The Department of Human Services appointed Tract as part of a design team to redevelop an existing social housing facility in North Melbourne. The brief required a high-quality and best-practice outcome that responded to the need for social and affordable housing, with a balanced mix of private housing. The landscape concept for St Johns Place takes into consideration the requirements and needs of the demographic while seamlessly integrating with the existing urban fabric and the local community.
Pedestrian connections are enhanced through a hierarchy of open spaces that extend into the existing streetscape. The primary open space is centrally located within the pedestrian network and is intended to facilitate gathering and interaction and accommodates a well detailed BBQ pavilion, including seats and lighting. A small community garden forms part of the open space network while all stormwater from the buildings is harvested and retained within underground storage tanks providing irrigation to all garden bed
The outcome is a high quality landscape that provides a harmonizing overlay to the various housing typologies while embracing the surrounding North Melbourne community.