3 October 2024
I first posted the amazing interior of the 1996 Paramount Centre in Bourke Street in 2015 on Instagram then again in 2019, finding new delight in it. Now an updated post because other people now like it too – @memo_review has just published an article on it, a testament to the questions that arise from it, such as who was the quite unknown architect Chris Ng ? But mainly, why is it so over the top ? No answers there, except that it’s peak Postmodern, with multiple references; I’d say outside its Art Deco, Sant’Elia 1910s Futurist / FLW and Mario Botta stripes and arches, inside its Vienna Sezession, grids, faux marble, ‘specular reflection’ (ie mirrors), and columns that might not be columns. But I particularly like the levels that overlap, interconnected by stairs and escalators at various angles, making for complex and fun navigation. The article also notes the all Asian food court is popular, with no chain outlets, the apartments spacious by today’s standards, and the place features in skateboard videos, and a @garden_state_journal video. No heritage listing and not likely to be for some time, since the City of Melbourne’s recent big review of the CBD stopped at 1977, and didn’t include interiors.
Repost 2015:
#TheParamount #bourkestreet, view of east side from russell st. Such a perfect rendition of 80s #postmodernism though dating from 1996. Sort of #artdecorevival #mirrorglass verticals. Im getting to like it, though on this side an ugly gap in the street was created for the carpark entry. Built by Malaysian interests, architect possibly Christopher Ng. At the rear there’s the #facade of a 1907 warehouse on #littlebourkestreet. The site was a large carpark in the 70s with a cinema centre later plonked on top, a #boglebanfield design, developed by Banfield himself, the carpark king of Melbourne in the 60s and 70s till he went bankrupt in 76.
26 March 2019:
therebedragons ! The Paramount in #BourkeStreet was built in 1996, designed by #ChristopherNg, for Chinese Malaysian timber interests; the #dragon is just behind a preserved Edwardian facade on the #LittleBourkeStreet side, and it’s a very Edwardian #terrracotta one, but larger, more elaborate, long tail, and looks inward, I suppose to ward off evil of some sort ?? @ The Paramount Retail Centre
Storey of Melbourne 