Living Neighbourhood, Living house

4-10 MACARTHUR PLACE CARLTON, VIC

The Living House was part of a project to densify 2-10 MacArthur Place by doubling additional dwellings. The collective properties have been intensified through the addition of communal amenities, multi-use spaces, and ecological enhancement strategies.

The Living House focuses on adaptable spaces and multigenerational living in a dual occupancy home. With an emphasis on environmentally sustainable design and ecological enhancement, the Living House aims to increase green spaces and access to nature through each level of the home, with the green roof being an inaccessible platform to promote the reintroduction of wildlife and biodiversity to the inner suburbs of Carlton.

Ecological enhancements across the site include drainage channels on either side of the stem-pattern path that connect to the water reservoir on the property of 2 MacArthur Place. This reservoir serves as a rain water collection point as well as a grey water recycling pond that filters pollutants and services the community landscaping, vegetable garden and the top floor roof terraces.

The laneway interface is activated through the positioning of appealing community amenities like the conservatory, vegetable garden and bike storage that visually widen and brighten the laneway space by allowing more sunlight access and blending the boundary between site and laneway. The bins are also stored further within site, ensuring that the laneway is not a place of foul odours and undesirable sights.