NH Architecture

What a wonderfully busy year it’s been! We’re taking a break over the holiday period. Our studio will be closed from Friday the 20th of December and reopen on Tuesday the 14th of January 2025. We would like to wish all of our community a safe and happy holiday season.

Nestled between a lively shopping village and residential streets, Ormond Road East Geelong Social Housing features three low-rise buildings that blend seamlessly into the urban landscape. Open corridors promote natural light and airflow, while spacious balconies encourage outdoor living. Central to the design are landscaped outdoor areas that incorporate indigenous, drought-tolerant planting, fostering a connection to nature and community. Working with Bird de la Coeur Architects, our design draws inspiration on the coastal location of the development, incorporating locally sourced materials to respond to the character of the surrounding neighbourhood. We’ve prioritised robust and durable materials to ensure the longevity of the development. We’ve allowed for easy post-construction flexibility through carefully designed apartment layouts which will support the evolving needs of residents. We’re targeting a 5-Star Green sustainability rating for the development and silver level in the Livable Housing Guidelines. The shared indoor and outdoor spaces will be universally accessible, and the development includes three DDA-compliant (accessible) apartments. We’ve considered key view lines and enhanced visibility through passive surveillance to promote a safe and vibrant public realm. We’re working with Homes Victoria to deliver the Ormond Road, East Geelong Big Housing Build project which will provide upgraded amenities that residents can truly call home: spaces where they feel safe, valued, and proud to belong. Read more about this project on our website through this link: https://lnkd.in/gpv5tP2V #NHArchitecture #NHArch #BigHousingBuild #SocialHousing #HomesVictoria #CommunityHousing #Housing

Flashback to earlier this year when we hosted a panel discussion at MPavilion about the themes surrounding our book ‘Decoding Urban Metrics Melbourne’. We were so privileged to be joined by Georgia Birks who moderated the panel with NH’s Nick Bourns, Bronwen Hamilton Mark Jaques from Openwork Pty Ltd and Sarah Lynn Rees. The discussion focused Melbourne’s urban drivers, what’s shaping our city and how we can advocate for our own values as designers to create more equitable and responsive urban spaces. You can read a transcript of the conversation in our book ‘Decoding Urban Metrics Melbourne’ available to download for free though the link below: https://lnkd.in/gjBYtgC2 Photos by Peter Marko of OLIBEN Media #MPavilion10

Read this excerpt from our book 'Decoding Urban Metrics: Melbourne' and get an insight into this 10 year + research project completed in collaboration with RMIT Architecture. The research focuses on Melbourne’s laneways, an urban feature which has become integral to the city’s identity. The studies vary in scale from the patterns of permeability through a city block, to the scale of a laneway and the materiality of street facing buildings. 🔗 You can now download ‘Decoding Urban Metrics: Melbourne’ for free through our website: https://lnkd.in/gjBYtgC2

📖 IT’S OUT! 📖 Get your free copy of our research book ‘Decoding Urban Metrics: Melbourne’ now through our website. ‘Decoding Urban Metrics: Melbourne’ unpacks the design lessons we’ve learned and proposes a set of urban metrics to help us better design our cities. The studies were generated through a 10-year long observational research project undertaken in collaboration with RMIT Architecture. Our research focuses on Melbourne’s laneways, an urban feature which has become integral to the city’s identity. The studies vary in scale from the patterns of permeability through a city block, to the scale of a laneway and the materiality of street facing buildings. The book includes: • 90+ pages of analytical maps and diagrams • A transcribed conversation from ‘Decoding Melbourne’, a panel discussion held as part of the MPavilion public program • An outline of our methodology and approach to data collection for each of the main areas of research: permeability, scale, and surface and materiality. • Key observations detailing our findings for each of the main areas of research Get your digital copy of ‘Decoding Urban Metrics: Melbourne’ for free though the link below: https://lnkd.in/gv4GNw-A

Last week we were joined in our studio by a group of friends and collaborators for the launch of our research book ‘Decoding Urban Metrics: Melbourne’. Managing Director Felicity Douglas, who welcomed our guests, remarked at how unusual it is in architecture practice to do this kind of research over a long period of time. ‘Design research is built into the way we work but it’s often restricted to the early stages of a design project and rarely shared outside the practice’, she said. ‘We’ve chosen to publish and share the original research, as well as some of the ways we’ve applied it in our project work.’ The book focuses on Melbourne’s laneways, an urban feature which has become integral to the city’s identity. The studies vary in scale from the patterns of permeability through a city block, to the scale of a laneway and the materiality of street facing buildings. Alongside the chapters presenting and analysing the studies, the book includes a transcript of a panel discussion presented as part of MPavilion’s MTalks series. The discussion expanded on our research and speculated on possible futures for Melbourne. 🔗 Get your digital copy of ‘Decoding Urban Metrics: Melbourne’ for free though the link below: https://lnkd.in/gv4GNw-A

Two inspiring days at the Australian Health Design Council Conference with Emily Kilvington Ahead of the Curve: Emerging ideas in healthcare design. The health sector is such a fast-moving space, and it was great to hear insights from some of the leading voices about how we’re meeting the design challenges we face and designing genuinely inclusive health environments. Good to see some of NH Architecture work on the Mental Health Beds Expansion Program displayed as an exemplar project with many other innovative work. A coupe of highlights: Hearing Chloe Piper and her PHD thesis on Architecture of Compassion where she goes deep in the realm of Trauma Informed Design and Salutogenic principles to answer the question: How can healthcare architecture play an active role in trauma recovery? And the panel: Challenging the myths through Virtual Care during which the powerhouses Miranda Shaw, Suzanne M. Miller, MD, FACEP, FACEM, GAICD and @samantha Prime discussed virtual care and its potential to reshape healthcare systems. Alison L Huynh and @HADN organised a great networking breakfast on day 2 which led to wonderful new connections.

What a whirlwind couple of days in Sydney this week at the Australian Health Design Council conference with my colleague Aurelia Gachet. The health sector is such a fast-moving space, and it was great to hear insights from leading voices. Great to see our NH Architecture and NTC Architects Mental Health Beds Expansion Projects on display with a select group of other project exemplars.

Congratulations to NH Architecture on the Launch of their new book - Decoding Urban Metrics: Melbourne. We’ve all struggled to put our finger on what make Melbourne special. Now we have lots of research to answer excactly that question! And NH Architecture want to share it around so we can all make Melbourne even better! Thanks you for having me - Felicity Douglas Nick Bourns Martin Heide Sam Gardiner Amy Snoekstra 💚

Petal Certified Burwood Brickworks is one of the most visited LBC projects globally. 🌿 Opened in 2019, this suburban community hub features an urban rooftop farm, state-of-the-art wastewater treatment, and 1 MW of photovoltaics. Throughout the building are captivating art installations by Wurundjeri-wilam artist Mandy Nicholson, showcasing the six fundamental elements to Wurundjeri Country and a strong connection to place and culture. 📷 Diana Snape and Kate Shanasy Find out more: https://lnkd.in/g9EsFHy2 #LivingBuildingChallenge #SustainableRetail #GreenBuilding #CommunityHub #RegenerativeDesign #BurwoodBrickworks