Armadale LISA ALLEN
A piece of the action Architect Rob Mills liked his own work so much he bought into his new luxe development You have to admire architect Rob Mills’ attitude to his new Hampden luxe apartment development in the upmarket Melbourne suburb of Armadale. Like the Remington man, the award-winning architect liked the project so much he bought one of the larger units himself. Mills, who divides his time between Sydney and Melbourne, forked out $4.6 million for the apartment in the yet-to-be-built block. Two other buyers, one a local from Armadale and another hailing from Sydney’s Woollahra, have paid $3 million apiece to buy into the nine-unit complex. “The $4.6 million is all I can afford,” says Mills, adding that he would love to secure the $7 million penthouse in the complex for himself. He has designed and developed the nine-unit project at 2 Hampden Road, Armadale, with part of its attraction its proximity to the up-market suburb’s high-street precinct and its position in one of its most beautiful plane tree-lined streets. “It’s the equivalent of Sydney’s Woollahra; it’s got it all,” says Mills. The architect based the design of Hampden on the six-level Fendi headquarters in Rome, commissioned by dictator Benito Mussolini and built in 1943, then renovated by local architect Marco Costanzi. He’s included electric chargers in the basement, as well as a landscape built into the facade so owners can have a small herb garden within reach of their kitchen. “There’s a proper cook’s kitchen to promote cooking, which we think is important to a happy life,” says Mills. “It’s well considered and designed to last. We are trying to create a community by introducing buyers to each other.” The seven-star rated building uses simple, pure choices of material. “Instead of being a plate glass wall, the exterior has a depth, the windows are brought in, there’s a lovely play of materials, textures and light. “I thought it could be interesting to position it as a multiresidential mansion,” he says. Each apartment has three bedrooms, plus living, dining and kitchen. The penthouse also has a separate study. “The building is designed for the client. When I explain that to them at our first meeting, you can hear the sigh of relief.” Mills says that at a time when apartment building standards are dropping, his firm is using old-fashioned procurement methods to get the best results. Construction on Hampden starts in July, with completion slated for July 2022. Apartment prices range from $3 million to $7 million. Meanwhile in Sydney, Rob Mills Architects is renovating one of Bronte’s oldest homes, which Mills says is quite a famous estate, refurbished back in the 1980s. “We are removing a lot of that work and returning it to its Victorian grandeur, and adding self-contained quarters at the back,” he says. “We have the most beautiful properties in Mosman, Bellevue Hill, Vaucluse and Point Piper – most of them are brand new designs.”
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From top: Living area, dining room and kitchen of architect Rob Mills’ $4.6 million apartment in Hampden, the luxury project he is developing in Armadale, Melbourne
THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
| MARCH 14-15, 2020
