The City of Monash’s first-ever Build to Rent development is coming up in Oakleigh South, offering residential apartments as well as coworking and retail spaces. Designed by Australian practice i2C Architects in a global alliance with international design practice Ryder Architecture for award-winning developer Pellicano, the project on the Fieldworks House site will feature the area’s largest podium at over 1800sqm, housing an oversized covered dining area, vegetable gardens, and yoga spaces for residents.

The eight-storey building is designed to put the future residents’ wellbeing at the forefront of the development. With this in mind, senior project lead at i2C, Marcus Greening says, “The past 18 months we’ve seen Australians spending more time at home in general, so we need to create homes that have amenities linked to mental wellbeing; large open spaces with expansive green views, yoga areas, vegetable gardens, and BBQ areas. The goal with Build to Rent is to create a vertical neighbourhood that encourages and enhances the social experience for residents and the wider community alike, not just apartments.”

“The Fieldworks House site also has strong ties to place, so we wanted to give light to this in the design. Exposed brick will be displayed throughout as a nod to the strong bricklaying history and industrial aesthetic in Oakleigh South. In the 1940s, this area was actually a sand quarry, so we’ve heavily represented this geological history throughout the design through the use of earthy tones and textures,” he says.

Fieldworks House comprises 172 apartments, 12 retail spaces on the ground floor, as well as a dedicated coworking space for residents – a concept that aligns with modern remote working styles.

Observing that community creation was a pivotal component of enlisting i2C|Ryder to head up the project’s design, Pellicano managing director Nando Pellicano said, “We know that i2C|Ryder are experts in the Build to Rent space, which prioritises community and amenities, so it was a simple decision to collaborate once again to bring the Oakleigh South community a new hub. The neighbourhood has a strong sense of culture and place, and the architectural response incorporates this as much as possible.”

Being the first Build to Rent project in the City of Monash, Fieldworks House will act as a blueprint for future developments in the area.