenda Appleton has been a key figure in the group’s decade-long endeavour to find and secure land, raise capital, design a building and move in, and partnering with Nightingale was essential to realising this dream. Now a proud member of the Village community, she says, “it’s been a long journey, but we’re so glad that we’ve done it.”

Distinctive in its conception and realisation, Urban Coup is testament to the power of a community and its likeminded partners.

As the Co-Founder of Nightingale Housing and Breathe, Jeremy McLeod is deeply passionate about the pillars that have come to define Nightingale’s mission for triple-bottom-line housing. As he says, “we’re in the middle of a climate crisis, so we have to drive sustainability and carbon neutrality in every building that we do.” He adds, “fundamentally what that means is that everything has to be 100 per cent electric, our buildings have to be the best in class in terms of energy efficiency and that we share as much infrastructure as possible.”

The latter is illustrated beautifully at Urban Coup – and in every building within the Village – through the shared rooftop laundries equipped with Fisher & Paykel washing machines and dryers. Not only does this move reduce the quota of appliances and laundry spaces required within the building, but it also facilitates social interaction and connection within a familiar, day-to-day framework. Brenda attests to this, praising the building’s many shared spaces and the role they play in a community-driven lifestyle. She says, “our fourth floor is a particular delight – it’s set back from the street, so we’ve got a big outdoor area, a large multipurpose room and provision for two guestrooms and a bathroom.” She adds, “there’s just so many points where we connect with others and that’s been a pleasant thing to come out of this.”

Ecological sustainability is embedded in the Village, and Nightingale’s partnership with Fisher & Paykel was integral to this.

Ecological sustainability is embedded in the Village, and Nightingale’s partnership with Fisher & Paykel was integral to this. “When we decided to go on an all-electric pathway to build fossil fuel-free buildings, we needed a partner that cared about sustainability and that could deliver high efficiency appliances for buildings that would last a long time,” he reflects. Fisher & Paykel’s values and products support this mission, and at Urban Coup, all apartments feature an Induction Cooktop, oven, Integrated Double DishDrawer and French Door Refrigerator Freezer. All-electric and highly efficient, these appliances allow residents to live more sustainably without compromising on quality and aesthetics.

Nick speaks to the design excellence of these pieces, attesting to the highly complementary finishes and forms that work well within a refined and compact apartment typology. “Key design moves when working with a small space are all about first principles, so natural light, cross ventilation, built-in joinery and really using the edges of a space,” he says, adding, “the Fisher & Paykel appliances were key to this idea, as they can be built into the cabinetry or sit flush against the adjacent cupboards.” Brenda and fellow resident Janice Appleton both note the DishDrawer as a “great surprise”, saying, “it’s so quiet, we can even be talking on the phone or listening to the TV while it’s running.”

Distinctive in its conception and realisation, Urban Coup is testament to the power of a community and its likeminded partners. As Jeremy says, he is most proud of “the fact that it exists – that a bold, crazy dream of 29 different households for one beautiful community was actually delivered upon.”