231 Napier Street by Edition Office for Milieu
Edition Office employs their restraint material palette and connection to place for the eleven apartments at 231 Napier Street for Milieu.
Words: Emma-Kate Wilson I Photography: Rory Gardiner
‘When encountered from the street, the building appears as a series of singular, raw concrete shells simply and unashamedly stacked, one upon the other. Each apartment is transformed into a vessel that offers a sense of enclosure and protection,’ says Edition Office. Photo: Rory Gardiner
231 Napier Street reflects Milieu and Edition Office’s commitment to refined simplicity. Photo: Rory Gardiner
‘Rooms are formal objects within an otherwise open plan, curved at their corners to soften the flow between spaces; doors are flush panels that close to accentuate these forms,’ says Edition Office. Photo: Rory Gardiner
Located in the heart of Melbourne’s Fitzroy, 231 Napier Street for Milieu draws from the language and materiality of the historic working-class landscape. On the exterior of the building, methods such as relief patterns, the composition of windows and doors to the façade, and the streetscape offer connection to place for the eleven terrace-like apartments.
‘[The location] informed the design process from the outset, creating a strong connection with the neighbouring context,’ says Edition Office. ‘Subtle details and materiality amplify the building’s honest character and feel.’
The architects used raw concrete shells stacked on top of one another, embracing the concept for each of the apartments to be enclosed and secure. In between each of the spaces, Edition Office reimaged the original wrought-iron lacework on eaves and fences, offering a sense of the ‘dressed and celebrated’ alongside curved walls and reliefs. In turn, the materials will age gracefully, adding to the history of the area as the building develops character in time.
The apartments are oriented to the outlook, furthering the connection to place. ‘By maximising the apartment frontage to match the site extent, each level experiences a unique cross-section of Fitzroy's urban fabric—from street level, through tree canopies and over a historic corrugated iron roofscape,’ say the architects.
Inside, the visitors are immediately welcomed in by a perforated metal internal atrium that captures light into the heart of the building, continuing the narration of the landscape within.
231 Napier Street has been designed with consideration for its surrounding buildings, marrying contemporary ideals with the history of site and context. Photo: Rory Gardiner
Simple design details can be found inside and outside the building. Photo: Rory Gardiner
“The design draws strongly from the language and materiality of Fitzroy’s historic working-class building fabric, their relief patterns, the composition of windows and doors to the façade and the rhythm of party walls that line the streetscape.”
Subtle details and materiality amplify the building’s honest character and feel. Photo: Rory Gardiner
The interior features bespoke and detailed joinery with significant storage, walk in robes, natural stone benchtops, stained timber flooring, brushed nickel tapware by Phoenix, wine fridges and fireplaces. Photo: Rory Gardiner
Key features that enhance the luxurious feel include full-height glazing allowing outside views to reinforce the sense of maximised living space. Photo: Rory Gardiner
“When encountered from the street, the building appears as a series of singular, raw concrete shells simply and unashamedly stacked, one upon the other. Each apartment is transformed into a vessel that offers a sense of enclosure and protection.”
Subtle finishes and clean lines can be found inside and out. Photo: Rory Gardiner
‘The atrium acts as a common orientation device when you exit the lifts, or as you travel up the external stairs. The shaft of natural light through the building's core also provides significant amenity to rooms within the apartments, as well as to the muted common areas themselves,’ says Edition Office. Photo: Rory Gardiner
‘The procession from the street interface to the apartment interior is a key experiential journey, cleansing and reframing perception as you transition from public space to private,’ says Edition Office. ‘The central atrium is a dramatic nexus on this path of travel, pulling light down to ground level at the end of a narrow but dramatically tall external common corridor.’
Inside each of the eleven apartments, from the subterranean apartment to the multi-levelled penthouse, Edition Office allowed the restrained aesthetics to evolve within an ‘expansive and generous’ open plan arrangement. Curved internal corners link the exterior with flush panelled doors, while the contextual materiality of the facade repeats inwards.
The lux material palette employs refined pale timbers, raw concrete, and delightful surprises in the jewel-hued blue kitchens and bathrooms with marble finishes. ‘The material and colour palette are deliberately simple allowing generous natural light and objects of inhabitation to provide a domesticated foreground to a mute architectural background,’ says the architects.
Continually throughout 231 Napier Street for Milieu, Edition Office seek raw and simple aesthetics that provide the backdrop to inner-city living in urban Fitzroy. The bold exterior reminds the street of its humble origins, yet a sanctuary and domestic retreat await within each of the apartments.
Subtle design elements extend through to the bathroom space. Photo: Rory Gardiner
The study nook on the top level. Photo: Rory Gardiner
Subtle finishes and clean lines can be found inside and out of the apartments. Photo: Rory Gardiner
231 Napier Street marry contemporary ideals with the history and context of the site. Photo: Rory Gardiner
