a memory of the milk bar - a fading icon of australian suburbia
Vibrant colours and eye-catching signs, mix lollies, ice creams, and milkshakes; these iconic milk bars and corner stores are disappearing across suburban Australia, either rebuilt or left to deterioration. No. 85 Raleigh Road is one of these milk bars in Maribyrnong that left vacant after the milk bar business closed down. The site has a high pedestrian traffic and excellent access to public transport, with tram stop for route 57 and route 82 located in front of the site.
The proposed development comprised of 3 two-storey townhouses. The new proposal aims to retain a sense of the existing shopfront as a tribute to the milk bar that used to be on the site. The retaining the geometry of the shopfront preserves the essence milk bar and the reinterpretation of canopy continue to provide shelter to the tram stop.
01 // Retain the Existing Shopfront Form
The proposal utilises the existing geometry of the shopfront to hold the street edge around the corner as a positive urban form of an iconic milk bar typology. The reuse of the geometry provides a good buffer to the proposed development from Raleigh Road while still contributing to the public realm in the form of diversity of built form, layering of history, and a sheltered tram stop.
02 // Green Streetscape and Garden Area
The proposal uses the average setback strategy to both integrate the building massing into the existing context and maximise the opportunity for landscaped front yards. New low, battened front fences will also offer permeability and a sense of a green and landscaped streetscape. Open space is also located to maximise direct access of northern sun as well as adjacency to all living areas in the proposal.
03 // Massing Strategies
The scheme uses pitched roof forms to reduce the massing bulk towards Raleigh Road while also pitching towards the driveway where a lower planted scale is presented. This helps to reduce the perception of the hardstand and massing to place more of a focus on the heavily planted borders and yards. The ground floor massing will be predominantly brick construction with variation in white render or painted finish to create articulation between the dwelling forms.
04 // A Memory of the Shopfront
The existing geometry of sill, shop window and canopy have been used as a set out to reflect the new form of residence and garden areas along the Raleigh Road frontage. The proposal integrates public art frames by recesses set into the wall following the geometry of the old shopfront windows. An reinterpretation of the existing canopy reinforces this sense of memory and continues to provide shelter to the adjacent tram stop.
