Spanning five floors, each of the 25 townhouses offers expansive living spaces, luxurious sleeping accommodation and rooftop decks that have spectacular views across South Melbourne and beyond. The interrelated building forms harmonise through a strong, expressive masonry base and a shared vocabulary of materiality and proportions to create a multi-faceted, signature streetscape.

Externally, Habitus combines bronze aluminium detailing with pre-cast concrete and dark textured bricks – all of which pay homage to the locality’s industrial pedigree. Drawing inspiration from surrounding warehouses, the strong saw-tooth roof forms ensure the development is sympathetic to its streetscape. While the integrated landscaping softens the industrial edge creating a verdant inner-urban escape.

Expansive ground floor spaces were envisaged to accommodate a range of uses from Soho loft to a gallery, man-cave to a parlour. Bi-fold doors establish a theatrical experience, framing the residents’ car as objet d’art.

The interiors palette references the history of Emerald Hill and the volcanic soil in which it grew. Monolithic stone slabs balanced on finely-detailed timber joinery in a unique expression of pragmatic sculpture. The use of natural, tactile materials elevates these homes to a new level.