Sharif Abraham's super sleek Northcote design on show

Sharif Abraham's super sleek Northcote design on show
Mark BaljakJune 12, 2018

Northcote will sport a uniquely designed and essentially daring new mixed-use building should Darebin City Council provide approval for a current application on dsiplay.

A distinct step away from most Melbourne buildings of a similar scale, Sharif Abraham Architects have gone above and beyond in terms of designing a striking visual marker. The long thin structure addressed 38 Arthurton Road is tucked up against the South Morang rail line and Herbert Street, making for an elongated site.

The design is noted as taking three to four years to refine within the planning documents, with the result a predominantly mesh facade capped by an almost whimsical double roof level which accommodates a 152 space childcare centre. 

Sharif Abraham's super sleek Northcote design on show
38 Athurton Road from differing angles. Planning image: Sharif Abraham

Alongside Sharif Abraham Architects, LR & EC Enterprises Pty Ltd is the entity behind the development. Jointly they have dubbed 38 Athurton Road 'The Parent' due to its robust form and holistic and considered design response to its surrounds.

"It is practical, flexible and fun and will provide an exceptionally high quality environment for its future users, whilst integrating with its surrounds, particularly having regard to the emerging character along Arthurton Road toward High Street."

Included in the design are 28 one and two bedroom apartments, with 5 offices and a retail pod at ground level. Three basement levels accommodate parking for the project whilst a mid building double height void/terrace is present at the northern end.

The void is expected to provide visual relief to the design whilst also enhancing the architectural integrity of the development.

Sharif Abraham's super sleek Northcote design on show
External finishes laid out. Planning image: Sharif Abraham

Materials prevalent across the design include differing modes of metal screens, cladding and shutters alongside timber and concrete elements. The 'bling' factor comes by way of a pod atop the building finished with tinted rainbow glass in a orange hue.

The orange-hued glass feature is also replicated across an oversized sphere which forms part of the childcare facility.

Referenced above is the changing urban dynamic of the Arthurton Road and High Street precinct. A swag of new mid-sized apartment developments have taken their place along High Street, although Arthurton Road has been comparatively sluggish.

Waiting in the wings and opposite the Sharif Abraham Architects design is Meydan Group's Arthurton Gardens project which is expected to yield hundreds of new apartments in the years to come.

Mark Baljak

Mark Baljak was a co-founder of Urban.com.au. He passed away on Thursday 8th of November 2018 after a battle with cancer. He was 37. Mark was a keen traveller, having visited all six permanently-inhabited continents and had a love of craft beer. One of his biggest passions was observing the change that has occurred in Melbourne over the past two decades. In that time he built an enormous library of photos, all taken by him, which tracked the progress of construction on building sites from across metropolitan Melbourne.

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