Melrose PrecinctTwo Pairs
The Melrose Precinct is a well-sited residential precinct, close to Woden’s amenities and public transport. The precinct considers human scale and pedestrian experience with meaningful garden spaces and textured podiums, and delivers a significant quantum of housing to the town centre, including public and affordable housing.
The Melrose Precinct is a well-sited residential precinct, close to Woden’s amenities and public transport. The precinct considers human scale and pedestrian experience with meaningful garden spaces and textured podiums, and delivers a significant quantum of housing to the town centre, including public and affordable housing.
Location
Phillip
State
ACT
Country
Ngunnawal
Client
DOMA
Expertise
Master Plan, Residential
Year
In Progress
Collaborators
Indesco, Red Box Design, BLOC, Chase
Photography
Will Neill
Oversized balcony at The Melrose
Garden space between The Melrose (left) and The Bowen (right)
Pedestrian spaces between The Melrose (left) and The Bowen (right)
The Melrose podium brickwork detail
The Melrose podium brickwork
Inside The Melrose podium basement
The Melrose ground plane
The Melrose communal pool
The Melrose communal pool space
1/9
Oversized balcony at The Melrose
Brief
The brief requested a new precinct combining 480 dwellings, with a significant portion of public and affordable housing. The project site was originally a surface-level car park in an underutilised area yet a few minutes’ walk to the Woden town centre and its bus routes, bike paths and anticipated future light rail. Since the 1990’s, Woden is undergoing a significant transformation into a dense and vibrant transit oriented community with a range of revitalisation works already completed to support its growth into an active and connected town centre.
The brief requested a new precinct combining 480 dwellings, with a significant portion of public and affordable housing. The project site was originally a surface-level car park in an underutilised area yet a few minutes’ walk to the Woden town centre and its bus routes, bike paths and anticipated future light rail. Since the 1990’s, Woden is undergoing a significant transformation into a dense and vibrant transit oriented community with a range of revitalisation works already completed to support its growth into an active and connected town centre.
Design
The precinct comprises four main buildings, arranged in two pairs (Bowen and Hunter to the north, and Melrose and Charlotte to the south), connected via ground-level garden spaces. The buildings gain height as they approach nearby Lovett Tower; built in 1973, the 26-storey tower remains Canberra’s tallest commercial building.
Our master plan for the site allowed us to deliver 669 apartments. We worked with the site’s topography to minimise excavation. We sited parking in each of the building’s compact podiums, sized to give way to meaningful garden spaces and pedestrian access between and around the buildings.
The buildings have been designed to maximise solar access, crossflow ventilation, communal amenity, and outlooks to the surrounding landscape and Brindabella Range. The design also activates street frontages where it can, with commercial tenancies and communal spaces.
The Bowen is a 12-storey building that consists of public housing and affordable homes. The decision was made to house these dwellings in a single building to fast-track their delivery, and to balance communal facilities with low ongoing body corporate costs for its residents. The building has a communal lounge on the ground floor and direct access to the ground plane gardens and seating. The Bowen is wrapped in green punctured precast panels and metal screens to provide visual tactility and dappled light.
The Melrose building steps from 12 to 16 storeys and has been conceived as a build-to-sell apartment. It accommodates a pool, gym, bbq, communal terrace and lounge, and a bike store on the ground floor. The Melrose podium is wrapped with hit-and-miss, expressed and standard brick patterns.
The Hunter steps from 14 to 16 storeys and includes a communal lounge, gym, and terrace podium. It also has two commercial spaces on the ground floor activating key pedestrian routes. This building is currently in design development.
The Charlotte shares its sister’s (Melrose) podium brickwork detailing, with subtle façade changes that step up from 16 to 20 storeys. It houses a communal lounge and podium terrace, a bbq and two commercial spaces on Furzer Street. The Charlotte is currently under construction.
The precinct comprises four main buildings, arranged in two pairs (Bowen and Hunter to the north, and Melrose and Charlotte to the south), connected via ground-level garden spaces. The buildings gain height as they approach nearby Lovett Tower; built in 1973, the 26-storey tower remains Canberra’s tallest commercial building.
Our master plan for the site allowed us to deliver 669 apartments. We worked with the site’s topography to minimise excavation. We sited parking in each of the building’s compact podiums, sized to give way to meaningful garden spaces and pedestrian access between and around the buildings.
The buildings have been designed to maximise solar access, crossflow ventilation, communal amenity, and outlooks to the surrounding landscape and Brindabella Range. The design also activates street frontages where it can, with commercial tenancies and communal spaces.
The Bowen is a 12-storey building that consists of public housing and affordable homes. The decision was made to house these dwellings in a single building to fast-track their delivery, and to balance communal facilities with low ongoing body corporate costs for its residents. The building has a communal lounge on the ground floor and direct access to the ground plane gardens and seating. The Bowen is wrapped in green punctured precast panels and metal screens to provide visual tactility and dappled light.
The Melrose building steps from 12 to 16 storeys and has been conceived as a build-to-sell apartment. It accommodates a pool, gym, bbq, communal terrace and lounge, and a bike store on the ground floor. The Melrose podium is wrapped with hit-and-miss, expressed and standard brick patterns.
The Hunter steps from 14 to 16 storeys and includes a communal lounge, gym, and terrace podium. It also has two commercial spaces on the ground floor activating key pedestrian routes. This building is currently in design development.
The Charlotte shares its sister’s (Melrose) podium brickwork detailing, with subtle façade changes that step up from 16 to 20 storeys. It houses a communal lounge and podium terrace, a bbq and two commercial spaces on Furzer Street. The Charlotte is currently under construction.
Impact
Nearly 700 new homes minutes from the Woden town centre, well connected to public and active transport, the centre’s retail, health and community amenities, and the precinct’s meaningful garden spaces. The Melrose Precinct contributes to the improved quality and amenity of Woden town centre and delivers affordable and transit-oriented development in Canberra’s inner south.
Nearly 700 new homes minutes from the Woden town centre, well connected to public and active transport, the centre’s retail, health and community amenities, and the precinct’s meaningful garden spaces. The Melrose Precinct contributes to the improved quality and amenity of Woden town centre and delivers affordable and transit-oriented development in Canberra’s inner south.
