21 Victoria Street is a six-level, mixed-use building on the western edge of the diverse suburb of Footscray, in the inner west of Melbourne.
It comprises street-level commercial tenancies and 27 apartments.
A communal terrace located on the roof provides sweeping views across central Footscray, the docks, and the Melbourne CBD.
This project, designed by Poly Studio, has a robust contemporary presence that responds to the industrial heritage and diverse urban and cultural context of central Footscray.
The building conforms to the urban form guidelines within the planning scheme, comprising a three-level street wall along Victoria Street and a five-metre set-back for upper levels.
A series of light wells along the north and south boundaries bring light and ventilation into the centre of the building.
The design anticipates future development along the north and south boundaries, but has been conceived as a coherent, stand-alone building in the meantime with careful consideration of how the building is experienced ‘in the round.’
The facades are articulated with a hierarchy of materials – boundary walls are pre-cast concrete whilst facades set back from the boundaries graduate in tone, from white on the west through greys on the north and south facades to charcoal on the east.
The design language for the project explores free and irregular orthogonality.
The primary street façade is defined by a brise soleil comprised of an irregular grid of aluminum fins.
A selection of fins facing north are pink whilst others facing south are light blue.
This results in a continuously changing experience of the façade depending on the specific viewing angle and a flickering effect as one moves past it.
The pre-cast concrete facades comprise a staggered grid of flush and ribbed panels that provide articulation to otherwise blank facades.
Project Details
Project Size – 3,580 m2
Site Area – 698 m2
Completion Date – 2022
Building Levels – 6
Project Team
Architecture
Poly Studio
Poly Studio is an innovative architecture practice focused on creating maximum amenity from minimum resources. Founding directors Prani Hodges and Daniel Wolkenberg have considerable experience working on projects large and small, and across the full project cycle from concept design through to construction.
Photography
Tatjana Plitt
Tatjana is an award-winning artist and architecture/interior photographer based in Melbourne.
She completed her Bachelor of Media Arts at RMIT University and has exhibited her work throughout Australia and internationally.
Inspired by the power of architecture to shape how we feel, think, and behave, Tatjana creates images that capture the mood and emotion of spaces.
Photo Gallery
Click on a thumbnail image to enlarge it.
Design © 2022 Poly Studio. All Rights Reserved.| Images © 2022 Tatjana Plitt. All Rights Reserved.
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