Architecture News Plus (ANP) – Architecture and Design Magazine

Monaco House

This is a project by McBride Charles Ryan and it is located at Melbourne, Australia. Project's program: Café on ground level, two levels of office and small reception area on top level. There are fifteen images for Monaco House.

: © John Gollings / GollingsPidgeon

Project details

Project name: Monaco House
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Program: Café on ground level, two levels of office and small reception area on top level
Area: Site Area: 102.5 m2 • Floor Area: 400 m2
Year: Design: 2005 • Completion: 2007
Project by: McBride Charles Ryan
Team: Principal Designers: Robert McBride, Debbie-Lyn Ryan • Project Team: Drew Williamson, Adam Pustola, Fang Cheah
Others: Building Surveyor: PLP Building Surveyors • Structural Engineer: VDM Consulting Engineers • BuilderL Easton Builders • ESD Consultant: Cundall Johnston + Partners • Fire Safety Engineer: Lake Young & Associates • Quantity Surveyor: Construction Planning + Economics

Project images

Designer's statement

This four storey building located in a largely pedestrian lane (Ridgway place) at the East end of Melbourne’s CBD. Dominant in the lane is the historic Melbourne Club wall and the gigantic plane trees emanating from the Melbourne Club Garden.

Our brief was to provide a ground level entry and café, followed by two levels of office. The top level contains a small reception area primarily for official functions associated with the client’s role as Honorary Consular of Monaco.

Within the office large apertures to the west are well shaded by deep balconies and the adjoining plane trees. The workspace has good natural light and cross ventilation. Outdoor balconies and the 'green-roofscape' provide areas of release from the office desk. The building is an essay in fine grained urbanism, it seeks to talk about its consular role as well as to enhance to pedestrian experience of the city.

From a technical point of view the complex geometry and use of materials such as Glass Reinforced Cement and its structural support demanded sophisticated use of 3D software and integration of those techniques with the off site production. This project may have brought us a small step closer to the ideal where our CAD software can integrate with production and enhance diversity, complexity and apparent craft without large cost impost.