Just like the proposed apartments, Milieu’s Brunswick East Apartment’s display suite needed to acknowledge the neighbourhood’s evolving context. It speaks to the corner site—the active, bustling Lygon Street, and the leafier, residential character of Edward Street. Through rigorous planning, a considered material palette and minimal treatment of the existing structure, the project encapsulates both future and existing conditions.

Faced with an industrial shell ripe for adaptive reuse, we designed a crisp ‘second skin’ insertion. The decrepit warehouse provides an aged, characterful canvas for the display suite, resulting in a duality that delineates old from new. Ensuring cohesion with Fieldwork’s architectural vision, we’ve selected materials that reference the material—while brick plinths at the entrance contain lush beds of indoor greenery.

The positioning of the kitchen stimulates curiosity. Passersby can catch a glimpse from the street, but must enter to fully experience the details—a polished ‘chef’s mirror’ splashback, and robust materiality of natural stone, engineered timber flooring and stainless steel. Meanwhile, the adjacent community garden has been extensively utilised by numerous groups, social events, and local hospitality venues—a feature that nods to the communal green rooftop that will occupy the site.