Victoria
Inkerman and Nelson is a project that eschews austerity, taking instead a softer approach to articulate the legacy of the site. Previously industrial sites are replaced with brick terraces, comprising 26 two and three storey townhouses arranged around central courts and walkways.
The townhouses are three and four bedroom dwellings with ground level living and flexible space on the second floor. The incorporation of a freestanding frame narrates the experience at ground level. Primary and strategic secondary points of access introduced throughout the ground plane create a circulation path that feels urban and connected, but also intimate.
The detailing, materiality and layering of the existing building is embraced, resulting in a contemporary collection of amenable townhouses. In turn, Inkerman and Nelson is a precinct that decisively responds to its context and the demands of contemporary living through subtle gestures, laying the foundations for a community, that over time, will flourish.
Commendation for Residential Architecture – Multiple Housing
Inkerman + Nelson is to be praised for delivering a housing offering that differs to the standard apartment development. Each townhouse responds to its position on the site, providing a medium density typology well-suited to families. A strong street presence, responding well to the existing fabric through a well-considered street interface to living areas, is mediated by small level changes and screen plantings. The architects have worked hard to address the siting challenges higher density developments often fail to overcome.
Karen Alcock, Design Architect
Rachael McNally, Architect
Eckersley Garden Architecture, Landscape Consultant
Floreancig Smith, Building Surveyor
GIW Environmental Solutions, ESD Consultant
ICON Developments Australia, Developer
MacCormack Associates Consultants, Services Consultant
SY Structures, Structural Engineer
The Australian Institute of Architects acknowledges First Nations peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands, waters, and skies of the continent now called Australia.
We express our gratitude to their Elders and Knowledge Holders whose wisdom, actions and knowledge have kept culture alive.
We recognise First Nations peoples as the first architects and builders. We appreciate their continuing work on Country from pre-invasion times to contemporary First Nations architects, and respect their rights to continue to care for Country.
