Northcote Place is a habitat for community-focused living. A place for shared experiences and connection, to your neighbours and the natural environment. Enclosed in a green location beside Merri Creek, Northcote Place is a long-term home fostering an enriched way of life.
Northcote Place has community at its essence. Crafted by ClarkeHopkinsClarke Architects, the design fosters organic engagement amongst residents and their neighbours, both in and outside the home. Special care has been taken to establish a strong connection to place – to the natural landscape and the local fabric – forming a unique, sustainable habitat that fits in seamlessly with its context.
Carrying this feeling inside the homes, the interiors have been crafted to embody the character of the local neighbourhood while responding to a growing need for flexibility. Each home is honest, contemporary and timeless in its simplicity; designed to create a true sense of sanctuary. Of coming home to your place.
Working closely with ClarkeHopkinsClarke Architects, Akas Landscape Architecture have curated a series of nourishing outdoor environments, both private and shared. Designed to connect inhabitants to each other, and to nature, while supporting Northcote’s rich ecology, the landscaping imbues the site with an ever-present sense of wellbeing.
Encompassed by native greenery and bench seats, the central mews provides a place for residents to sit and relax, for children to play and for households to gather as new friendships form. Connected to the wider community, Northcote Place includes links to surrounding cycling and pedestrian paths.
Embodying the quintessentially Australian lifestyle, each home has its own front porch, allowing you to chat to your neighbour over the road or relax with your morning coffee as you watch the world go by.
Flexible and pragmatically-designed, the homes of Northcote Place do not tell you how to live. There is the opportunity for you to mould your environment to the requirements of your household and the ways these will inevitably shift over time.
Supporting the needs of a modern lifestyle while cultivating a more conscious existence, each home is defined by versatile living spaces, indoor-outdoor connections, robust facade materiality, abundant natural light and a myriad of sustainable features.
ClarkeHopkinsClarke
Architecture
The architectural team at ClarkeHopkinsClarke believe in long-term, community-minded living. Through thoughtful design, Northcote Place will connect residents to their place and with each other while positively impacting the environment, the surrounding neighbourhood and the world of tomorrow. Partner Toby Lauchlan talks us through the architectural vision for Northcote Place and what makes this community unique.
Read Interview
Northcote Place - Typology F & E
Beavers Road
Northcote Mews
Northcote Place is comprised of three distinct precincts, each with its own identity and set of characteristics.
Beavers Road
The Beavers Road homes enjoy direct access to both the main street and Merri Creek. This creates a sense of connection to the wider community and to the local ecology of the area. The facade design combines robust materiality with recessed upper forms and an elevated landscaped set back. Three-storeys tall, these homes offer expansive roof terraces boasting pergolas and city views.
Northcote Mews
The Northcote Mews homes open out to a wide, pedestrian-focused street. Featuring an abundance of landscaping and ample bench seating, this precinct fosters organic engagement amongst neighbours. Establishing a connection to the wider neighbourhood, a bike path here will allow local bike riders to pass through on their way to Merri Creek. The three-storey homes feature balconies and recessed top levels to maximise solar access. A light colour palette has been utilised on the facades to reduce heat gain.
Northcote Place
The Northcote Place homes are positioned along a wide, pedestrian and cyclist-focused street. Generous landscaping and shared areas at the entries foster community connection. The homes in this precinct are varied in height, with a range of materials, creating a sense of individuality and diversity. Homes along the Northern edge feature private backyards for an enriching outdoor lifestyle.
Curated by Akas Landscape Architecture, the homes of Northcote Place are connected by landscaped pedestrian streets designed to draw residents out of their homes. Tall trees, flowering plants and lush raingardens will form habitats for local wildlife while creating a picturesque setting in which to gather and rejuvenate.
Equipped with a shaded gathering area, the communal garden will provide a meeting place for the community, be it for alfresco dinner parties or lazy afternoons watching the kids play. Fruit-bearing trees will be grown here, offering shade, habitat and a fresh food source for residents.
The homes themselves are afforded with private landscaped environments in the form of serene garden areas or spacious rooftop terraces. This will fill each home with an element of greenery while fostering a vibrant outdoor lifestyle.
Native plants are essential to a fruitful garden environment. They support local wildlife, preserve biodiversity and are more low-maintenance than non-native plants. With this in mind, Akas have used mostly Indigenous plants throughout Northcote Place, cultivating a thriving landscape that connects residents to Australia’s natural heritage while supporting the local ecology.
Rooftop sanctuaries, connecting you to the outdoors.
Overlooking the city skyline, Merri Creek and surrounding vegetation, the townhomes along the premium Beavers Road frontage have been afforded with spacious rooftop terraces. An overhead pergola will provide shade and sanctuary, paired with flourishing planter boxes. With an abundance of room for an outdoor setting, this finely crafted space couldn’t be more perfect for outdoor entertaining.
Akas Landscape Architecture
AKAS believes in landscape design that enhances everyday lives. They strive to create beautiful green gardens that develop and change over time. Set with the task of creating a landscape that fosters community living while enriching the individual lives of residents, directors Anthony Sharples and Alistair Kirkpatrick chat to us about their considered approach to designing the outdoor spaces of Northcote Place.
Read Interview
Innately future-proof, the interiors of Northcote Place have been designed to wear in with their occupants, growing in character over the years and transforming with the shifting needs of your household. From the outset, there is a warm sense of arrival that flows through to a series of calming, user-centred spaces.
Robust, natural and texturally rich, the interior finishes have been designed to age well. There is a richness to the palette; a tactility that encourages inhabitants to reach out and engage, exemplified by warm timber joinery, Blackbutt floors, South Australian terrazzo, black porcelain benchtops and Solid Surface vanities.
Every material has been selected based on its provenance, wastage, supplier credibility and ESD rating. Born from a commitment to authenticity, the palette has been consciously and honestly curated, forming habitats that are sustainable from the inside out.
Generous proportions and flexible layouts will allow families to interact with ease while having plenty of room for peace and quiet when they need it. Thoughtful, practical inclusions respond to the ways in which living naturally unfolds, from cleverly-placed storage to built-in seating and sliding terrace doors.
Throughout the homes, a range of purposeful features contribute to both an elevated lifestyle and a greater sense of practicality.
Seat Nook - Entrance
Offering a place to tie your shoes, the entrance features a built-in seat nook complete with a pull-out drawer for any items you want out of sight.
Feature Wall Hooks - Entrance
Feature hooks at the entrance provide a place to hang coats, bags and the like while serving as a reminder not to leave home without the essentials.
Suspended Pendant Light - Kitchen
Perfectly illuminating the task at hand, the kitchen is appointed with an overhead LED light in a contemporary rounded shape.
Media Unit - Living
An optional upgrade, the media unit offers plentiful drawer space to keep wires and consoles concealed. The porcelain bench top makes it the ideal podium for art, ornaments and indoor plants.
Built-in Shelf - Kitchen
In addition to integrated joinery, the kitchen has been appointed with a thick built-in shelf. A great place for showcasing kitchen wares.
Ready for what the future holds.
Now more than ever, having a multi-purpose room is vital for a modern household. Conscious of this growing need for adaptability, each townhome features a flexible space at ground floor. It could be used as a light-filled home office, doubling as a playroom, nursery or gym. It is large enough to become another bedroom if your household expands over the years, or if guests come to stay.
