Acacia Place, Abbotsford, by developer Hamton features sculptural artworks for the community to enjoy outside the buildings.

MELBOURNE’S booming development and new housing industry has been a driving force for the Victorian economy for a while now.

And it appears to be spilling over into some unexpected areas — including Victoria’s artistic community.

Mars Gallery operator Andy Dinan has partnered with several developers and connected many others with artists to create unique aspects and collections for apartment projects around Melbourne in recent years.

The demand is so high she has appointed a staff member full time to help curate and plan the artworks for developments, and developers now account for half of the gallery’s funding.

This cardboard sculpture titled The Relic by artist and short film animator Daniel Agdag will feature in the Library of Gamuda Land’s 661 Chapel St development.

“I now see it as the biggest benefit I can contribute to my artists,” Ms Dinan said.

“It changes the life of the artist, as it’s usually a big site and they have a decent budget.

“It used to be very much that you would have a star landscape designer or a big name interior designer, but a lot of developers are now saying they want a particular artist to work on a development with them.”

The process has evolved, with many developers originally approaching Ms Dinan looking for street artists to decorate the side of a building.

“We are now dealing with a younger group of developers that understand about space making, not just plonking,” she said.

“They look at it as something that will be around for a long time and they want something that will have an edge throughout that time.”

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One of her latest projects will be a series of artistic elements to be situated throughout Gamuda Land’s 661 Chapel St development in South Yarra.

The impressive entry at 661 Chapel St will be enhanced with steel sculptural work.

Gamuda Land chief executive Ngan Chee Meng said their latest project, 661 Chapel St, South Yarra, had been designed with a nod to the area’s prestigious property market and its artistic and creative community.

“We have gone a step further in our homage by enhancing our common areas through a collection of artwork sourced from a local gallery, Mars Gallery alongside other international brands such as Lalique and renowned artist Damien Hirst,” Mr Meng said.

“The artists represented by Mars are household names in their own right, and investing in their artwork, while not only supporting the local communities, also creates value and investment growth to us and our community.”

Botanical studies by French-born photographer Fabrice Bigot will be placed in select locations around the 661 Chapel St development.

A steel sculptural design by respected sculpturist Matthew Harding will welcome residents and visitors at the front of the development, while botanical studies by Fabrice Bigot will be found throughout.

Local name, Daniel Agdag will also have a presence with his cardboard sculpture The Relic to be installed in the development’s library.

A render showing the library planned for 661 Chapel St by Gamuda Land.

Mr Meng said there were also commercial aspects to the inclusion of art in a project.

“Attention to detail, such as through a well curated artwork package, is highly valued by customers as it creates greater confidence in our work and brand,” Mr Meng said.

Hamton, a developer with projects across Melbourne’s inner suburbs, won the Best Contribution to Urban Art, 2014, from the City of Port Phillip for its Fifty Albert development in South Melbourne.

Fifty Albert, South Melbourne, by Hamton received an accolade for its artistic components — primarily a winter garden scene etched into its bluestone walls.

The project featured a cherry blossom display in its lobby that was highly visible from outside, but it was the etching of a winter garden into a bluestone wall within the Fifty Albert complex that won the accolade.

The eye-catching cherry blossom set behind a glass-walled facade at Fifty Albert provides further visual appeal to the area.

However, one of the most significant impacts on a local community was achieved by the public realm artworks at Acacia Place, according to Hamton managing director Matt Malseed.

“I lived at Acacia Place for about three years after Eden was finished and watched people pulling their cameras out to take photos of the art, which shows the value those spaces can add,” Mr Malseed said.

“And it contributes to the sense of community and place at the development, you have a place where people will stop and look and talk and discuss whether they like it or not and it increases the interactions between people — whether they are visitors or residents.”

Acacia Place, Abbotsford, by developer Hamton features sculptural artworks for the community to enjoy outside the buildings, including Inspector by Daniel Agdag.

He added that many councils now asked developers to include urban art where their projects featured public realm spaces.

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The more proactive ones were working closely with gallery operators and council art advisers to find emerging local artists, he said.

“We specifically look for emerging artists,” Mr Malseed said.

“That means we can get better value for our money, but it also means we are helping someone get their career started or establishing themselves.”

A light wall at the Eden apartment complex by Hamton in Abbotsford was designed specifically by artist Priscilla Bracks to give the complex appeal at night.