Tuesday, 10 May 2011

Blogs


Modernist Australia

Modernist Australia is a group created for the preservation of mid century architecture.  Unhappy with the destruction of mid century architecture in favour of ‘overbearing statements’ this group blogs about architecture they both like and despise.  They have a great link to a real estate page that allows you to view houses on the market all around the country that were designed and built in the ‘modernist’ theme and an information page for viewers looking to renovate an existing home.  While not strictly a 1950’s Melbourne theme, it does have some relevant information and photos.

 



Daniel John Photography

This is a blog written by a Melbourne photographer named Daniel John Bilsborough.  He walks around Melbourne taking photographs of the city and its suburbs.  Not all his photos are of 1950’s buildings, not all his photos are even of buildings, but it’s a nice record and his photos are quite lovely.  His blog is usually updated once a week after his ‘weekly walks’.  Looks like anyone’s welcome to join him if you’re interested.



 

Podcasts


Late Night Live: Robin Boyd's The Australian Ugliness 50 years on

ABC Radio National's Late Night Live's program that commemorates 50 years since the publication of Robin Boyd's The Australian Ugliness. Guests Gideon Haigh, author and journalist; Margaret Featherston, designer, colleague and friend of Boyd; Phillip Goad, Boyd expert and Director of the Melbourne School of Design at Melbourne University.


60min, full program, no transcript




By Design: Featherston House

ABC Radio National's By Design program visits the house Robin Boyd designed in the 1960s for designers Mary and Grant Featherston, with Mary Featherston a guest on the program. The house is located in Melbourne's Ivanhoe and is occasionally open to the public via the Robin Boyd Foundation's Open House Program.


60 min, full program download, Featherston House is the second segment; no transcript



The Book Show: Writing on Architecture

On ABC Radio National's The Book Show, prominent Australian author David Malouf talks to Ramona Koval about writing about architecture and place, the importance of good architecture to humanity and developments in the 50 years since Robin Boyd's The Australian Ugliness.


21 min, program segment, no transcript.

Journal Articles

Architect Victoria
Former Kodak Site, North Coburg

The article in the journal Architect Victoria gives the reader a history of a site in North Coburg bought by Kodak Australasia during World War 2.  It details the architect, the buildings to be built and the order of construction, and any relevant details pertaining to the design and construction.  It also gives an overview of the appearance of the buildings and supplies photographs and drawings of the site.  



Transition: Discourse on Architecture
1956 Melbourne, Modernity and the XVI Olympiad, Museum of Modern Art at Heide  

A brief journal article looking at an exhibition which focused on Melbourne in 1956 when the Olympics came to town.  Discusses the city’s first sky scraper built in 1956 but is really a critique on the art show itself.  Has a photograph of the ICI House, the skyscraper built in 1956.  This article tries to highlight the way in which the Olympics changed Melbourne for the better.




 

Exhibitions

Desire and identity: The architecture of Chancellor and Patrick  

Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery (16 February - 26 April 2011)

This exhibition detailed the practice of Chancellor and Patrick, significant but relatively little known domestic architects whose focus was on the Melbourne region’s Mornington Peninsula. The exhibition revealed their work publicly for the first time, curated by Dr Winsome Callister who personally catalogued the firm’s archives, and provides a unique perspective into the post-war era’s vital and optimistic coastal modernism. Catalogue essay available from Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery.



Research Collections

Frederick Romberg Collection 

RMIT Design Archives, Design Research Institute, RMIT University


Arguably the most significant of Melbourne’s forgotten modernist pioneers, Romberg has no major public buildings to remind us of him, after being excluded along with Robin Boyd from Roy Ground’s National Gallery of Victoria. However Romberg’s archive gives us an insight not only into the elegance of his domestic buildings, many of which were collaborations with Boyd and Mary Turner Shaw, but stunning works by leading mid-century Australian photographers, Wolfgang Sievers, Mark Strizic and Max Dupain. Original drawings by Romberg and his collaborators, along with this remarkable photography collection are held by the DRI and will likely be exhibited in the RMIT Design Hub upon completion. Contact Prof. Harriet Edquist, Architecture & Design (harriet.edquist@rmit.edu.au) for research inquiries.







Architecture and Planning Library Rare Materials Collection 

University of Melbourne Library

Melbourne University holds significant original materials relating to modernist architects who worked locally, including art work, scrapbooks and commercial post-war housing catalogues. Additionally there is an extensive collection of uncatalogued photographs. Significant architectural materials are housed within the university library’s Rare Materials Collection. The Library encourages the wider community to access its cultural collections, and requests can be made in person at the Architecture and Planning Library, Parkville campus.



Thursday, 5 May 2011

Web Documents

Statement of Significance (PDF) for ICI House


This is a web based document concerning ICI House in East Melbourne. Search for various documents through the website of the Australian Institute of Architects.

AIA Link
Type 'ICI House' in search box to access PDF file.



Modern in Melbourne

This is an e-document that contains articles, resources, archives and links covering Melbourne architecture from 1930-2000. It is somewhat clumsy to navigate but an extraordinarily comprehensive resource.



Monographs - Books


Jennifer Taylor Tall Buildings: Australian Business Going Up 1945-1970

An excellent resource that puts the entire Mid-Century era into a specifically Australian context and features a chapter each on two very important buildings in this style in Melbourne: ICI House and BHP House.


WorldCatLink

Trove Link

Karen McCartney 50/60/70 Iconic Australian Houses

A coffee table book of short descriptive essays and lavish colour photographs that focus on fifteen Australian modernist houses from the 1950s to the 1970s, including houses by Robin Boyd and Roy Grounds.


TroveLink


Norman Day Heroic Melbourne: Architecture of the 1950's


A short colour volume that serves as an introduction to Melbourne architecture of the 1950's. While the book is quite old (1995) it provides a succinct and focused introduction to the topic.


TroveLink


Philip Goad Melbourne Architecture


This book traces the history of Melbourne architecture from 1835 to the present, by examining the most significant buildings of various periods. It features two chapters that are relevant for those interested in modernist architecture, ‘Postwar Recovery (1945 – 1955)’ and ‘The Contemporary City (1955 – 1970)’.


TroveLink




G. Wilson & P. Sands Building a city: 100 years of Melbourne Architecture

This book is intended as an historical record of 100 years of Melbourne architecture, and although the 100 years mainly focuses on pre World War II, it does  include several relevant decades.  Very much a historical text, it gives detailed building plans for Melbourne and the outcomes of such plans.  This book is ideal for someone interested in both the history of Melbourne and its architecture. 
 TroveLink

P. Bingham-Hall Austral Eden: 200 years of Australian Architecture

This book looks at what the author classes as the best Australian architecture in the last 200 years.  There are many photographs covering architecture from settlement to the present day.  Again, far more broad than mid century Melbourne, but a relevant resource none the less.
TroveLink

R. Apperly, P.L. Reynolds & R. Irving A pictorial guide to identifying Australian Architecture: styles and terms from 1788 to present

Details the different architectural styles used in Australia from 1788.  The book is broken up into six sections, the most relevant section for us being Post-War Period c. 1940-1960.  This period is presented in four different ways including a descriptive essay with photographs, a variety of photographs looking at buildings from across the country, more detailed photographs with emphasis on the aspects of the building relating to the relevant style,  and finally a summary of the building’s design and construction.  Again, this book is not exclusively about Melbourne, but does contain several  buildings of relevance.

TroveLink

Online

Australian Dictionary of Biography

An excellent and authoritative resource on prominent (deceased, unfortunately) Australians in various fields.


ADB Online



The National Trust Register Online

Search for buildings, or parts thereof, that are protected by the National Trust. This includes Mid-Century buildings in Melbourne (for instance ICI house).






Walking Melbourne

Find out more about the history of Melbourne and the architecture to be found here through the decades. The Walking Melbourne site gives you plenty of backgroud information and photographs plus the addresses of the buildings so you can see them for yourself.






Modern Times Flickr Group

This group was set up by the Powerhouse Museum who staged the exhibition 'Modern Times' in late 2008. It can take a little digging to isolate the photos of mid-century modernism, as many contributors have posted photos of more contemporary examples of modernism, but there are some gems to be found. Look for contributions by username 'roryrory'.




Modernism in Australia Google Map

A very useful reference for anyone wanting to do a self-guided architectural tour of Melbourne. All entries, include the name of the building, the year it was built and the architect. Some also link to other useful information.



Survey of Post-War Built Heritage in Victoria

Stage One (2008), Heritage Alliance for Heritage Victoria, Department of Planning and Community Development, State Government of Victoria.

A detailed report completed in 2008, with the aim of assessing post-war architecture for inclusion in the Victorian Heritage Register, it provides a huge wealth of easily accessible online data. Relating to specific sites across the state, it includes an array of Melbourne buildings within a huge scope of architectural purpose, from the residential and commercial through to designs for the military, farming and public utilities.

Survey of Post-War Built Heritage in Victoria



Researching Buildings and Houses

Paul Dee, State Library of Victoria

A research guide designed for accessing architectural materials within the SLV’s collection, it functions as an excellent starting point for research into specific buildings. Individual Melbourne residences as well as major modernist practitioners, are covered in the collection, and with this guide especially easy access to such figures as Grounds, Romberg & Boyd is provided for. Another useful reference explained in the guide is the Melbourne University Architectural Collection, which was donated to the SLV and consists of thousands of architectural drawings, such as the likes of Burley Griffin’s Capitol Theatre.



Researching Buildings & Houses




Register of Significant 20th Century Architecture Australian Institute of Architects: Victorian Chapter While a fairly narrow list given the wealth of forgotten modernist architecture in Melbourne and Victoria, it does highlight some little known but exceptional sites, particularly within the residential sphere. Mostly useful as a departure point for further research, some buildings on the list do include detailed citations, with an emphasis on what aspects of the designs merit their inclusion. The Register also provides an interesting insight into what contemporary architects value about the city’s built heritage.


Register of Significant 20th Century Architecture



The Robin Boyd Foundation

The online home of the Robin Boyd Foundation, which was founded in memory of the celebrated Modern Melbourne architect Robin Boyd. It contains information about the Foundation, which aims to "continue the work and spirit of Robin Boyd through an active, innovative and ongoing series of public learning programs developed to increase individual and community awareness, understanding and participation in design", as well as the Boyd Open House program, a seminar program (that takes place in Boyd's Walsh St house) and other events.






The Robin Boyd Foundation home The Robin Boyd Foundation on Facebook

Picture Australia

This site set up by the National Library of Australia has thousands of photos sourced from many different participating databases.  This is an extensive collection featuring photo’s from all over Australia covering many different topics. The search function allows the user to search by relevant topic.  There are many photo’s of buildings in Melbourne and by selecting the relevant thumbnail, details of the building, such as construction date, will appear.


Picture Australia

Photography

The Laurie Richards Collection

The image below is part of the Laurie Richards Collection at Museum Victoria. The collection consists of thoussands of photos taken by Laurie Richards Studio during the 50's, 60's and 70's.According to the Museum's website the studio was a leading commercial photographic studio in Melbourne and the collection would be of great interest to anyone wanting to see some of the changes. The Museum itself describes this collection as "an invaluable record of Melbourne's commercial and industrial past and as such gives an insight into the social history of that period".