Timed perfectly with the unveiling of Hamer Hall, Open House Melbourne showcased more than 100 locations for design hunters to peek into last weekend, and clocked 134,900 visits with new sites from St Kilda to Essendon.

For us, the 2012 program was all about sustainability.

Forte Living

First up was Forte, Lend Lease’s brand new residential building in the Docklands. Within an established concrete jungle of sustainable complexes, this one achieves a 5 Star Green Star rating because it will be built in timber, a first for Australia.

Central Pier – © Craig George

Not far away is Atlantic Group’s redevelopment of Central Pier. Transforming the old wool sheds into four waterfront function spaces, the site honours what has come before, but boasts bling too with a 66m suspended chandelier, the longest in the southern hemisphere.

In Carlton, we checked out 60L Green Building, a former brickworks factory. Completed in 2002, this experimental building features an incredibly light open plan design, a sloping glass ceiling, indoor ponds, plants and rooftop garden. It cleverly forgoes some things – car parks – for others – bike racks – and is chock full of recycled materials.

Hive Graffiti Apartments – © itnarchitects

The Hive Graffiti Apartments nearby are also experimental, as the home of architect Zvi Belling and his neighbor, Prowla, who designed the building’s hip hop façade. The rooftop jacuzzi is a nice touch, and the building works hard with solar panels, water storage tank and louvres to demonstrate how sustainability and high density can be achieved on a small footprint.

We also walked to Fitzroy to see the 32 Kerr Street Apartments by NMBW Architecture Studio. The re-jigged industrial site offers seven apartments and a central arcade, which connects via a series of ground floor garages that can convert into other flexible, clever spaces.

32 Kerr Street – © Stuart Murchison

Open House Melbourne

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