Le Papilion

The client presented MHN Design Union with a challenging site with an existing development application for a townhouse scheme, looking for a higher yield. The brief would require a finely detailed, well-crafted building designed with three scales in mind, the neighbourhood, the street scape, and the human in order to overcome the hurdles ahead in achieving a development consent.

Our scheme for a residential flat building on the site went through many iterations on its journey through council and what resulted by the end of the Section 34 conference was an outcome that satisfied not only our clients brief but that of the local council.

The form relates to the scale of the neighbourhood, presenting 4 stories to the street and stepping down with landscaped terraces to 2 stories at the rear. The Patterson Street façade relates to the scale of the streetscape and creates a comfortable and appealing human scale.

Off – form concrete balcony projections contract with the white rendered background to create a “Townhouse Streetscape” by defining groups of individual dwellings within the context of the building. These groups dance along the street by combining balconies on different levels throughout the façade to create movement and interest. The mass is further broken down by recesses for well-defined entrances, legible within the streetscape. The human scale is addressed through the use of fine materials and detailing. Timber linings to balcony reveals creates texture and warmth, an extension of interior finishes to the building exterior with steel edge detailing to balcony fronts and handrails creating a crisp finish and crafted feel.

Landscaped terraces to the upper floors provide outlook, privacy and contributes to the landscaped character of the neighbourhood and provides screening to south facing units for privacy to neighbouring dwellings.

The 20 apartments are luxurious in size and amenity, each planned to maximise corner and through apartment types for cross ventilation and with living areas and master bedrooms generally located on northern facades receiving an abundance of warm light.