Surrounded by villas and Art Deco buildings in a residential area, this housing complex with sculptural and sinuous forms is a strongly characterised architectural gesture, thanks to the expressive, organic inspiration of its language, contrasting the typological stiffness of the adjacent buildings. Overlooking the natural landscape of Orrong Romanis Reserve, with a spectacular view of the city in the distance, the building designed by Wood Marsh Architecture breaks the mould of the traditional neighbouring housing blocks, acquiring – through curves, overhangs and recesses – a soft and variegated physiognomy in homage to the composite forms of nature.
The building, which has five above-ground floors and two underground floors for parking, includes 15 flats and is characterised by an exposed structural skeleton in light-coloured concrete: the projecting stringcourses delimit, on the various floors, full-height glazed surfaces that dematerialise the façades and seamlessly connecting the interiors with the view on the external landscape; sparse columns with irregular pitches and variable sections, their diameter increasing towards the top, evoke the geometrized suggestion of trees “incorporated” in the construction.
![Wood Marsh Architecture, No. 6 Sydney Street, Prahran, Melbourne, Australia 2022. Photo courtesy of Wood Marsh Architecture Wood Marsh Architecture, No. 6 Sydney Street, Prahran, Melbourne, Australia 2022. Photo courtesy of Wood Marsh Architecture](/content/dam/domusweb/it/architecture/gallery/2022/11/01/abitare-in-una-scultura-organica-a-melbourne/domus-sydney-street-04.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
Each floor is different from the other both in planimetric configuration and in the views they open up; a play of recesses, created by the empty spaces of the loggias-balconies with widespread planting, produces an powerful chiaroscuro dynamism in the façades. The interiors, with marble and wood cladding, are characterised by an ethereal and refined aura; the diffuse natural light and the light tones of the cladding contribute to dilating the spatiality of the rooms.
![Wood Marsh Architecture, No. 6 Sydney Street, Prahran, Melbourne, Australia 2022. Photo courtesy of Wood Marsh Architecture Wood Marsh Architecture, No. 6 Sydney Street, Prahran, Melbourne, Australia 2022. Photo courtesy of Wood Marsh Architecture](/content/dam/domusweb/it/architecture/gallery/2022/11/01/abitare-in-una-scultura-organica-a-melbourne/domus-sydney-street-07.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
- Project:
- No. 6 Sydney Street
- Location:
- Prahran, Melbourne, VIC Australia
- Architectural project and interior design:
- Wood Marsh Architecture
- Landscape architecture:
- Eckersley Garden Architecture
- Building:
- VCON
- Developer:
- V-Leader