Avoca, nestled in the suburb’s prestigious Domain Hill precinct on sought-after Avoca Street, rewrites a site once dubbed “the worst house in the best street” thanks to Pandolfini Architects and Myles Baldwin Design.

The block of five apartments unfolds across five levels, with a stand alone 646 sqm residence featuring rooftop wellness centre also located on the site.

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A decade after encountering the site’s original design for the late Adrian Valmorbida while working with Nonda Katsalidis, Prime Edition Director Eric Loi acquired 17, 19 and 21C Avoca Street in 2023. Comprehensive structural evaluations confirmed the abandoned construction could be reimagined – an opportunity to evolve the design while honouring its architectural provenance through adaptive reuse.

Pandolfini Director Dominic Pandolfini says the design emerged from the unconventional architectural inheritance of the former structure and sought to demonstrate the possibility of adaptive reuse in luxury, amid one of South Yarra’s key architectural neighbourhoods.

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“We weren't interested in creating something that merely ages well – this needed to be timeless architecture, relevant for 100 years, befitting the exceptional heritage context of this location. We are in a neighbourhood where you have Robin Boyd’s own home, Edwardian mansions, heritage consulates and Wood Marsh modernism," Pandolfini says.

“We also wanted to interpret these as substantial homes, not conventional apartments by applying residential housing design principles throughout.”

The apartment design employs refined geometries, animated by a continuous ribbon of custom scalloped planter boxes that wrap the north-facing terraces at each level. Beyond their sculptural quality from the street, they provide natural privacy screening for residents, critical in the dense Domain Hill precinct.

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Pandolfini Architects has created a considered entry sequence to each apartment, enhancing the way they are experienced as homes.

The kitchen commands the living and dining zone – a sculptural curved splashback meeting timber cabinetry, brushed bronze rangehood, and Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances. A scalloped stone island bench that mirrors the exterior's textured façade, topped with marble benchtops, drawing the architecture inward.

Myles Baldwin Design's landscaping further elevates the address, with planters on each apartment outdoor space spilling over with natives, sculptural succulents and swaying grasses.

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