Burwood Brickworks

Burwood Brickworks offers relief to suburban living, it exists as an overt rejection of big-box retail, embodied both in its philosophy and its verdant form. Through occupying a uniquely curated space between convenience consumerism and innovative sustainability, Burwood Brickworks defies both the architectural and cultural expectations of the retail arena. NH Architecture was appointed by Frasers Property to design the ‘world’s most sustainable shopping centre’ in the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne, which redefines the assumed antithesis of the consumer experience and sustainable development. The urban regeneration project presents Australia’s first retail build to receive a 6 Green Star Design and As Built rating, as well as being the first Living Building Challenge certified shopping centre in the world. The biophilic design uniquely considers human scale, each of the building’s multiple elements offer a sensory experience through the pastiche of contrasting, yet coherent design motifs. Burwood Brickworks exists as a tangible embodiment of the LBC’s analogous flower framework, both visually and quantifiably – taking all of its energy needs from the sun and renewable sources. With 40% of the building’s energy being produced by 3300 rooftop solar panels alongside a ‘closed loop’ system which treats all grey water on site for reuse, without producing waste or toxicity. The working urban farm, potted plant façade and planters offer a visual, haptic and olfactory stimuli, an interplay of rich textures and colour as well as a distinctive emblem of the LBC. The building offers a rare customer experience within a robust commercial environment, maintaining the accessibility of a successful retail precinct whilst directly confronting the environmental flaws of its standardised typology. The design not only addresses this problematic dichotomy with a lucrative approach, through selecting a specifically community-focused array of tenants, such as the cinema and Insight Early Learning Centre, but equally, through offering a stimulating sensory journey throughout the build. The curved, crushed brick and glass façade offers a unique tactility through the juxtaposition of variated textures, whilst also referencing the site’s history. The historic reimagination is further actualised in the ‘factory-esque’ form of the sawtooth roof. The extensive use of skylights and solar tubes offer self-sustaining ventilation and natural light penetration in every tenancy – as a consideration of the quality of life for both patron and employee, as well as maintaining connections with nature from within. Practical and tangible connections have been carefully considered from one tenant to another, as well as from interior to exterior, as with the manufactured to the natural. As an integral part of this organic narrative, the design recognises the cultural significance of relationship to traditional country, through a design collaboration with Balarinji and multi-disciplinary artist Mandy Nicholson. Nicholson’s expansive Aboriginal art installation sweeps across the interior of the sawtooth roof. The six layers of Wurundjeri country are represented on each panel, both interacting with the ridged form of the ceiling whilst simultaneously transcending it, in the depiction of ubiquitous Aboriginal culture – which often is hidden within the urban context.