Description

Bills Street delivers 206 new social and affordable homes across a precinct of six buildings in a unique Melbourne suburban setting. A tenure-blind approach seamlessly integrates the public and private dwellings to create a diverse and unified residential community.

The masterplanning strategy by Hayball seeks to create a community-focused precinct. Buildings are distributed amidst cross-site pathways and attractive pockets of outdoor space, providing opportunities for residents and neighbours to connect and engage with each other.

The built form is deliberately varied to increase residents’ sense of address, allowing for an undulation in scale from larger buildings at the centre of the site to smaller buildings at the edges to reflect the street character. Shared green spaces in the form of courtyards, podiums, terraces, and ‘lobby’ spaces between buildings act as the connective tissue that binds the site.

The project offers a welcome example of how successfully a new community can be created from scratch in scenarios where precinct-scale design strategies are thoughtfully applied, and the diverse needs of future residents and the surrounding community are taken into consideration.

What's On

Tours will focus on the architectural and landscape design as well as the drivers for delivering this significant social and affordable housing project. Homes Victoria will provide background to the Victorian Government’s Big Housing Build objectives in designing and developing the project. Design leads from Hayball will take visitors through buildings and a range of outdoor spaces. Housing Choices Australia will articulate the community-building approaches enabled by the built environment and thoughtful landscaping.

Children's Activities

Playground on site

In Collaboration With:

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  Hayball

  Hayball is a national architecture practice focused on culture, community, and learning. Through research-led, user-centred design, Hayball creates sustainable spaces across sectors where people live, work, learn, and play. Their inclusive process ensures diverse voices shape the vision for impactful, future-ready environments that benefit both people and the planet.

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  Housing Choices Australia

  Housing Choices Australia is a national not-for-profit housing provider delivering high-quality, affordable housing to people on low to moderate incomes and people with disability. We believe everyone deserves a safe, comfortable, and affordable home in a community where they feel supported, included, and connected.

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  Homes Victoria

  Homes Victoria is a state government agency that leads the design, development and delivery of housing and homelessness programs, policies and initiatives across the state to ensure all Victorians have access to safe, secure and affordable housing.