46

RESIDENCE: ELENBERG FRASER AND HECKER GUTHRIE, ELM APARTMENTS

THE COLLABORATION BETWEEN ELENBERG FRASER, HECKER GUTHRIE AND JACK MERLO RESULTS IN A MELBOURNE APARTMENT HIGH- RISE TRANSFORMING THE CITYSCAPE.

AN EGALI-TARIAN ELEGANCE OF CANNY DESIGN DECISIONS

Residence - Elm.indd 46 5/05/2011 10:33:59 AM

47

Hecker Guthrie’s e� cient design of elm’s kitchen and living spaces. Photography Shannon McGrath

Residence - Elm.indd 47 5/05/2011 10:34:55 AM

48

Residence: ElEnbErg FrasEr and HEckEr gutHriE, Elm aPartmEnts

tic signals and begin a key series of navigational devices that are re-worked throughout the building. Ornate joinery and marble indicate what lies in wait in the apartments. A luxury Walter Knoll sofa swirls under an enormous Dale Frank. Ah, home!

The small shifts in the interior programming enable Hecker Guthrie to play out transformative spatial experiences: the apart-ments’ joinery is taken to a new level with ‘dark’ and ‘light’ variations of oak veneers providing an integrated study, kitchen, and laundry/storage wall. The unit’s design provides a line between several spaces and blurs a rigid approach to how the apartment might be used. This device combines with other crossovers where, for example, a stone floor finishes the living space or an exterior window opens largely to invite in the city. In another innovative foray a wall enfolds the bed-room and curves sculpturally across the entry, living and kitchen. Curtains float at each end and seductively induce a sense of curiosity via discrete glimpses through the space. The circular shower base and hand basin are further signature motifs in every apartment.

Merlo’s recreation deck should be renamed to embrace its party-vibe. Beyond a mandatory gym is the real joy: a series of ‘cocooned’ timber spaces are nestled in the elbow of the building above. Each po-dium frames an event and city views. Barbeques and a fireplace give signals of how to inhabit each exterior room and a sequence of tiled pools and spas provide recreational opportunities. A sense of inti-macy gathers here that is often overlooked in these shared spaces.

If branding is about image-building then, for architecture any-how, the definitions need to be re-thought. The collaborative effort that produces elm looks beyond the idea of urban lifestyle and offers a material example of how to live it.

contributor:Niki kalms

is a lecturer in Interior Archi-tecture at Monash University.

She is undertaking her PhD in Architecture. Her research

interests include gender, sexuality and urbanism.

n an ideal world design is an act of courage: a material battle between complex social phenomena and the growing cultural economy. At present the ‘brandscaping’ of urban form dominates architectural culture. Buildings create cities, not the other way round. Property sections advertise a plethora of residen-tial opportunities and offer multiple personalities we might choose to inhabit. Designers are enmeshed in this hyper-consumer culture and forced to ask important questions: how can contemporary ar-chitecture freely inhabit the consumer landscape without the risk of homogenisation? Can architecture elevate the images of the city into spatial experiences that transform the notion ‘branded landscape’?

The most recent addition to the Melbourne skyline is elm: a residential apartment high-rise located off St Kilda Road in South Melbourne. A Bridget Riley-inspired skirt of perforated sheet steel reveals a moiré image of foliage and forms a pedestal to the 286-unit building which emerges out of the corner of Wells and Dorcas Streets. To the east the building looms above the Shrine of Remembrance and cushioned treetops of the Royal Botanic Gardens. Over its other shoulder a series of stunning views unfold to the distant bay.

Melbourne is a city gradually thickening with residential devel-opments that are market-driven and, for the most part, architectur-ally bereft. In stark contrast elm is the result of boutique developer Fridcorp, and assembles Elenberg Fraser, Hecker Guthrie and Jack Merlo to navigate the territory of luxury-branded apartment living. The aim was to create a legible and environmentally focused devel-opment with an uncharted reciprocity between the building’s skin and its interior spaces. It is an enduring brand quality that follows: an egalitarian elegance of canny design decisions that rethink the apartment-living template.

Elenberg Fraser’s fanatical attention to the development of a hard- working architectural facade reflects elements of the brandscape in a leaf-pattern screen that evokes the cascading foliage of an elm tree. But the real reward is in the interior spaces. Cheap laminated win-dows are replaced by engineered, bronzed directional glazing with precision aluminum louvres that allow high levels of daylight to pene-trate each apartment while dramatically reducing the heat load of the tower. On the west facade a continuous slow-growing vertical garden extends a ‘realer-than-real’ version of the elm brand and buffers the edge from the afternoon sun.

The interior of the building immediately harnesses the upwardly stylish younger market of first homebuyers and astute investors. The lush vertical green wall from the exterior on Dorcas Street is reiter-ated in the interior foyer as a soft, textured wall. Both give off domes-

Residence - Elm.indd 48 5/05/2011 10:41:25 AM

49

A curved wall enfolds the bedroom. Photography Shannon McGrath The extended joinery unit. Photography Shannon McGrath

PLANNING NOTES: APARTMENT LIVINGNotwithstanding a certain proportion of desert, the population density calculation would have you believe Australia is the most sparsely populated country in the world after Mongolia. With our habitable acres duly quartered and picket-fenced, as the population increases our cities can only sprawl further. With the demand for homes outstripping supply, the great Australian dream is increasingly just that: a dream. Motivated by environmental and infrastructure concerns, more governments and councils are advocating high density residential development. Thus an ‘apartmentalised’ Australian city is emerging as a new reality, one which will precipitate new ways of relating with space. The tower’s glazed and louvred facade. Photography Peter Clarke

Residence - Elm.indd 49 5/05/2011 3:26:29 PM

50

RESIDENCE: ELENBERG FRASER AND HECKER GUTHRIE, ELM APARTMENTS

The garden wall in the building’s entry foyer. Photography Shannon McGrath

Bri

dge

t R

iley

, Cat

arac

t 3,

1967

, pva

on

can

vas,

© B

rid

get

Ril

ey,

All

rig

ths

rese

rved

. Co

urt

esy

Kar

sten

Sch

ube

rt, L

on

do

n

The rear of the foyer houses a Walter Knoll sofa and Dale Frank painting. Photography Shannon McGrath

Residence - Elm.indd 50 5/05/2011 5:14:53 PM

51

Optical IllusionsElm’s dynamic facade harks to the Op Art movement of the 1960s, particularly the work of one of its most prominent contributors, British artist Bridget Riley. Op Art – derived from ‘optical art’, its name also echoes ‘Pop Art’ – uses dazzling shape and illusion to de-ceive the eye into seeing dimension and movement where there is none. With an initial palette of black and white alone, in 1966 Riley introduced colour into her works to further explore the potential for deceiving our senses and toying with our perceptions. Her most re-cent paitings were on show in an exhibition (24 November 2010 until 22 May 2011) at The National Gallery, London.

Elm’s street elevation. Photography John Gollings

The apartment high-rise’s branding. Photography Peter Clarke

Residence - Elm.indd 51 5/05/2011 5:15:19 PM

52

RESIDENCE: ELENBERG FRASER AND HECKER GUTHRIE, ELM APARTMENTS

One of the cocooned timber spaces on the recreation deck. Photography Shannon McGrath

DESIGN NOTES: ENGAGEMENT AND USE“The main objective was to provide amenity to the residents and en-able di� erent areas of use – not just the one large communal space, but pods that could cater for groups of 5 to 6 people. We wanted the pods to not only be experienced by walking through them, but by also looking down onto them. It was important that they looked good from above and so the freestanding sculptural form of the exterior was a deliberate aesthetic consideration. The timber was intended to add warmth to the overall material palette, and the ‘interior’ was in-tended to provide shade and shelter, although it was deliberately kept open to connect with the outdoors.” Jack Merlo

An aerial view of the cocooned structures. Photography Shannon McGrath

Residence - Elm.indd 52 5/05/2011 11:13:37 AM

53

Key material informationColumns Plasterboard clad concrete from CSR

Facade Bronze tinted high performance low E double

glazing from George Fethers, recycled plastic shelf self-

irrigating planter system from Container Connection

(vertical gardens, apartment levels), custom proprietary

system from Fytogreen (vertical gardens, ground level),

Dulux off-white textured paint (slab extension soffits)

Flooring George Low Ultra Plush 11 in Gumnut and

Blackout

Foyer Walter Knoll Circle Lounge from Living Edge, fixed

panels with operable louvres in Dulux Vivid White

Satin from InVogue Blinds

Joinery Laminex FSC American Oak timber veneer panels

in vivid white and black paint finish, King Eurofit

runners/Blum hinges from JPC European Kitchens

Kitchen Purity 20mm square polished reconstituted stone

bench from Essastone, Phoenix ‘vivid’ chrome mixer

tap with Afa Flow undermount sink from Tradelink,

Miele 600mm underbench oven, Miele gas cooktop,

Miele 600mm slimline rangehood, Fisher & Paykel

integrated single dish drawer dishwasher, Laminex FSC

American Oak timber veneer panels on cupboards

Landscaping Custom made recreation pods by Inox, in-

situ concrete with mosaic tiles from Neptune Pools and

Bisazza (pool and spa), Canasta sofa and armchair by

Patricia Urquiola from Space Furniture

Lighting Tara pendant light, Flos Wan surface mounted

light (kitchen), Reggiani Sunlight Directional Surface

Mounted Spotlight (bedrooms) (all from Euroluce)

Structural System In-situ concrete post tensioned from

Australian Concrete Technologies Pty Ltd

Project team and detailsArchitect Elenberg Fraser

Interior Design Hecker Guthrie

Builder Hickory Developments

Developer and Town Planner Fridcorp

Services Engineer Waterman AHW

Building Surveyor Gardner Group

Quantity Surveyor WT Partnership

Traffic Engineer Cardno Grogan Richards

Acoustic Engineer Acoustic Logic

Structural Engineer Webber Design

Fire Engineer Umow Lau

Land Surveyor TGM Group

Landscape Architect Jack Merlo Design

Design and Documentation 16 months

Construction 19 months

Floor Area 23,000sqm

765432

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1UP

UP

UP11 12 13 14 1510

101112131516

UP

STAIR

16

814

STAIR

Apartment Plan

Residence Type -

Floor Area

01

3m2

Terrace Area

Areas

All plans, dimensions and particulars herein w

hether by measurem

ent orvisual representation are for general inform

ation only and do not constituteany representation by the Vendor or by its Agents or representatives.N

o warranty is given either expressly or im

plied and all interested partiesshould not rely on the inform

ation contained herein.

Total

1 Bedroom Apartm

ent

14

52.0m2

3.0m2

55.0m2

1

2 3

4 56

7

8

9

7

6

5

4

3

2

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

1 UP

UP

UP11

12

13

14

15

10

10

11

12

13

15

16

UP

STAIR

16

8

14

STAIR

Apar tment PlanResidence Type -

Floor Ar ea

0 1 3m2

Te rrace Area

Areas

All plans, dimensions and particulars herein whether by measurement orvisual representation are for general information only and do not constituteany representation by the Vendor or by its Agents or representatives.No warranty is given either expressly or implied and all interested partiesshould not rely on the information contained herein.

To tal

2 Bedroom Apartment

04

88.5m2

7.7m2

96.2m2

N

Floor Plan1 Entry2 Bathroom3 Bedroom4 Study5 Storage6 Kitchen7 Living Area8 Dining Area9 Balcony

Residence - Elm.indd 53 5/05/2011 3:40:40 PM