Balancing legacy with lightness, Fitzroy House honours its 19th-century origins while quietly elevating the experience of inner-city living through responsive design, enduring materials and a profound respect for place.
Fitzroy House is a study in contrast, where heritage and modernity meet with clarity and respect. In collaboration with JCB and Hecker Guthrie, Piccolo House has reimagined a former 1880s bootmaker’s workshop as a collection of astutely detailed residences in one of Melbourne’s most storied neighbourhoods.
The design preserves and elevates what came before. The building’s red brick façade, arched windows and bluestone foundations remain intact, forming a grounded base for the new form above – three levels set back in white masonry, designed to appear as a quiet floating volume. The composition is bold yet sensitive, an architectural gesture that honours the original while extending its legacy.
“The significance of this building to the local landscape and history adds a character and depth to this project that wouldn’t be possible if you were starting from an empty site. Bringing that to life, turning it into a home that people will love and add their own history, is a source of great pride for us.”
Michael Piccolo
For the interiors, rich materiality and elegant detailing speak to both Fitzroy’s industrial past and its creative present. European oak, black Odyssey marble, aged iron and fluted glass are used with restraint, paired with 3.3- metre ceilings and tall, curved windows that bathe spaces in natural light.
Fitzroy House invites long-term residents, those drawn to its character, its history, and the sense of permanence it offers. A place shaped by memory, redefined through craft, and made to be lived in with ease and pride.
2019
2018
2017
Architecture by Woods Baggot Interiors by Hecker Guthrie
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