Louise | Cera Stribley

Louise
Melbourne, Victoria | 2021

Multi-Residential

Domenic Cerantonio, Jessica Coulter, Luan Trinh, Yunwei Xu, Jonathan Davis, Emilie Cheang, Manuela Millan

Situated on the north-west corner of Louise Street and Queens Lane, Louise is Cera Stribley’s contemporary love letter to the surrounding art deco architecture, blending 1920’s design charm with the sensibilities of modern urban living.

Conceived as billowing soft tower shaped by its local context, Louise is an architectural expression of linear form that morphs as it transcends.

At the street level, the brick façades of the adjoining heritage properties and the art deco style of others in the area are the catalysts for the podium treatment. Featuring an arched portal that frames the double height foyer, the intricate brick detailing of the podium connects the ground floor with the streetscape, cultivating a continuous arrival experience.

The tower is articulated vertically by a seam that splits up the primary street frontages, conveying a sense of fluidity while making the volume appear taller and thinner than it is.

Projecting eaves fan out above the podium as the tower ascends, creating a flowering effect. Drawing inspiration from the local Albert Park Sailing Club, the architecture elegantly mimics the curvaceous monocoque frame of a yacht hull.

View lines have been maximised where possible, and the upper floor residences boast breath-taking vistas of Albert Park, Port Phillip Bay, and the Melbourne city skyline, while thoughtful integration of greenery ensures the outcome connects the building with nature.

While many of the contemporary high-rise developments found in St Kilda are characteristically sleek, with dark, glazed facades, our design for Louise is a decided move away from this look. Promoting a warm, honest and enduring material palette of red brick and white terrazzo, coupled with thoughtful integration of greenery scaling the height of the building, the multi-residential design ensures an outcome that is simple, timeless, and wholly connected to its natural and built environment.

Underpinning it all, is the intent to deliver a building that is more sensitive to the heritage character of St Kilda, and more responsive to the demand for greater quality, accessibility and diversity of urban residential developments.

The site is subject to a 65-metre height restriction.

Generous setbacks are implemented at each side of the building form, reducing the overall mass.

A vertical break slices through the building form to break up massing on Louise Street, Queens Lane and St Kilda Road frontages.

Upper floor corners pulled out to take advantage of views and increasing eave depth to protect against increasing wind.

Sharp edges are eroded in response to historic art deco architecture, whilst also reflecting the curvaceous sails of the Albert Park sailing club.

Lush landscaping is integrated at ground level, extending the St Kilda Boulevard into the site. Landscaped elements are then drawn up through the podium and tower, fading away as the building rises in response to increasing wind speeds.

The podium is clad in red brick in response to neighbouring heritage interface. Slab edges are expressed to frame the form as a reference to the yacht hull.