Challenging Traditional Densification – Fitzroy Apartments by BKK Architects
Taking inspiration from the adjacent Victorian terraces and post-war warehouse typologies, Fitzroy Apartments challenge the traditional densified living vernacular. BKK Architects emphasises an appreciation of community through the combined use of textural materiality and an imbued sense of homeliness.
Located in Melbourne’s north, Fitzroy Apartments challenge the traditional approach to urban densification. Through a mix of approaches, references to the surrounding architectural and industrial storied pasts come together in the resulting materiality and form. Deeply embedded within its community, the project’s sense of purpose stems from a want to create and conjure a unique community of its own through the layering of indoor and outdoor, private and public, spaces. To this end, the ability for each of the residents to connect was integral. BKK Architects combines an understanding of the neighbourhood’s context together with a future-focused approach to design, allowing and designing for anticipated need and growth.
Built by Four Sq and with landscaping by Mud Office, the apartments are gently layered amongst the carefully articulated fabric. The resulting use of materiality and texture combines with a play on geometries to propose elements of intrigue and curiosity throughout. The process from inception to completion was shaped by the passionate and committed team. The initially inherited planning approval was overhauled, and, with the same rigor, each element was examined and challenged to ensure a consistent resolve throughout. Rethinking the traditional and popular 60-square-metre apartment offering, the resulting homes are a nod to the Victorian terrace architecture of the area, peppered with influences of the industrial warehouse aesthetic also prevalent in Melbourne’s inner north.
BKK Architects combines an understanding of the neighbourhood’s context together with a future-focused approach to design, allowing and designing for anticipated need and growth.
As an extension of the existing streetscape, the formal approach references materiality and stylistic elements of the Victorian and warehouse aesthetics together. The consideration of context, both in its façade but also in the primary elements that comprise the homes, was key for the design team. The essence and importance of both of these styles is intertwined into each comprising element – from the shared courtyards, connection to the city beyond and the way that the two styles combine on site. At ground level, purposely designed spaces allow for use as offices or places of business, and the provision for future inclusion of lifts between floors allows for a foresight beyond the present. The deliberate use of red brickwork and metal cladding both emphasise and celebrate the existing character and styles.
Fitzroy Apartments are a refreshing take on the traditional and expected approach to modern densification and delightfully propose a more contextually appropriate and responsive proposition. BKK Architects has thoughtfully brought a refined and considered approach planning and the lives of the building’s residents and expressed the site’s important history through its materiality.
