Nightingale 1, Brunswick

Hansen Partnership was engaged by a collective of Melbourne based architects responsible for an innovative, triple bottom line (socially, economically, environmentally), sustainable 8 star model development in Brunswick to assist with the project’s urban context and planning report and management of the planning permit application.

The Nightingale Model aims to contribute to improved affordability by delivering more spacious and better designed apartments and communal facilities at a lower price than the market would otherwise set.

The key challenge of this project was successfully managing the very public and hotly debated merits of the model through the council approval process and subsequent VCAT hearings.

While on the surface this project was seen as controversial as some aspects of the development did not fit within ‘standard’ relevant planning regulations, the Hansen team were able to demonstrate to all the interest groups that the benefits of the triple bottom line design meant better long-term outcomes for the wider community.

Hansen Partnership negotiated and produced a planning application that was unanimously supported at Moreland City Council, resulting in a significant way forward for other socially and environmentally sustainable housing models to be produced in Melbourne.