How a Sensitive Renovation Saved These 1970s Apartments from Landfill
Park Street, a former 1970s motel in Brunswick, has taken 17 tired apartments at the end of their practical life and provided a sensitive and light renovation.
Park Street is a response to the challenges renters face in Melbourne, where property developers Milieu saw an opportunity to purchase an already-built development in a fantastic location with a short stroll to public transport, Sydney Road, and Royal Park at your doorstep.
Breathe Architecture, one of Australia’s leading sustainable architecture practices, looked at designing the apartments to keep the era’s charm without stripping everything back to four walls.
“Inside, a sensitive, light-touch approach embraced the building’s original charm, highlighting its timeless details while also promoting healthy interiors and ensuring durability for long-term use in the rental market.” Bettina Robinson, Director of Interiors at Breathe, explains.
The ‘renovate to rent’ model of Park Street addresses some major housing issues today, particularly with sustainability, waste and rental stock. By retrofitting this 70s apartment block, Milieu could divert innumerable waste from landfills, save on the carbon needed to produce new material and get rental properties on the market much faster.
“A significant benefit of this renovation to rent model is we can deliver these apartments to the rental market on a significantly faster rate compared to typical new build to rent.” Shakira Everett, Designer Manager at Milieu explains. “Park Street has taken just four months, increasing supply as fast as possible, a key strategy to curbing Australia’s housing affordability issues.”
The interiors feature a palette that celebrates the era, with new natural cork flooring, mosaic tiles, walnut-stained timber joinery and soft pastel colours. Breathe aimed to retain as much of the existing joinery as possible but included modern appliances, fixtures and fittings.
Modern sustainability was introduced with the help of Goodbye Gas; Park Street is fully electric. Rooftop solar panels, electric heating and cooling, electric ovens, induction cooktops, and efficient lighting allow the building to be carbon-neutral in its operation.
The last major area that needed revitalising was the shared outdoor spaces. Working with Acre, the concrete areas designed for cars were carved up to become lively green outdoor areas. The back of the property features sprawling lawns, vegetable gardens and outdoor dining with electric barbeques. The ground floor apartments are surrounded by drought-tolerant native planting with built-in bench seats and bike storage, contributing to sustainable living and community enrichment.
“These blocks are littered everywhere and they’re quite often in areas of really good amenity.” Shannon Peach, Director and Head of Development at Milieu says. “The charming thing about these old blocks is that they’re often built really solidly, and as you can see with the layouts, they often afford opportunities for light and dimensions that wouldn’t necessarily be replicable in modern developments.”
“The ‘build less, give more’ philosophy we take at Breathe demonstrating that an existing building can be reborn as a carbon-neutral entity and nurture a lively community by improving the quality and functionality of existing apartment blocks,” Bettina notes. “We address climate and housing challenges and create a positive impact on cities, countries and the planet at large.”
Park Street by Milieu in collaboration with Breathe, landscape architecture by Acre, landscaping and planting by Perimeter Landscaping, electrified by Goodbye Gas, built by Inner North Carpentry, joinery by Ace Kitchens & Cabinetry.
Production, photography and words by Anthony Richardson.
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