Building Design in Eastern Melbourne

Designed for the street. Built for how you live.

Eastern Melbourne is established, leafy and closely controlled: heritage gradings in Boroondara, landscape and vegetation overlays in Whitehorse, Maroondah and Knox, and green wedge land in Manningham. Trees often shape the design as much as the zone does. A good design here starts with the site, its trees and its controls, then fits the brief inside what Council looks for, so the application moves through with fewer surprises.

We check the zone, overlays and character guidelines before we draw, then take the project from concept and 3D visualisation through to planning and building permit documentation. We prepare and lodge the applications; Council and your building surveyor issue the permits.

Free consultation

Planning to build or extend in Eastern Melbourne?

Tell us about your site and we’ll check the zone and overlays before you commit.

Balwyn North: an ultra-luxury home on a 2 m fall

An ultra-luxury two-storey home on a north-facing 664 m² block, built around a 6.3 m ceiling over the main living area. The site falls about 2 m diagonally, from the front corner to the middle, and the design works with the slope instead of levelling it. No planning permit was required.

• Retaining walls up to 2 m deep beside the neighbour’s boundary carport. Screw piles went in before any digging, and the walls were dug in a hit-and-miss sequence to protect the carport.
• The footpath fall was steeper than 1 in 40, so we obtained an exemption from the Livable Housing Design step-free access requirement.
• 3 m ceilings on both levels, floating stairs, an internal garden and a glass-enclosed wine cellar.
• 3 m high corner sliding doors open the living area to the alfresco, outdoor kitchen and pool.

Ringwood: secluded open space at the front

Two double-storey homes on a 676 m² site, designed for one extended family. Council rarely allows a home’s private open space at the front of a site. We negotiated it in return for a 3 m setback from the frontage, which let both homes be much larger than the lot would usually allow. Council granted the planning permit.

• One three-bedroom and one four-bedroom home, 492 m² in total.
• Each home has a double garage, a study, a rumpus and 2.5 bathrooms.
• One facade and palette across both homes for a clean street presence.

Bayswater: two family homes on a small corner block

Two double-storey homes on a 487 m² corner block, each with three bedrooms and a home office. Giving each home its own crossover, and placing the secluded private open space within the side street setback with Council’s agreement, achieved the largest footprint the site allowed. Council granted the planning permit.

• Each home: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, an office, and a garage plus a car space.
• The client wanted a brick pier fence across the front. A rare easement runs along the front boundary, so we detailed the brick piers and infill panels to protect the pipe and still deliver the fence he asked for.
• Floor plans set out to keep construction costs efficient.