A Beacon of Hope – AHV Reservoir by Breathe

Responding to the need for considered social housing is one of the design industry’s defining challenges. Working collaboratively on AHV Reservoir, renowned architecture firm Breathe and iconic Australian company Brickworks have delivered a beacon of hope in the pursuit of creating a better standard of living for one of Australia’s most disadvantaged communities.

Aboriginal Housing Victoria (AHV) is a community-led organisation managing over 1,500 rental properties for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Victoria. Embodying the strength and resilience of First Nations peoples, AHV exists to provide solutions to the complex issue of inadequate affordable and appropriate housing for this community. Recognising the critical need to significantly increase the level of available housing stock, AHV engaged Breathe to design its inaugural multi-residential housing project. Mitigating budgetary constraints and maintenance concerns, Breathe has delivered a project consistent with the quality and sustainability targets for which the firm has become known through the generous support of long-time collaborator Brickworks, which donated a range of carbon-neutral brick products.

Recognising the critical need to significantly increase the level of available housing stock, AHV engaged Breathe to design its inaugural multi-residential housing project.

The project comprises 14 one- and two-bedroom apartments that were built in line with AHV’s ethos – “ensuring Aboriginal Victorians secure appropriate, affordable housing as a pathway to better lives and stronger communities.” Developing an architectural intervention that didn’t compromise on quality while maintaining strong sustainable design principles required the specification of certain considered products, namely the Brickworks Daniel Robertson range. Echoing Breathe’s sustainable design ethos, the Daniel Robertson range is completely carbon neutral, offering the architects a myriad of benefits including design flexibility, overall resilience for the building’s exterior, low maintenance for the future custodians of the building and, of course, the inherent longevity that only bricks can provide.

In a statement to the Australian Institute of Architects, Breathe noted that “developing partnerships with generous suppliers was integral to the delivery of this project, particularly through the donation of carbon neutral bricks by Brickworks. The slender, locally-made bricks enabled a high-quality of masonry, as well as aligning with Breathe’s sustainability approach and the First Nations concept of connection to Country that was so crucial to this project.”

Developing an architectural intervention that didn’t compromise on quality while maintaining strong sustainable design principles required the specification of certain considered products, namely the Brickworks Daniel Robertson range.

The interesting, and at time spectacular, specification of the Daniel Robertson range of bricks by Breathe adds a layer of considered materiality to the project, while also creating a high-quality finish ordinarily unobtainable for social housing projects. Encompassing more than simply the architecture on display, Breathe and Brickworks are confident AHV Reservoir will set the standard for future social housing initiatives, generating innumerable benefits for First Nations peoples in pursuit of their right to affordable and appropriate housing.