Sense of place: Apartment design changed for increased heritage response

These contrasting designs are for a proposed development in North Fitzroy. It’s for a site encompassed by heritage low-rise Victorian and Edwardian period dwellings, a tactile place where people walk, ride bicycles and catch public transport.

How well do they respond to the heritage character, and is it important? The first version leads to the creation of a new urban character, while the materials and colours of the second later version, more closely reflect the local built fabric.

The City of Yarra Council Plan 2016 – 2021 states “An ongoing focus for Council is how to keep a sense of history and place, as reflected by streetscapes, shops and houses, as well as how to pay tribute to the lived history and heritage, connecting with the stories and experiences of those who came before us and shaped the character of Yarra.”

People normally take pride and comfort in where they live. It’s what they’re used to, what they know, where they identify. Clifford Hayes, MLC, in his speech “Protecting Open Space in 21st Century Melbourne”, 2019 says “People have a right to a say in the character of their street, and their neighbourhood. The principle of subsidiarity, of devolving power to the lowest practical level, is important. It is indeed good for people’s mental health if they have a say, and bad for their mental health if they feel powerless”.

Sense of place is how we understand and interact with the physical fabric, the civic spaces, road networks and the buildings amongst which we dwell. It’s this physical fabric which provides the destinations, sets the character, and waymarks our routes so we know where we are.

It’s important for new development to respond to our sense of place. Not simply reflect the existing, but to be progressive in a manner that enhances our neighbourhood, to keep it vibrant and sustainable long into the future.