A NOTE FROM PROJECTS DIRECTOR RANKO CVJETICANIN
Welcome to Issue 17 of Open Projects Magazine. It is a pleasure to introduce this edition, which continues our focus on the projects and people shaping Melbourne’s design and cultural landscape
Our feature project, Drummond House, takes pride of place as a considered contemporary residence where architectural detail and liveability come together seamlessly.
Our lifestyle features highlight the breadth of creativity across Melbourne. We share an In Conversation with Inglis Architects on design innovation, profile the distinctive artistry of Tom Adair, and explore The StandardX Hotel, a bold presence in Fitzroy.
This month’s recipe comes from BistroX, Shannon Bennett’s inspired venture within The StandardX, offering his take on the classic Tarte Tatin.
On the leasing front, our Projects team currently have twelve exceptional properties available, offering strong opportunities for those seeking their next home or investment.
I hope you enjoy the issue.
Ranko Cvjeticanin
FEATURING
DRUMMOND HOUSE IN CONVERSATION WITH 05 19 03
482-492 DRUMMOND STREET CARLTON INGLIS ARCHITECTS
STANDARDX EFFECT
Society — Armadale
White & Weston — Balwyn
Laurel — Bentleigh
Bright — Brighton
Frith & Howarth— Brunswick
Fabric — Caufield
Bakehouse Terraces — Fitzroy North
Enso Gardens — Glen Iris
Hawthorn House — Hawthorn
P.8 - 9
P.10 - 11
P.12 - 13
P.14 - 15
P.16 - 17
P.20 - 21
P.22 - 23
P.26 - 27
P.28 - 29
LIFESTYLE
TOM ADAIR IN FOCUS
TATIN FROM BISTROX
Denmark Gardens — Hawthorn East
Foley Park — Kew
Arteur — Kew
Montview — Kew
Prime — Prahran
Grandview — Prahran
Chomley Terraces — Prahran
South Kingsville Place — South Kingsville
First Light — South Melbourne
P.48 - 49
“Smart, all-electric homes with advanced automation, wellness amenities, and premium finishes. Drummond House sets a new benchmark for sustainable, connected living in the heart of Carlton."
JONATHAN SCOTT SALES EXECUTIVE
ARCHITECTURE BY DEVELOPED BY INTERIORS BY
Experience refined inner-city living at Drummond House, where sustainability meets smart design. These all-electric residences feature cutting-edge home automation, number-plate recognition entry, and a UV air purification system for enhanced comfort. Enjoy wellness-focused amenities including a gym, sauna, ice bath, and children’s play space. Designed by Fender Katsalidis and curated by Sora, each home balances style with functionality. Located in the heart of Carlton, Drummond House redefines convenience, security, and elevated urban living. ■
INGLIS ARCHITECTS IN CONVERSATION WITH
We spoke with Charlie Inglis, Founder and Director of Inglis Architects, about the vision that shaped his practice, the role of simplicity and feeling in design, and what excites him about the studio’s next chapter.
When you founded Inglis Architects in 2011, what vision did you have for the practice, and how has it evolved over time?
When I started Inglis Architects, my vision was simple: to create homes that felt deeply personal, carefully crafted, and timeless. I wanted every project to be more than just architecture — to be a backdrop for people’s lives that would endure and age gracefully. Over time, that vision has evolved as the practice has grown. While bespoke single residences remain at our core, we now also work across multiresidential and commercial projects, always with the same focus on detail, materiality, and tailored experiences. The scale has shifted, but the essence — craftsmanship and individuality — hasn’t changed.
You often talk about designing for “simplicity and feeling.” What does that look like in your day-to-day process?
For us, simplicity isn’t about being minimal for its own sake — it’s about clarity. Every line, every junction, every material must have purpose. Feeling is harder to pin down, but it’s the part that makes a space come alive. It might be the way morning light moves across a honed stone bench, or how a timber wall feels to the touch. In our process, we constantly ask: does this decision enhance the clarity of the design, and does it add to the emotional quality of the space? If the answer is no, we refine further.
How do you decide which materials will bring a project to life?
Material selection is probably the most instinctive part of our work. We begin with the story of the project — the client, the site, the history — and then find materials that can express that. Sometimes it’s about durability and restraint; other times it’s about richness and detail. For example, we might import handmade bricks from Spain if they feel right
for the narrative of the façade or specify a local stone that grounds the house in its landscape. Ultimately, materials are the bridge between design intent and lived experience — they give architecture its authenticity.
Your projects range from bespoke homes to multi-residential and commercial spaces. How do you shift your approach between scales?
The scale changes, but the philosophy doesn’t. With a private home, we’re tailoring every inch to a family’s way of life. With multi-residential or commercial projects, the audience is broader, so we focus on designing frameworks that still feel individual. For instance, in multi-residential, we push for the same level of detail and crafted finishes you’d expect in a bespoke house, so that each dwelling feels special. In commercial projects, it’s about creating environments that elevate daily experience rather than just serving function. It’s always about human experience, just scaled differently.
What excites you most about where Inglis Architects is heading next?
We aspire to keep refining our craft — pushing boundaries while staying true to our core values of simplicity, sustainability, and context. What excites me most is the chance to deepen collaborations with clients, artisans, and landscapes, creating projects that resonate on both a personal and collective level. Looking ahead, we’re working on projects not just in Melbourne but across Australia, and internationally in places like Sydney, Noosa, and Central Otago in New Zealand. By staying committed to thoughtful and timeless design, our goal is to create spaces with enduring impact. ■
“Redefining apartment living, this residence combines exceptional space, natural light, and meticulous craftsmanship, all opposite Central Park.”
LIAM ADEY PROJECTS DIRECTOR
Crafted by renowned architects Ewert Leaf and delivered by Brompton Construction, this brand-new residence redefines apartment living with proportions that rival a single-fronted home. Spanning a third of the ground floor, it combines thoughtful design with exceptional craftsmanship. Featuring three spacious bedrooms, a dedicated study, and a family kitchen with bar area flowing from the dining room, the home balances luxury with functionality. Floor-to-ceiling glazing floods the interiors with light, complemented by premium finishes throughout. With two side-by-side car spaces and a prime position opposite Central Park, it offers effortless, low-maintenance living in the heart of Malvern East. ■
FOR ENQUIRIES CONTACT
LIAM ADEY 0432 660 711
LEONARD TEPLIN 0402 431 657
A 2-4 B 2-4 C 2-3
From $1,275,000
Located in the Balwyn High School zone and opposite Balwyn Park (Walk Score 90), this building features a 655sqm approx. private Jack Merlo-designed garden and BBQ area, secure parking with number plate recognition, and a BESS rating 10% above industry average.
DESIGNED BY GARDENS BY
BUILT BY
DEVELOPED BY DESIGNED BY GARDENS BY
34 BLACK STREET BRIGHTON
From $2,495,000
A 3-4 B 2-4 C 2-3 CLICK
Sculpted from Brighton’s textured coastal landscape, these palatial residences illustrate exceptional craftsmanship and an undeniable sense of grandeur, an ode to the streetscape’s heritage residences.
KIERRA HAGEDORN 0432 737 911
GARDENS BY DESIGNED BY MANAGED BY
BUILT BY
From $1,390,000
Opposite the newly created Yubup Park, this all-electric building offers green spaces, a communal garden, and easy access to Brunswick’s cafés. With a 7.5-star NatHERS rating, double glazing, solar power, and rainwater harvesting, it’s highly sustainable. EV charging, smart storage, and secure parking add convenience. Apartments are 21% larger than Brunswick’s average. 288-290 VICTORIA STREET BRUNSWICK
DEVELOPED BY DESIGNED BY LANDSCAPING BY
BUILT BY
TOM ADAIR IN FOCUS
We recently sat down with Australian contemporary artist Tom Adair to explore the evolution of his practice — from fashion and interiors to his acclaimed CMYK airbrush paintings. He reflects on how materials, technology, and questions of authorship shape his work, and why painting has become his most powerful language.
What first drew you to painting as your primary artistic language?
I've always been drawn to making things, but painting came later. I studied fashion, then worked across interiors, catalogue production,
and as Head of Homewares at Jardan. It was only when I began exhibiting that painting became my central language — the best way to explore ideas around illusion, image-making, authorship, and contemporary culture.
Each exhibition built on the last. HOME in 2018 was a turning point, bringing together light, space, and domestic design. Chromatones, Weekender and New Romantics pushed me deeper into the CMYK halftone process. By / Imagine (Cowboys), I was thinking critically about authorship in the digital age. It remains my most robust body of work and marks when painting fully took the lead.
How has your background in design and fashion shaped your approach to painting?
Those industries taught me how materials behave, how colour sits in space, and how people move through environments. More importantly, they exposed me to industrial processes — screen printing in fashion, catalogue proofing in print factories. That's where I first encountered halftone imagery and CMYK printing.
Years later, I developed those systems into my own handmade process. What was once technical language became something human, imperfect, and slow — now central to my painting practice.
Your work reflects on contemporary life and technology. What do you hope audiences take away?
I want people to stop and really look. Life now is so filtered, accelerated, and detached. With / Imagine (Cowboys), I reproduced AI-generated imagery through painstaking manual pointillism with an airbrush. The result is surreal — you sense something is off, but you're not sure why. That points to the uncanny valley and how we respond to images that almost, but not quite, look human.
There's also a conversation about authorship. If an image is AI-generated, rephotographed, repainted, and re-exhibited, who made it? What does that say about originality and ownership today? I don't answer these questions directly, but I want audiences to reflect on how quickly we've adapted to artificial forms — and what that's doing to our relationship with reality, value, and beauty.
What's next for your practice?
I'm interested in pushing the CMYK process further — technically, visually, and materially. There's scope to experiment with new surfaces and mixed media. Lately, I've been
thinking about themes like money, value, and technology.
Outside the studio, I've launched Rebels of the Future, a kidswear label with my wife. We met at fashion school, so it feels full-circle. While commercial, it's an extension of my creative practice — another way of exploring forms and processes that feed back into my art. For me, it's all part of the same practice. ■
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
679-683 GLEN HUNTLY ROAD CAULFIELD
A 1-3 B 2 C 1-2
From $504,000
Situated in the heart of Caulfield, right next to Elsternwick and designed by renowned architects Cera Stribley, these residences offer an impressive 8.9-star energy rating. Features include EV charging, double glazed windows, breathtaking city and bay views, ultra-fast internet (faster than the NBN), convenient Click & Collect storage, all supported by extended builder guarantees of up to 6 years, providing added peace of mind.
0426 211 034
JONATHAN SCOTT
DESIGNED BY DEVELOPED BY BUILT BY
Caulfield
390A QUEENS PARADE
FITZROY NORTH
A 2-4 B 1-2 C 0-2
From $1,995,000
Bakehouse Terraces, located at 390A Queens Parade in Fitzroy North, offers 14 architecturally designed terrace homes in one of Melbourne’s most desirable innercity suburbs. Once the site of a historic bakery, this development combines heritage charm with modern living.
DEVELOPED BY ARCHITECTURE BY
The StandardX Effect
Melbourne’s Fitzroy is known for its street art, vintage shops, and late-night energy — and right at its heart sits The StandardX, a hotel that feels perfectly at home in this eclectic neighbourhood. The younger, grittier sister brand to Standard International’s flagship hotels, The StandardX brings the same creative verve and cultural edge for which the group is celebrated worldwide.
Designed by globally renowned architecture studio Woods Bagot, the six-level hotel features 125 guest rooms dressed in a crisp blue-andwhite palette. Each room centres around a king bed and a clever millwork ledge that functions as both desk and dining spot; an understated nod to practicality without sacrificing style.
Step inside the lobby and the tone shifts from Fitzroy’s bustle to a warm, modern refuge. Interiors by Melbourne’s Hecker Guthrie draw inspiration from the city’s post-punk Little Band scene, with tactile materials, muted tones, and just the right dose of artistic rebellion. Stone columns wrapped in handwoven macramé by local artist Sarah Smalltown sit alongside photorealistic floral works by Dane Lovett. The mix is layered but intentional: custommade lounges invite guests to linger, while antique finds sourced from Melbourne ateliers add a sense of history. At the centre of it all is a communal table, designed for locals and travellers alike to work, gather, and connect — an ethos at the heart of the Standard brand.
Food and drink are integral to the experience. BistroX, the hotel’s all-day restaurant, serves up French bistro classics with a hyper-seasonal Melbourne twist. It’s an approachable but polished neighbourhood hangout, catering as much to Fitzroy locals as hotel guests. Tucked just beyond is The Loft, a lounge with plush sofas and a roaring fireplace — the perfect setting for a nightcap.
For those who prefer to take the party upstairs, The Roof is a standout. Exclusive to guests, the rooftop frames sweeping views of Melbourne’s skyline, layered with a design inspired by the warmth of Mexico — terracotta floors, mosaictiled tables, and cacti-filled corners. By day, it’s a sun-soaked retreat shaded by red-fringed umbrellas; by night, a lively bar with cocktails and share plates.
Even the minibar redefines convention. Instead of the usual in-room fridge, The Box acts as a lobby-level concept store stocked with Victorian wines, Four Pillars gin, Pidapipo gelato, and snacks from local makers. Rotating displays also showcase ceramics, candles, and objects from Australian designers; part retail, part gallery, and entirely in keeping with the brand’s community-driven spirit.
With its thoughtful design, creative partnerships, and open invitation to the neighbourhood, The StandardX, Melbourne has firmly established itself as a cultural hub — playful yet polished, affordable yet designled — that captures the energy of Fitzroy while offering travellers a distinctly modern way to experience the city. ■
44 SCOTT GROVE GLEN IRIS
A 2-4 B 2-4 C 1-3
From $895,000
Enso Gardens is a sculptural symphony of green - where nature and design meet in quiet harmony. Tucked behind Scott Grove, its Japanese-inspired landscaping by Acre features wisteria-draped pergolas, Zen stones, and a serene water feature. Lush terraces, leafy courtyards, and tranquil shared spaces invite calm and connection.
HAMS 0410 160 151
ROSS
DESIGNED BY DEVELOPED BY GARDENS BY
DEVELOPED BY DESIGNED BY BUILT BY GARDENS BY
A 3 B 2-2.5 C 2
From $1,630,000
Discover the perfect blend of urban convenience and natural serenity just steps from Camberwell Junction. Designed by Cera Stribley, these meticulously crafted homes feature cutting-edge design and technology. Residents also enjoy exclusive access to a
TARTE TATIN from BistroX
Shannon Bennett brings a touch of BistroX to your kitchen with this golden tarte tatin – buttery puff pastry, caramelised apples and warm spice, finished with vanilla ice cream. A simple classic made to share.
INGREDIENTS
400 g caster sugar
300 g French butter, cut into 8 slices
2 vanilla beans, halved lengthways
12 firm Golden Delicious apples
1 kg puff pastry block, rolled into 2 sheets
1 L vanilla ice cream
Eight-spice powder:
2½ tsp juniper berries
5 star anise
2 tsp cloves
1 tsp white peppercorns
½ tsp cardamom seeds
1 large cinnamon quill
1 small pinch saffron
2 tsp Murray River salt flakes
METHOD
1. Dry-roast all eight-spice ingredients (except salt) until fragrant (2–3 mins). Grind with salt until fine. Set aside.
2. Divide sugar between two 18 cm cast-iron pans. Add butter slices, 1 tsp eight-spice powder, and vanilla beans arranged in a cross.
3. Peel, core and halve apples; place cut-side up in pans. Cover with 3–4 mm thick puff pastry, cut 6–7 cm larger than the pan. Tuck edges under apples. Chill for 15 mins.
4. Preheat oven to 190°C. Score pastry in the centre and between apples. Cook on low–medium heat until sugar and butter caramelise (12–18 mins).
5. Baste pastry with bubbling caramel as it rises through the cuts.
6. Transfer pans to oven; bake until golden and puffed, basting halfway (15–20 mins).
7. Remove from oven, loosen edges, and carefully invert onto a board. Slice into 6 portions.
8. Serve with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.
DEVELOPED BY
BUILT BY
ARCHITECTURE BY GARDENS BY
PROJECT MANAGEMENT BY
GARDENS BY DESIGNED BY DEVELOPED BY
BUILT BY
92 PEEL STREET KEW
A 3 B 2 C 2
From $1,735,000
Where luxury meets forward-thinking design in a limited release of ten high-end apartments. Montview offers a refined living experience that harmonizes sustainability with elegance.
DESIGNED BY GARDENS BY
BUILT BY
A 2-4 B 2-3 C 1-2
From $1,545,000
Beyond the statement façade and the spacious interiors, it’s the philosophy of the design that stands apart: intelligent, private, healthy and sustainable. For those drawn to the pulse of Prahran and everything it offers, this is the ideal place to shape a new future.
DESIGNED BY DEVELOPED BY
BUILT BY
646 HIGH STREET PRAHRAN
A 2-4 B 2-4 C 2-10
From $1,450,000
Grandview offers luxury 2, 3 and 4-bedroom residences in Prahran East Village, near Hawksburn and High Street. Designed by Carr Design, these homes feature 3m ceilings, bespoke joinery, smart home tech, and city views. The exclusive Penthouse is $19M. Customisable floor plans, with a display suite available. Construction starts mid-2025. Secure now for significant stamp duty savings.
DEVELOPED BY BUILT BY GARDENS BY DESIGNED BY
From $2,365,000
Chomley Terraces offers refined 3 and 4-bedroom townhouse’s in Prahran East offering living rooms that are a minimum 6m wide, 9ft ceilings, individual solar panels, EV ready and some with private lifts. Designed by Cera Stribley with landscaping by Andrew Panton Design, each residence also includes keyless entry and a 6y building guarantee. 115 CHOMLEY STREET PRAHRAN
DESIGNED BY DEVELOPED BY GARDENS BY
DEVELOPED BY GARDENS BY
DESIGNED BY
28 ALBERT STREET
SOUTH MELBOURNE
A 3-5 B 2-4 C 2-4
From $1,995,000
In Melbourne’s coveted Domain Precinct, First Light will soon unveil a groundbreaking fusion of art and architecture, promising to redefine the concept of luxury living through its innovative design and unparalleled attention to detail.
KIERRA HAGEDORN 0432 737 911
DEVELOPED BY INTERIORS BY
DESIGNED BY BUILT BY
FOR LEASE
1008/20 QUEENS ROAD, MELBOURNE - APP
213/320 PLUMMER STREET, PORT MELBOURNE
202/186 TOORONGA ROAD, GLEN IRIS
With over twenty years of real estate experience, Ranko has a proven track record of achieving outstanding sales results in the industry. During this time period, Ranko has seen substantial change in the real estate profession but his professional approach to every facet of every transaction hasn’t wavered.
Part of the project development team at Marshall White, Ranko’s natural positive energy and enthusiasm and ability to relate to people from all walks of life has been invaluable. His genuine integrity and personal service style quickly makes clients feel at ease.
Balance has always been and continues to be crucial to Ranko’s consistency throughout his career. Away from the office he spends time with his son and family and he is dedicated to keeping fit and physically active.
ranko.c@marshallwhite.com.au
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