Master of Architecture Graduating Project
Supervised by Dr Peter Brew
Fitzroy, Victoria
2024
The legacy of Frank Cassar’s dwellings forms the basis of a model in which two counter-spaces co-exist on his estate in Fitzroy. Frank’s interpretations of the Residential Tenancies Act and the Building Code resulted in controversial living conditions earning him the title of Australia’s Worst Landlord. Yet, he is simultaneously regarded as being a successful landlord and states that he is doing a service by providing housing to those who need it desperately. There will always be two sides to the same coin.
Interpreting good from bad can put the observer in an ugly position. To highlight this tension, Fitzroy’s newest boutique hotel is co-located with a rooming house. Both are classified by the NCC as Class 3, “a common place of long term or transient living for a number of unrelated people” and as such are subject to the same performance requirements. The two buildings mirror each other; they have the same structure, the same floor plan and the same purpose.
I stumbled upon the site one day whilst walking through the streets of Fitzroy. A for sale sign captured my attention, marketing it as “the fitzroy collection”, a once in a generation portfolio of high profile landholdings, totalling 2000m2 of mixed use land.
It is at this point where we depart from reality and enter my utopia.
The site is sold, works commence, demolishing the converted office building and the warehouse adjoining the old pub. A new sawtooth structure warehouse stands in its place unifying the two titles. Its structure a response to its boundaries, offset from the south, and built on boundary on the west, making use of the previously existing perimeter wall. Its nondescript, yet subtly articulated form pre-emptively allows for future reuse, with its roller doors allowing access into each of its 5 bays.
475 Fitzroy street becomes further divided, a testing ground for occupation; the corrugated roof of one of its bays is replaced with glass, creating a new street with entries into a mix of housing, offices and commercial tenancies. Its structure remains as a ghost of its past, and creates a portal to the sites future.
Twins rise from behind, mirrors of each other, the same structure, the same floor plan, the same purpose.
It is at this point where we depart from reality and enter my utopia.
The site is sold, works commence, demolishing the converted office building and the warehouse adjoining the old pub. A new sawtooth structure warehouse stands in its place unifying the two titles. Its structure a response to its boundaries, offset from the south, and built on boundary on the west, making use of the previously existing perimeter wall. Its nondescript, yet subtly articulated form pre-emptively allows for future reuse, with its roller doors allowing access into each of its 5 bays.
475 Fitzroy street becomes further divided, a testing ground for occupation; the corrugated roof of one of its bays is replaced with glass, creating a new street with entries into a mix of housing, offices and commercial tenancies. Its structure remains as a ghost of its past, and creates a portal to the sites future.
Twins rise from behind, mirrors of each other, the same structure, the same floor plan, the same purpose.