‘Calming, homey, pleasant, cosy, and related.’

Dana Thomson is among the (sadly too few) Melburnians who can describe their condo in these phrases. She’s the proprietor of a ‘Teilhaus’ studio condo in Skye Home, designed by Breathe, and positioned in The Village developed by Nightingale Housing in Brunswick, Melbourne.

Dana’s house is one in every of seven Teilhaus residences in Skye Home. The creation of this typology by Nightingale was impressed by the Fitzroy Cairo Flats designed by Acheson Finest Overend in 1935 to offer most amenity throughout minimal flooring house, and at an inexpensive worth.

Dana and her husband Sacha Karsten moved into their Teilhaus condo in Skye Home upon the constructing’s completion in 2022.

The couple first realized about Nightingale when searching for a house that was ‘cheaper, smaller, extra sustainable and community-minded’ than the vast majority of properties in the marketplace in Melbourne and surrounds.

They initially appeared into co-housing communities, however discovered Nightingale’s centrally-located initiatives to be the most effective match. ‘We liked that the architects had rigorously designed the constructing to advertise neighbourly connectedness and power effectivity,’ says Dana.

Dana and Sacha entered the poll (utilized to all Nightingale buildings) for to buy a studio condo, and had been allotted a Telihaus condo in Syke Home.

Teilhaus is Nightingale’s identify for his or her studio residences which means ‘a part of home’ in German. These small areas (24 sq. metres) are cross subsidised by the constructing’s bigger residences to permit extra first dwelling consumers and people with restricted monetary means to enter the market. In 2020, the Teilhaus residences offered for between $275,000 and $335,000.

Dana and Sacha say their house is a far cry from the residences and share homes they’ve beforehand rented, which regularly had condensation, mould, and little or no storage. They love their new dwelling’s pure gentle and bathing below the brass outsized bathe head each morning, however what they recognize most is the constructing’s sense of group.

‘In our earlier condo constructing I attempted to construct a group vibe however there was a very excessive turnover of residents and no shared hangout areas. It’s a lot simpler right here,’ Dana says.

Dana enjoys practising yoga on the rooftop at dawn together with her neighbours, and strolling the neighbours’ canine alongside her personal, Strudel. ‘He now will get twice the walks as we take one another’s canines out collectively!’

Additional interactions with neighbours are facilitated by the communal areas and amenities in Skye Home, which embody a shower home (that gives residents with baths along with a bathe of their particular person residences); widespread room; rooftop; laundry room; gardens; canine run; bike parking; and a basement storage for GoGet share automobiles. (Nightingale initiatives are positioned near public transport and intentionally devoid of personal automobile areas to maintain prices down and discourage automobile use.)

It’s all the time a superb signal {that a} new housing growth has met its targets, when one of many stakeholders strikes in. Architect Madeline Sewall is the director of homes at Breathe — the structure observe who designed Skye Home — and she or he now lives right here together with her canine, Poppy.

Madeline beforehand rented an condo within the close by The Commons constructing, which was additionally designed by Breathe, and served because the prototype for the Nightingale Housing mannequin.

‘I’ve labored at Breathe for 9 years so I used to be round for the very starting of Nightingale Housing’ says Madeline. ‘It’s been unbelievable to look at Nightingale develop from an aspirational thought to an unbiased not-for-profit of 20 individuals. Having seen the standard, liveability, and group of the residences firsthand, I knew early on that I’d love the chance to purchase one myself once I had my first dwelling deposit collectively.’

Madeline’s 78 sq. metre condo encompasses a north-facing terrace, adjoining dwelling space, and two south-facing bedrooms.

‘The dwelling, eating and kitchen is open plan and has a beautiful generosity inside its environment friendly plan,’ she says. ‘To the north, from my dwelling space, the outlook is usually sky and backyard, and once I’m out on the balcony, I can see and wave to different neighbours within the village — which I really like. From my bed room to the south, I can see a small glimpse of the Melbourne skyline and luxurious gardens to the sunshine courts beneath.’

A bench seat runs the size of the dwelling and eating room to the north, offering additional house for seating and show.

‘On stage three, all the residences have a step up from the lounge onto the balcony as a result of it gives the constructing envelope with sufficient house to insulate the roof of the residences beneath us,’ explains Madeline. ‘It’s the proper spot to get winter solar and gives additional seating to the condo when there’s a crowd.’

All residents have now moved into the Nightingale Village, which already seems like a longtime and beloved a part of the Brunswick neighbourhood.

The Village has been extremely awarded, lately successful 4 awards on the Victorian Structure Awards together with the celebrated Dimity Reed Melbourne Prize and the very best award for sustainability.

See extra options on buildings within the Nightingale Village: Evergreen designed by Clare Cousins Architects; Leftfield by Kennedy Nolan; and ParkLife designed and developed by Austin Maynard Architects below the Nightingale Housing mannequin.

To study extra about Nightingale, verify the The Design Information Talks podcast interview with Nightingale co-founder Jeremy McLeod.