199 - 203 Rouse St, Port Melbourne

Luur

August 2013

I'm exceptionally disappointed with the treatment of this corner of Rouse and Nott St. Touted as the pride of Port Melbourne, Luur offers nothing to the public realm - keeping its delightful spaces including a communal roof deck all to itself. 

Rouse St was imagined in 1999 as the spine of the proposed new residential areas south of Graham St. All new development was to contribute to the high level of pedestrian amenity, shelter from the wind, and visual interest through the incorporation of urban art.

This has been achieved to an extent in Tjingari (opposite at 216 Rouse St) with Barbara Weir's artwork etched onto the outside walls and above the entrance. The aspirations for Rouse St fall far short with the ground level treatment of Luur. 

October 2011

14 October 2011

The corner of Rouse and Nott St was occupied by Rosebank Engineering - a narrow building on the corner. Next door was a narrow car park used by the company. 

The site was cleared towards the end of 2011. Luur will have 31 apartments over 6 levels. The site was formerly a modest office building recently occupied by Rosebank engineering - the remnants of which you can see in this picture. The site is covered by Design and Development Overlay 1 [DDO1] of the Port Phillip planning scheme which specifies a maximum height of 6 storeys in this particular location. 

Architect: Terry Harper 

Builder: Hamilton Marino