Responding to a Period Streetscape - Kooyong by Outline Projects & Kennedy Nolan
Echoing the Arts and Craft architectural period, Kooyong sees a series of six three-bedroom townhouses respond to a period streetscape through a collaboration between Outline Projects and Kennedy Nolan Architects.
Envisioned as a series of luxury townhouses, the resulting six adjacent properties are layered with multiple formal responses to the context of the rich urban residential fabric of Armadale, in Melbourne’s inner south-east. Resulting from a combined shared vision for the site, Kooyong sees Outline Projects partner with Kennedy Nolan Architects (a well-versed association) to realise the concept on site. Both driven from a place of quality, texture-rich and responsive architectural offerings, each of the residences are purposefully generous, exemplifying an appreciation of craft.
Currently under construction, the project team has been carefully curated. Developer Outline Projects and Kennedy Nolan Architects have worked with Bear Projects for construction and Jack Merlo for the landscape design. Each of the residences has been sited to maximise its proximity to northern natural light gains, and has been designed to appear as one single dwelling from the streetscape. Efforts such as cross-ventilation and access to a double basement garage with private internal lifts make for a highly refined experience of medium-density residential living.
Inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, the resulting architecture is a nod to local craft and the seeming demise of artisanal integration into the newly constructed residential realm. Originally established in the late 19th century, the Arts and Crafts style was developed on the back of a growing industrial movement, and a reaction to an anticipated threat to craftsmanship at large. In subtle ways, Kooyong aims to bring this ethical grounding to its execution, and the detailing and materiality used throughout is evidence of this.
The material palette references a sense of the period styles around which it is surrounded, without being reproductive of its neighbours. The references to the style’s contemporaries Robin Boyd and Roy Grounds are clear, yet being situated in such a heritage-rich context, the effort to instil an individual sense of identity for each property within respectful boundaries of its adjacencies was key.
Embracing its location amongst such a richly diverse period style neighbourhood, Kooyong is a considered fusion of the old and new, proposing a refreshing typology to dense residential living. Together, Outline Projects and Kennedy Nolan Architects have brought an eclectic and considered approach to the contemporary build, where a celebration of craft and a sense of identity are paramount.
