Piccolo House

PICCOLO HOUSE

Wood/marsh

Piccolo House
© Trevor Mein

ARCHITECTS
Wood/marsh

CLIENTS
Piccolo Group

BUILDING SURVEYORS
Reddo

MANUFACTURERS
Autodesk, Sky-frame, Bluescope, G-lux, George Fethers, Supertuft, Tongue N Groove,
Viridian, Artedomus, Mascoma Metal Design, Mcneel

STRUCTURE
4d Workshop

SERVICES
Ala Consulting

LANDSCAPE
Tcl Landscape Architects

PHOTOGRAPHS
Trevor Mein

AREA
4000 m²

YEAR
2019

LOCATION
South Melbourne, Australia

CATEGORY
Mixed Use Architecture, Residential

Piccolo House
© Trevor Mein

Text description provided by architect.

Designed by Wood Marsh Architecture, Piccolo House is a new headquarters and benchmark development by Piccolo.

The collaborative relationship established between architect and developer represents their mutual respect and shared philosophies - quality, boldness and refinement.

Piccolo House
© Trevor Mein
Piccolo House
© Trevor Mein

Emerging from its heritage legacy below, Piccolo House is spurred by its contex-tual considerations.

Sheathed in an ordered monolith of off-form concrete, preci-sion cut-outs are subtly angled to reveal coloured reflective glass elements that reinterpret the autumnal tones of the brickwork in the neighbouring laneway.

Piccolo House
© Trevor Mein
Piccolo House
© Trevor Mein

Akin to a block of stone being carved into, the mass references the lintel as a symbol of strength providing the structural framework for the building.

As one multi-use building, the development encompasses retail, hospitality, commercial, and luxury multi-residential into one unified concept. Its unique is-land site allows the architecture to be expressed on all sides.

Piccolo House
© Trevor Mein
Piccolo House
© Trevor Mein

The original Victorian terrace building addressing Dorcas Street has been restored and reinstated as an active commerce centre contributing to the streetscape and connecting with the neighbourhood, whilst housing private tenancies within.

The Charles Street laneway references Richard Giblett’s paintings on the con-temporary metropolis and reinterprets it into physical urban art using the materiality of Corten and various shades of steel.

Piccolo House
© Trevor Mein
Piccolo House
© Trevor Mein

By night this intervention becomes illuminated, drawing similar ideas to the artwork of Dan Flavin, by painting the street surface with light.

The illumination of Charles Street also creates a sense of safety through passive surveillance.

Piccolo House
© Trevor Mein
Piccolo House
© Trevor Mein

The architecture and interior experiences are inherently connected. Entry into the building occurs via John Street where mirrored glass and blackened metal elevate the sense of arrival. 

Above sits four levels of well-crafted one and two-bedroom apartments, offering clear views of Melbourne’s urban skyline.

On the upper level, the Piccolo penthouse office reinforces the solidity of the building using silver travertine to make an appropriately elevated interior response to the overarching idea of stone being carved away.

Piccolo House
© Trevor Mein
Piccolo House
© Trevor Mein
Piccolo House
© Trevor Mein

Imbued with the qualities of a high calibre residential project, the resulting palette is intentionally dark, timber, black, and bronzed metal.

Effortlessly merging heritage and new, exterior and interior, commercial and residential Wood Marsh have designed a building that is a direct statement of their client’s values. Investing in longevity through a commitment to quality design.

Piccolo House
© Trevor Mein
Piccolo House
© Trevor Mein

Piccolo House stands as the embodiment of its developer and owner as a successful model of a progressive build-to-rent property and a new home for Piccolo’s own office.


Piccolo House
Site plan
Piccolo House
Ground floor plan
Piccolo House
Apartment plan
Piccolo House
Office plan


Piccolo House
Elevation
Piccolo House
Elevation
Piccolo House
Elevation