The Eminence joins the queue on Queensberry

The Eminence joins the queue on Queensberry
Mark BaljakJuly 23, 2014

The latest in a mounting number of apartment developments centred around Carlton's Queensberry Street was launched last night. The Eminence, which was first highlighted last year by Urban.com.au as a planning application, celebrated its launch event with all relevant project partners in attendance.

Speaking to project architect Ian Briggs of Plus Architecture, he explains that the design reflects its location - a marriage of the CBD's vertical nature and the low-rise, finer grain substance of Carlton. Consequently the project is split into three vertical volumes, they being the lower Queensberry or northern volume, central and CBD volumes.

Each of these is in turn broken into blocks of two or three levels by way of white external privacy panels/load-bearing features to signify the street level height of traditional Carlton housing. In another nod to the past street level frontages are broken by the use of cottage reliefs, either consisting of perforated metal as seen below or shotcreted forms along other boundaries according to the architect.

The design is a delicate balance of its environment, responding to the low line, staccato street fronts of Carlton and the high-rise scale of the city. The building form is separated into three towers to capitalise on light entry, natural ventilation and views to every 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartment and social space. Floor to ceiling glass to capture views, and expressed fins to frame them, wrap around the façade in a modern day interpretation of classic architecture that is carried from the lobby to the rooftop retreat.

Developer's description
The Eminence joins the queue on Queensberry
The Eminence plays on Carlton's low-rise character

Near on 30% of the 193 apartments have been sold prior to launch with the owner-occupier market firmly in mind. Paraphrasing what was said last night, an investor may buy in to an owner-occupier focused development yet an owner-occupier will shun an investment driven apartment development, and that's the case with The Eminence as owner-occupiers buyers are represented heavily to date.

In the broader context a search of the Urban.com.au database shows The Eminence is joined by Queens Carlton at the registration and sales stage. In addition 81 Cardigan Street and Upper House are at varying stages of construction with the latter receiving its finishing touches.

The Eminence joins the queue on Queensberry
Queensberry Street with 81 Cardigan, Eminence and Upper House in view

Directly opposite The Eminence, the distinctive facade of 152 Queensberry Street is waiting in the wings with planning approval. Together these projects will inject in the vicinity of 430 apartments with little more than 200 metres separating the quartet.

Into the future Grocon's redevelopment of the former CUB site is expected to yield three buildings fronting Queensberry Street. Outlined previously, the three future towers have the potential to yield hundreds of new apartments, but for now The Eminence holds sway over this emerging development corridor.

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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