Exploring the Unexpected – Irving Street Townhouses by B.E. Architecture
Unified through palette and form, Irving Street Townhouses are conceived through a binding, similar-veined approach, yet each carves its own unique address. B.E. Architecture joins forces with developer Figurehead in exploring an alternative to the traditional development model, brought together through refinement and tactility.
In an exploration of the non-traditional and the unexpected, Irving Street Townhouses create their own development model approach, masterplanning and connecting the homes, while allowing an individualised personalisation. Within the one site and conceived as a series of connected but separate residences, the resulting townhouse structures each embody their own sense of self, while respectfully engaging through a similar materiality and vernacular as their adjoining neighbours. The townhouses form a series of three, each with their own addresses and titles, and are defined through their own entrances and connection to the streetscape. Through a unified approach, the presence of the homes is amplified, while a welcomed return of a rhythm and repetition is brought back to the residential condition.
Set amongst similar scaled homes in Melbourne, the emphasis on longevity and timelessness is embodied in the quality of the construction and combined builder and development team. Developed by Figurehead and built by Flux Constructions, the result sees a quiet insertion to the street, conservatively responding to the surrounding context and imbedding the homes as part of the area’s long formed and historically rich narrative. Wrapped in chalk-toned brickwork, the homes are a softened addition, while adding a weightedness and anchoring them to their respective sites, as a symbol of their intended enduring nature.
The approach sees a contemporary crispness of form punctuated by considered geometries that create an interesting articulation of the façade through light interaction and the resulting shadows cast. The overall massing of the homes offers an undulation, where elevated and lowered elements avoid an imposing form on the site. The intent is for the homes to feel personalised and unique from the outset. Internally, a similar classically proportioned approach sees Travertine tile and timber flooring run throughout, with clean and uninterrupted vertical and horizonal lines defining the various volumes. The spatial arrangements differ between the three homes; however, the use of a shared warm, neutral and heightened palette connects each of them. The absence of ornament allows each owner to make their own mark on the property, and the insertion of their own furniture, artwork and objects collected further allows their own individual narratives to play out.
The absence of ornament allows each owner to make their own mark on the property, and the insertion of their own furniture, artwork and objects collected further allows their own individual narratives to play out.
Viewed through an evolved and elevated lens, Irving Street Townhouses see B.E. Architecture and Figurehead propose a welcomed shift from the expected. In the process, a series of homes has been created that are intended to remain relevant and prevalent, for many years to come.
