20 September 2016

Saunders House, Gatehouse Street, Parkville, 1962. Pretty much the first example of what the 1950s English exponents meant by #brutalism, turning away from slick #modernism to the honest use of materials and bold simple forms. So we’ve got lots of exposed concrete brick walls, and the tall #skillion roofs, and the #verandahs and slate roof were intended to evoke the #terracehouse context of parkville, making it a very early example of #contextualism too. Due to Council restrictions, he had to set back on both sides, they wouldn’t allow a new terrace house ! It was built by and for architect-academic-historian David Saunders, one of the first to specialise in Australian architectural history, first at Melbourne uni, then Adelaide, where he became a respected academic. Heritage Victoria recently rejected it for the register, citing the internal plasterboard over the originally exposed second hand brick walls inside, but still, it’s way early ! But yes, originally not only exposed finishes, but it had an open plan feel, with curtains instead of doors and low partitions in the bedrooms (more like cubicles for the 4 kids), all now gone. It’s pretty much surrounded by planting now, softening the hard lines. First two photos State Library, not sure where I found the interiors. Update 2024: it was sold in 2016 (pics 6 onwards, real estate), and @kennedy_nolan did a scheme for extensions (last pic), thankfully didn’t happen. Meanwhile it didn’t have heritage protection, too modern and so ‘ungraded’ in the 1980s heritage studies, but Parkville has just been reviewed, so it’s now ‘significant’ in interim controls, in the process of full approval. Phew !

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