835 High Street a housing building, designed by Australian architecture studio Carr, is located in the busy High Street of Armadale urban area, in Melbourne, the coastal capital of the southeastern Australian state of Victoria.

Carr Architects has approached the architectural language with its contribution to the urban landscape in mind and is formed by a distinctive grid pattern. These repeatedly applied elements, similar to music or other art forms where shape, space, color, and texture are used to induce rhythm and give a sense of movement on the façade.
Carr architects designed an apartment block with 26 residences as well as ground-floor retail spaces. The building is spread across five levels and features a gridded concrete facade, giving a sense of continuity between the interior and exterior spaces. Carr played with the openness of the building, adding recessed balconies, windows, or empty spaces to create varying relationships between the interior and exterior.

The design process for the apartments was based on biophilic design principles and the desire to provide each home with an axis for external views and ventilation. The interior palette of materials and finishes is similar to the exterior, giving a sense of order and symmetry.

On the rooftop, Acre designed the pool and penthouse gazebos to feel as much like a garden space on the ground floor as possible.

Anna–Wili Highfield created a 12-meter-high feature piece ‘Bird’ that shows tens of small birds dotted up the walls of the interior lobby space. The outcome is a dynamic, animated void, created by dancing with light and shadow play.


835 High Street by Carr architects. Photograph by Rory Gardiner.


835 High Street by Carr architects. Photograph by Rory Gardiner.
 

Project description by Carr architects

Located on the busy thoroughfare of High Street, Armadale, the architectural language was approached in consideration of its contribution to the streetscape. As with all Carr projects, the architecture is not a humanitarian gesture by ‘the architect’ but rather one that takes cues from the surrounding context – materialising through scale, rhythm, colour or proportion.

Featuring an architectural language of its own, the building is shaped by a distinctive grid pattern. Every horizontal and vertical frame aligns perfectly from the outside over five levels, one atop the other in a linear pattern. These applied repeating elements – similar to music or other forms of art where shape, space, colour and texture are used to induce rhythm – give a sense of movement on the façade, which is created by using a well-defined and ordered street wall. The result creates a sense of place, which aids the building’s identity within the streetscape.

The façades to the east and south are highly refined and detailed, while those to the north and west gradually step back, wrapping around and dissolving the form with the use of the framing. The effect is calmness through consistency and balances through repetition.

Through lush planting, Acre worked to find ways to soften the rectilinear grid of the building, while offering each apartment an aspect of green. They achieved this by designing climbing structures that over time will see greenery climbing and draping from the large-gridded façade.


835 High Street by Carr architects. Photograph by Rory Gardiner.

This is a building that breathes. The pinnacle is the soaring 13-metre void in the centre, clearing a vertical pathway for the private residential lobby. As each level recesses, the building is punctuated by clear glazing offering sweeping views across Armadale over the city skyline. In doing so, large terraces reveal gardens and open spaces to further soften the distinctive exterior.

The design intent was to achieve a sense of continuity between the interior and exterior spaces. The static repetition on the facade is in constant conversation with the internal spaces and provides a simple principle of composition. This affords a sense of coherence and equilibrium between the architecture and interiors.

The palette of interior materials and finishes is akin to the external – a sense of order and symmetry. The texture of the external is brought internally through common spaces and as you enter each apartment that sense is heightened through soft greys and muted tones which helps extenuate the view beyond. The seasonal change to that view acts as a picture frame.

The apartment planning process was underpinned by biophilic design principles and the desire to provide each home with an axis to external views and ventilation. The resulting ambience is dramatic. As you enter each apartment and journey through each room, the omnipresent natural light offers a sense of calming expansiveness.


835 High Street by Carr architects. Photograph by Rory Gardiner.


835 High Street by Carr architects. Photograph by Rory Gardiner.

The building steps back, and the interior planning works in tandem with the external grid, affording many of the secondary spaces Juliette balconies.

By having this strong relationship between the exterior and the internal spaces, the interior spaces speak for themselves and take centre stage with framed views beyond.

For every project, Acre’s objective is to connect residents to nature, and 835 High St was no different. Working with Carr, the balconies were pushed and pulled to accommodate beautiful garden outlooks from bedrooms, bathrooms and living spaces.

On the rooftop, Acre designed the penthouse pool and arbours to feel as much like a ground-floor garden space as possible. The result is a textured variety of plants that spill from planters, combined with overhead greenery that casts dappled shade onto the exposed site.

With time the landscape will merge with the built form, giving a wonderful character and softness to the streetscape. Acre wanted to be smart and creative with their outcomes and feel this project will improve dramatically with age.

In a natural fit to defer to the rich fabric of surrounding art, internationally renowned artist Anna–Wili Highfield and sculptor has created a 12-metre-high feature piece ‘Bird’ that sees tens of small birds dotted up the walls of the interior lobby space. The outcome is a dynamic, animated void, created by dancing with light and shadow play.

More information

Label
Architects
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Project team
Text
Stephen McGarry, Chris McCue, Mustafa Ilker, Dillon Counsel, Carla De Francesco, Alecia O'Neill, Timothy Kaye.
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Collaborators
Text


Project Management.-  PAXpm.





Artist commission.- Anna-Wili Highfield.





Landscape architect.- Acre Studio.


+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Builder
Text

Flux Construction.


Managing Director, Flux Construction.- Joe Grasso.



+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Dates
Text
Completed.- 2022.
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Location
Text
835 High Street Armadale, Vic, Australia.
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Photography
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Carr Architects is a Melbourne, Australia-based practice with a track record of more than 50 years in architecture and interior design. It was founded by Sue Carr in 1971. In 2006, Sue was inducted into the Australian Institute of Design's Hall of Fame. She has also been recognized at the AFR Westpac '100 Women of Influence Awards, and in 2010 she received the Gold Medal in Interior Design at the Interior Design Excellence Awards. In 2021, Sue was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia / Order of Australia (AM) for interior design, education, and women's business services at the Queen's birthday commemorations.
Read more
Published on: May 7, 2023
Cite: "A distinctive grid pattern. 835 High Street 
 by Carr architects" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/a-distinctive-grid-pattern-835-high-street-carr-architects> ISSN 1139-6415
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...