An Ode to the Individual – St Vincent’s Place by B.E Architecture

The lush revival of St Vincent’s Place is the culmination of B.E Architecture’s bespoke and collaborative approach to design over the last 20 years. Both a confirmation and reminder of the responsibility when working in a heritage context, it also embodies the significance of coactively engaging at all stages of the design and construction process. At its core, St Vincent’s Place is an expression of the client, whose vision, trust and shared curiosity were integral to the project’s ambitious realisation. The result recognises the timeless power of weaving history, art, philosophy and beyond to leverage the individuality of a space into becoming a resonant home.

The design process spanned across nearly four years, beginning with a brief for “a suitably contemporary home for the client’s family and art collection,” recalls B.E Architecture Design Director Broderick Ely. According to Broderick, the client was engaged in discussions from the start, after a group of properties owned by an order of nuns went on the market in Albert Park. The resulting home and its legacy can be directly linked to the client and design team’s mutual desire to consider architecture, furniture, landscape and art connectedly. “With synergy comes fluidity, and the design starts to create its own momentum,” explains Broderick. The outcomes of these dynamic discussions can be read in the refined details of every space in the home; from the curved cornices and arched doors to the custom steel fireplaces and tactile landscape design, each moment tells the story of a conversation.

Each sophisticated ornamental feature was calculated to embrace a character of timelessness at St Vincent’s Place and is infused with a sense of affectionate eternalisation.

The home also evolved from a rigorous, almost archaeological process of discovery and rediscovery of the original heritage conditions. As much as 40 per cent of B.E Architecture’s work involves the restoration and renovation of period buildings, and Founding Director Jonathan Boucher’s longstanding involvement in these projects brought invaluable expertise to St Vincent’s Place. “Our firm was very involved in the early research of the building’s history. Together, we were able to prove that much of the building’s exterior was not original,” reflects Broderick. The building’s façade underwent considerable alterations to fix issues derived from years of misdirected modifications, masterfully ‘re-revealing’ a frontage that now appears untouched. The rebuilding process also enabled four levels to be established, including a rooftop terrace and a basement that would have been impossible underneath the original structure. Original verandah tiles were painstakingly lifted, saved and re-laid as further testament to B.E Architecture’s meticulous and hands-on approach to the history of place. Even broken or cracked tiles were salvaged and re-used without trying to make them appear new, approaching a delicate tension between contemporary interventions and existing conditions.

St Vincent’s Place does not stand as a monument to architectural fashions or trends – the fleeting and transient – but as an enduring bridge across historical periods and cultural boundaries. The modern rear extension uses a material palette that distinguishes it temporally from the traditional frontage and acts as a connection between past and present. Such considered materiality includes off-form concrete, terrazzo-style flooring and bluestone walls, which are laden with rich textures and classical embellishments at the hand of a skilled craftsperson. These crisp layers of artisanal details also distinguish the personalities of each room and embody the sensitive, unfixing of time that conceptually influenced the home. Broderick reflects that “in the end, it is not about the prowess of the designers but how a building remains relevant over time to its occupants now and in the future.”

One of the most important legacies of the project for the B.E team has been to consider art beyond the simple adornment of walls or as just an extension of the furniture, but as an element that can “deliver something different and beyond the influence of the design of the building itself,” says Broderick.

B.E Architecture’s objective to enhance the client’s vision through a balanced celebration of formal gestures and material decisions continues to guide its residential work today. Broderick explains that “our work is always, firstly, about our clients and, secondly, how we can refine the elements down to their clearest core values.” St Vincent’s Place cultivates spaces for the residents to be themselves and reflects their lives by integrating objects and details that do not distract in their careful unevenness but are nonetheless powerful by nature. “This is not about gratuitous decoration or the creation of spectacle, nor about the intellectual justification of an idea, but about the physical representation of an evaluation process,” says Broderick. B.E Architecture is constantly seeking a specialised outcome that adds to the client’s lives and today, Broderick views St Vincent’s Place as a strong representation of multi-layering design to nurture and support this intention.

Since the project’s completion, its vibrant and evolving identity has begun to have a life of its own. It has changed the client’s perspective on what a home can be and added to the experience of both occupants and guests, in many ways owing to the continued significance of art curation to complement the architectural canvas. “The artwork stimulates conversation with visitors and does not play second fiddle to the architecture,” reflects Broderick. The collection of artworks started in the first months of the project’s inception and continues even through to today, generating a yet unfolding aspect of the home into the future.

St Vincent’s Place still resonates years after its completion because it is conceived as an intimate portal into the world of the individual. The home does much more than produce beautifully curated architectural outcomes; it is also interested in how the occupants live and how the building can improve their lives. This remains central to B.E Architecture’s design philosophy, continuing to prioritise the client’s vision over architectural thumbprints and embrace a collaborative spirit to achieve it. Broderick notes that each project “can only be as significant as is appropriate to each individual,” and at St Vincent’s Place this sentiment has been materialised at every turn.