Gipps Street
Subterranean suburban chic. An exercise in intelligent, purposeful apartment living.
Inside an existing heritage building, on a deep, narrow block in inner city South Yarra, we designed three luxurious penthouse apartments to suit a growing local market of affluent and discerning downsizers.
The double-storey, double fronted Victorian structure on Gipps Street gave us a relatively austere shell to work within and presented a number of spatial challenges. Given the suggested configuration of internal structures, a subterranean living area was proposed, with south-facing balconies which would afford less natural daylight to lower levels.
We responded with a design which aims to be as permeable as possible; featuring strategically placed lightwells, small yet pleasurable internal courtyards, and expansive windows. This enables a breezy openness on subterranean floors, similar to what might be enjoyed above. Though limited by site constraints, we strive to create spaces which feel complete, and uncompromising.
Our work centres on craftsmanship, quality, and careful detail, and this is reflected here through full height ceilings and a library of solid timber joinery which spans the full height of the wall. This feature lends generosity to the room. As ever, our lighting design is dedicated to task and ambience, with no superfluous elements – elegant, minimal, and clean.
Another success of the Gipps Street project was our exploration into how we could efficiently introduce premium features through collaboration with high-end aspirational design brands, including the likes of Valcucine, Canny, Rogerseller, and Lema. This approach streamlined the design process while maintaining a curated sensibility all our own.