Normanby and Munro

Client | CONFIDENTIAL

TYPE | Architecture

SECTOR | Residential

STATUS | Design Development

Location | South Melbourne, vic

HEIGHT | 71.5 m, 19 Storeys

SCALE | GFA: 25,613 SQM, SITE: 2,024 sqm, 169 APARTMENTS

Finding equilibrium: The art of subtly balancing old and new design techniques.

South Melbourne is a suburb where burgeoning new buildings nestle amongst stately Victorian terraces and manufacturing and storage warehouses. It's the chocolate box of Melbourne's inner suburbs.

With this in mind, Project Lead Nic Antoniou explains that the design of Normanby and Munro integrates respectfully into the existing fabric, with a subtle nod to the future.

"The feeling I get from Normanby and Munro is balance. It's not dated and it's not trendy. It's not too minimal and it's not too elaborate. It's got an air of dynamism, but also of gravitas. The risk of nostalgia is that it becomes a caricature, but Normanby and Munro feels not only timeless, but quite refreshing in its context."

We split the volumes into a series of towers of staggered heights and alternating hues to create an undulating rhythm within the existing streetscape. The taller building on the southern corner is complemented by its neighbouring towers, offset in a red hue and wrapped around in an interlocked manner.

Red stack bond brickwork on the ground plane also unifies the buildings from a tonal perspective. Drawing inspiration from the warehouses and ornate Victorian architecture of South Melbourne, we incorporated versions of traditional architectural details, through keystone arches, chamfered columns and flared balustrades. Abstracting these features infuses timelessness into these nostalgic elements.

The activated ground floor features extensive glazing for the several entries and retail tenancies under a covered accessway that acts as a communal threshold to the street beyond. Accompanying this, is a private terrace for residents on the podium deck, flowing out through an expansive internal communal area, allowing households to expand their lifestyle and entertaining beyond their apartment walls.

In a sea of new glass towers, Normanby and Munro offers a refreshingly elegant, and enduring alternative to apartment living in South Melbourne's evolving skyline.