The conventional wisdom about social housing says it should be tenure blind – anonymous, unobtrusive, nothing to see here. Viv's Place asserts the opposite. While the need for security is paramount, a great need for these residents is pride – not invisibility; a sense that this is my home, that I own and it’s as good (if not better) than what's across the road.

Viv's Place is Australia's first purpose-built permanent supportive housing for women and children escaping family violence – people who would otherwise become frequent clients of services for homelessness, health, mental health and justice. The model was inspired by Manhattan’s Sugar Hill project which has helped thousands of people out of homelessness for more than 30 years and adapted for the Dandenong context through seven years of research and consultation with Launch Housing, Uniting Vic.Tas, and the women who would eventually live here.

The architecture follows from that consultation directly. The exterior design draws on the tradition of wrought iron and cast metal balustrades in Victorian homes – filigree patterns of plants, flowers, growth and life that mask the building's basic function of security and privacy. The patterns were modelled in 3D and printed onto the aluminium facade, creating something ornate and robust at once. Traditionally, patterns like this feature in spaces of rest – pavilions, verandas, pergolas – places of quiet sanctuary. Inside, shared spaces include a lounge, kitchen, family games area and children's spaces, alongside consultation rooms for legal, financial and medical services. The corridors read as family hallways; the back garden has a barbecue, a garden shed, and a veggie patch.

In every sense, Viv’s Place looks and feels like what it is. Home.