We are pleased to announce Piccolo House has won gold in Melbourne Design Awards 2020 in the category of Architecture – Mixed Use – Construction.
“Piccolo identified a gap within the South Melbourne market where the demand for high quality rental housing was growing. With a progressive approach to development the potential of this site to include a build-to-rent model for apartments was realised at the onset. As early adopters of this model it allowed a niche in the market to be filled with a stand-out high-quality rental opportunity that had outstanding amenity on its doorstep.
The inclusion of a café space with outdoor seating was used as a means of providing further amenity to the site creating a visual and physical connection to the adjacent vibrancy of Clarendon Street as well as complimenting the other uses within the development.
This vibrancy is also evident in the laneway activation created by the use of public art. Seen as a means of giving back to the community the planning permit requirements for the inclusion of public art were used as a positive to transform Charles Street from a dark laneway to a vibrant night-time experience for the end user whilst providing opportunities for passive surveillance. The podium design references Richard Giblett’s paintings on the contemporary metropolis, and reinterprets it into physical urban art using a materiality of Coreten and various shades of steel. By night this urban art intervention becomes illuminated, drawing similar ideas to the artwork of Dan Flavin, by painting the street surface with light.”
