December 2018:

This grand frontage of the Gordon Institute in #Geelong was created in the late 1940s, and designed my fave architect #PercyEverett. He was tasked with added a Textile School to the college, so of course took the opportunity to mark his mark, so the addition has a pair of tower elements, and elaborate stairs up to it as well, all a bit classical but also modern. And a bit unnecessary since the main entrance is on the other street, and this side the road actually goes down under a bridge, so not very convenient.

It goes back a long way, a long rank of vertically grouped windows lighting the labs. He also co-opted the earlier building next door, by continuing the lower rustication bands and adding a matching classical bay on the far right, making his vertical entry thing the prominent part of a larger ensemble.

That older part was built in two stages, firstly the Edwardian Baroque Lascelles Chemistry wing, built 1922, by Geelong architects Laird & Buchan. The round corner Bostock Memorial wing was added in 1928 in matching style. There’s now an extra floor on them which ruins Percy’s effect a bit.

@the_gordon has lots of old pics, including Percy’s first sketch showing it one floor lower than built. Various reports say his wing was completed in 1949, but I found a magazine article from 1947 with photos showing it complete, but then official opening wasn’t till 1951.

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