This year, after six months of increasingly desperate searching, we moved into Katsalidis new St Leonards Apartments at St Kilda, and I can report on a limited road test basis. On December 22 at midday, sun did not enter the living spaces. On June 17 at midday, it flooded them. Two neighbours have held parties only when doors were opened were we aware of these. Others feel the same responsiveness in the quietly recessive interior spaces.
Light changes the qualities of the rooms as the day passes.
We are plugged in to one of Melbourne s most vital strips, even if existing habitu s grumble about gentrification. Car parking and storage are secured in a semi-basement. Gardens or generous terraces are provided to all. This last was a recurring nightmare at the UIA s 96 conference in Barcelona in July. Professor Leon van Schaik, Dean of Environmental Design and Construction at RMIT, wrote from Europe after the UIA s Barcelona conference, for which he helped to plan the program.