450 Gore Street, Fitzroy by Edition Office & Neometro

Situated in the leafy, vibrant streets of Fitzroy, Melbourne, 450 Gore Street represents a thoughtful intervention in one of Australia’s most culturally rich suburbs. Designed by award-winning architects Edition Office in collaboration with Neometro, one of Australia’s longest-standing, design-focused development groups, the project introduces a limited series of 18 bespoke apartments. The building occupies a quiet site nestled between three of Fitzroy’s liveliest thoroughfares: Gertrude, Smith, and Brunswick streets, offering a balance of urban vibrancy and residential calm. This location allows residents to engage with the cultural, hospitality, and retail offerings of Fitzroy while maintaining a sense of retreat in a quieter, tree-lined environment.

The context of Fitzroy is layered with history, contemporary design, and urban culture. Its leafy backstreets, heritage overlays, and eclectic architectural language inform the approach to 450 Gore Street, ensuring that the building responds with both sensitivity and distinction. The architects sought to create a development that not only contributes meaningfully to its surroundings but also elevates residential living in an area characterized by increasing urban density.

Architectural Concept and Form

The architecture of 450 Gore Street is both timeless and distinctive, demonstrating a subtle yet meticulous sculptural approach. The building’s form is articulated with precision and clarity, consolidating its various functional elements while maintaining a strong architectural presence. Concrete, a material chosen for its robustness and longevity, carries a tactile quality that dialogues with Fitzroy’s historic urban fabric. The material’s texture, imbued with the passage of time, reflects the ongoing conversation between past and present that defines the suburb.

Externally, the building exhibits a confident and disciplined compositional language, balancing solid, structural clarity with delicate detailing. The façade’s articulation expresses a sense of permanence while accommodating residential scale, establishing the building as both contemporary and respectful of its historical surroundings.

Interior Design and Spatial Experience

Inside, the apartments are designed with human experience at the forefront. The architects carefully considered the rituals of daily life—cooking, dining, socializing, resting, and bathing—ensuring that spatial planning enhances comfort, functionality, and delight. The interiors balance robustness and softness: while concrete defines structural and material character, internal spaces are warm, tactile, and responsive to everyday use.

Volume plays a critical role throughout the design. Loft-style apartments feature ceilings up to five metres high, creating expansive, generous spaces that elevate the sense of living comfort. This emphasis on verticality and spatial openness is a hallmark of Neometro’s design approach, reflecting a philosophy that residential architecture should foster both physical and emotional wellbeing.

Kitchens, dining areas, and living spaces are proportioned to accommodate modern lifestyles, from casual family use to entertaining guests, with careful attention paid to circulation, functionality, and connectivity between spaces. Large windows frame clear outlooks to tree-lined streets, neighbouring suburbs, or the Melbourne CBD, ensuring visual engagement with the surrounding environment and enhancing the quality of natural light. Many apartments offer dual aspects, facilitating cross-ventilation, natural illumination, and a sense of openness rarely achieved in dense urban settings.

Connection to Fitzroy’s Urban Fabric

Fitzroy is celebrated for its culture, hospitality, and retail; however, the area’s leafy backstreets offer serenity and charm that are less publicly recognized. 450 Gore Street leverages this unique urban quality, positioning all apartments with sensitive views to these streets. The project also respects the local council heritage overlay, ensuring long-term protection of these significant urban elements and contributing to the suburb’s enduring character.

The building’s careful integration of context, scale, and massing creates a residential experience that is simultaneously private and connected. By respecting Fitzroy’s urban grain while introducing contemporary design language, 450 Gore Street exemplifies architectural responsiveness to both local heritage and contemporary lifestyle demands.

Sustainability and Energy Performance

Sustainability and energy efficiency are central to the project’s design philosophy. 450 Gore Street targets a 7.5-star NatHERS energy rating, underscoring the commitment to reducing environmental impact while providing year-round comfort. Fully electric services eliminate reliance on gas, supported by high thermal insulation and a 10-year carbon-neutral power agreement. Together, these features ensure that apartments maintain consistent comfort levels across seasons while significantly reducing energy consumption and carbon footprint.

The sustainable strategies extend beyond energy efficiency. By optimizing building orientation, natural ventilation, and daylighting, the project minimizes reliance on artificial lighting and mechanical systems. Residents are offered homes that are not only architecturally refined but environmentally responsible, reflecting a contemporary approach to urban living that aligns with Melbourne’s sustainability objectives.

Conclusion

450 Gore Street by Edition Office and Neometro represents a refined approach to contemporary residential design, harmonizing form, materiality, spatial quality, and environmental performance. By balancing sculptural presence with human-centered interiors, the project delivers apartments that are generous, functional, and deeply connected to Fitzroy’s unique urban character.

Through its thoughtful integration of heritage sensitivity, sustainability, and experiential spatial design, 450 Gore Street sets a new benchmark for residential architecture in Melbourne, offering residents a home that is both timeless and responsive to contemporary life. The project exemplifies the potential of residential architecture to enrich daily living while respecting and enhancing the surrounding urban fabric.

Photography: Pier Carthew