The Eaves West Village

The Eaves is a three-storey retail and restaurant destination, and a series of urban commons. The Eaves’ design challenged the client’s brief to create a gathering place, or hub, for people as part of the development’s commercial community. While the design underpinned the client’s values, it went beyond the brief by creating more than a building. It created a civic connector.

The Eaves―a name conceived by the architects―communicates the design provocation to reorient the site to engage and enfold the wider neighbourhood. As the last piece of architecture in a developing precinct, The Eaves is the ‘knuckle’ in the development, contributing to the civic fabric of the place and enhancing the entire site.

A timber superstructure and brickwork screen façade reflect its industrial past and direct view lines to the external streetscapes, creating a legible edge to the adjacent green space. The brick screen provides a permeable edge of the building, filtering light to the tenancies behind and providing shade for people gathered in the subtropical heat. The screen’s intricate brick mosaic is an elemental construct that reimagines the masonry façades of the neighbouring heritage buildings. In deference to the historic brickwork, the custom-designed frits mimic the mortar joints, establishing a dialogue between contemporary architecture and materiality of the past.

Client's Statement Founded in Japan in 1960, and having built over two million homes worldwide, Sekisui House is one of the fastest growing community developers in Australia. Our core values in sustainable urban development – social, environmental, economic and residential value and incorporating the Japanese philosophy of ‘Satoyama’, informs our decisions when designing and creating communities that connect people with ribbons of green. The Eaves is a bespoke building that, in its material simplicity, generosity towards the surrounding landscape, and homage to the site's built and social heritage perfectly embodies our focus on creating communities that improve with time and last for generations.