The General

Designed by C.Kairouz Architects, The General is the first residential building in Australia to use photovoltaic glass on a facade, providing high-quality, sustainable architecture in thriving Northcote, Melbourne.

The General is situated on High Street, the inner figurative heartbeat of Melbourne’s north inner-suburban culture.

It facilitates easy access to the major activity centre where community and involvement comes in the form of neighbourhood festivals and arts events throughout the year.

Now heavily gentrified, entry into the suburb is becoming less-affordable for those seeking to make the community and culture their new home.

The General is the first building of its size to offer a response to the High Street area; providing high-quality architecture for new locals in an affordable way.

C.Kairouz Architects set the precedent early; to achieve a 7 star energy rating for The General.

They were also adamant on using the Onyx Solar photovoltaic glass provided by Australian distributors, Environmental Technology Solutions (ETS).

This new technology, along with several other sustainable solutions, was put forth by C.Kairouz Architects to the developer and successfully integrated into the project.

The development is affectionately labelled The General, the nickname of Kairouz’s father.

Built at the former site of the family’s butcher business, the project honours his journey as a migrant to successful Australian business owner.

The General’s memorable design is built upon approximately a 2,087m² site over 6 titles and comprises 87 apartments across eight storeys with three levels of underground basement to service them.

Furthermore, the first two levels are dedicated to mixed-used spaces to accommodate street-frontage restaurants, retail stores, and offices.

Level 3 sees a large setback carried all the way to the seventh level terrace, perched well above the tree line featuring a communal gym and unhindered views of the CBD.

The General is hollowed with three vertical voids which provide natural ventilation and light to the bedrooms in each apartment.

This alternative method prevented the need to make each apartment wider to allow adequate light and air flow.

Each void is painted with white reflective paint to carry as much light as possible into the adjoining bedrooms.

The prominent corner location of the site presents a key design opportunity and the architecture seeks to engage by framing and wrapping the corner in a single feature with a curved secondary facade which is glazed with patterned glass that can be illuminated to have a beacon-like effect.

This patterned glass is in reference to Kariouz’ father, with a subtle image of a Victorian general on a horse.

Viewing the building from the corner of High Street and Bent Street, this feature is juxtaposed by continuous panels of Onyx Solar photovoltaic glass bands across the northern facade, and rhythmic bands of horizontal balustrading and glazing on the eastern facade.

Both these elements provide good transparency from inside the apartments as well as providing a level of engagement to the street.

All external windows of each apartment are external/residential double-glazed.

The Onyx Solar photovoltaic glass supplied by ETS across northern facade is used as balustrading that covers an area of approximately 130 m².

C.Kairouz Architects worked closely with ETS to develop the product to ensure it could be engineered into a sufficient balustrade with adequate strength and resistance to force.

As such, it is the first building the Australia to use the product in this way, and makes a bold statement on what can be achieved with sustainable solutions in the country.

Technically speaking, it displays a solar factor of 10%, making it an ideal candidate to achieve control over the interior temperature.

The product has been proven to yield low-emissivity properties, provide a UV and IR filter, promote natural light, and generate power.

Statistically translated, this allows The General to generate 2,075 kWh per year and prevents the release of 1.95 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.

This energy may be used for light, power and mechanical equipment in common areas.

There are 137 bicycle parks (100 flat top & 37 Ned Kelly) located in the basement carpark, nurturing the local council’s initiative of green infrastructure in the area, with bike paths on most main roads coming off High Street, as well as the nearby bicycle highway on St. George’s Road.

A major tram stop into the CBD is located on the corner of The General, and both Northcote and Croxton stations are only 500m away making green suburban travel easy and effortless.

It is also walking distance to Northcote shopping complex, Welcome to Thornbury food truck park, countless restaurants and cafes, pubs, bars and live music venues.

A 25,000L rainwater tank was located in the basement with water collected from the rooftops used to flush 50 toilets.

A substation located in the basement was mindfully added to the buildings framework and also integrated at the developer’s expense to take the electrical load off the existing power core infrastructure.

Being the first of its kind in size and sustainable solutions for the area, The General’s energy consumption minimisation strategy is now a precedent for other developments in the area, and it aims to encourage and inspire other sustainable developments in the future.

Due to the onerous site conditions involving strict height limitations, C.Kairouz Architects successfully negotiated a complicated town planning process by where additional dwellings were granted in response to The General being situated on multiple titles and its proposed energy consumption minimisation strategy.

This moment was integral to C.Kairouz Architects’ ability to maximise the potential of the project.

Post-tensioned reinforced concrete was used in preference to conventional slabs to maximise ceiling heights.

Multiple anchors went into bored piers both under High Street and the neighbouring site to ensure structural stability during construction.

Precast tilt panel walls were used for each floor, and the south side of the building uses panels with a pre-formed pattern for a bold aesthetic.

C.Kairouz Architects also had the challenge of developing a solution for substation installation and access in the basement.

This meant that part of the corner of the building had to be redesigned to allow for truck and craning logistics, but also adhere to the flood level to ensure the substation is kept safe from water.

The General offers a coordinated approach to public and private interests by combining the community interest into a forward-thinking project which shows initiative and leadership in the architectural field.

Project Details

Site Area – 2,087 m²
Completion Date – 2017
Building Levels – 7

Project Team

Architecture

C.Kairouz Architects

Founded in 2010 by Managing Director, Chahid Kairouz, the practice was formed from humble beginnings, and has since grown to encompass a strong, diverse team of individuals, who each bring with them their own unique story and experience.

www.ckarchitects.com.au

Photography

Peter Clarke

Peter is an established commercial photographer with over 20 years’ experience in his field. Over the years, Peter has gained extensive knowledge and experience documenting the built environment, as well as natural and man-made landscapes.

His collaborative approach and strong vision has seen his unique graphic style applied to a wide range of industries including architecture, construction, mining and aviation.

Peter works with a diverse range of clients including architects, design practices, government bodies, listed companies, and publishers.

www.peterclarke.com.au