APARTMENT OR UNIT

2021 APARTMENT OR UNIT

A frequently overlooked and neglected apartment typology in many Australian cities, the 1960s brick walk-up flat is celebrated in this joyous and elegant project. The design, a collaboration between architect Murray Barker and artist Esther Stewart, has done just enough to give the existing apartment a new life as a contemporary home. Without pastiche, the new work references the nostalgia of the 1960s with a palette of muted colours, figured stone and graphic terrazzo.

Original elements of the apartment, such as the pastel-coloured bathroom fixtures and the dairy hatch, are retained and celebrated. With a modest budget, significant improvements have been made to functionality and liveability. The reconfigured kitchen has been designed as an extra-compact living space and includes a new, cleverly integrated skylight within the pitched roof space.

Acute observations and discrete, playful interventions have resulted in an alluring and sophisticated refurbishment.

From the Houses Awards jury.

For further coverage see Houses 138.

Brunswick Apartment is built on the land of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. Location Melbourne, Vic

Architect

Murray Barker

+61 450 618 812 murraybarker@gmail.com murraybarker.com

Project team Murray Barker, Esther Stewart Builder Ultimate Outdoor Engineer Stantin Consulting Joinery Lex Furniture Steel fabrication Idle Hands

Photographer Benjamin Hosking