In something that is a little bit different, a new residential apartment project in Collingwood, Melbourne will seamlessly combine fine arts with architecture to create a visual masterpiece.

YOU AND I will have five larger-than-life artworks adorning the building to make up the building’s facade.

Developed by ICD Property and designed by Orbit Architecture, with interiors designed by Carr Design Group, the apartment project will integrate a selection of artworks from Melbourne artist Steve Rosendale.

This application will turn what is often a stagnant facade, into a visual platform gentrifying the streetscape and embracing the inner-suburb’s eclectic and artistic history.

The art concept was introduced at the initial design stages with Orbit Architecture’s creative director Chris Goss tasked with figuring out how to bring the artwork to life 10 metres into the sky.

Goss says the team has done a lot of research into the best methods of how to recreate Rosendale’s original artworks on the building’s facade.

The pieces will be fabricated through modern applications with experimentation of processes that are relatively new to the Melbourne architecture scene, Goss says.

Steve Rosendale with one of the artworks.

“To actually replicate and construct Steve’s artworks we will integrate an unusual technique of curing graphic concrete to create an impression on at least one of the walls, and then express the detail of the other designs via perforated metal screens,” he says.

Rosendale’s pieces will be recreated by layering templates over slabs of graphic concrete in bas-relief and slowing down the drying time of sections of the concrete.

Templates will be removed and the slabs will be water-blasted to remove the unset residue, then pieced together to create a seamless artwork piece.

The team has incorporated new cutting-edge techniques in design and manufacturing to best express Rosendale’s pieces on the building’s facade by experimenting with robust building fabrics such as perforated metal screens, Goss says.

“In the final product, the graduation of perforated gaps in the metal screen will coalesce to create textured pieces that are lit by ambient light.

“Given the task to activate an area that thrives with a host of permanent and passing community members, we had to ensure the overall design was naturally relevant to both the building and the precinct,” he says.

The precinct has evolved over time and helped shape the apartment project YOU AND I.

“There’s a strong urban subculture that appreciates street-art and so Steve Rosendale’s artworks elevate what is normally considered street graffiti and stencil work into high-end artistry on an unseen scale,” Goss says.

YOU AND I will have a communal garden. Image: youandi.net.au

By partnering with ICD Property, Goss believes Orbit was able to design YOU AND I to reflect the diverse culture living in and around the Melbourne CBD, while also being able to push the envelope in using emerging design techniques.

“ICD Property’s adventurous brief has allowed us to integrate the use of these artworks to create a building which will become a locational reference point for those who live or work in the area long after the project is sold – in essence the building becomes a part of the suburb’s identity,” Goss says.

The internal living area of the apartments. Image: youandi.net.au

Collingwood was once famed for its local artisan residents throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s, so it was important for the apartment project to contribute to the suburb’s unique character.

ICD Property managing director Michael May says, “Over the years this active mixing of cultures has resulted in an incredible injection of unique character to the area so we wanted to ensure we paid homage to this culture by creating an icon for Smith Street.

“Combining elegant internals with statement facades YOU AND I is sensitive to the local environment and we envision the development becoming a centrepiece for the Collingwood community.

Construction has already commenced, with the apartment project expected to be completed in late 2014.

Lisa Rapley

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