Footscray Psychiatric Hospital now on the VHR.

Original post 23 May 2020

Photos July 2019

We won! The @heritagecouncilvic agreed that #FootscrayPsychiatricCentre, completed 1977, designed by James Fong within the #PublicWorksDepartment, is a worthy addition to the state register, both as a good example of #Brutalism (couldn’t get more Brutal actually, though always designed to be screened and softened by native trees) and representative of the move in psychiatric care from the huge old institutions (like #Willsmere) into community short-stay facilities attached to hospitals. I helped with the research, finding a couple of interesting books describing the whole deinstitutionalisation process which started in the late 50s, and comparisons with other Brutalist beauties (this was I think inspired by the library at UNSW 1967-78). But really it was the dogged determination of @brutalistcharm that has led to this ! And the backing if the @nationaltrustvic. Let’s just hope it finds a new use now that the entire hospital is moving, rather than the Minister signing it to oblivion in the name of a cleared site.