March 2026

So I won’t mind a bit when/if this one gets demolished – it’s in Dorcas Street South Melbourne, and it’s actually of some importance as the first high-rise tower built by the Housing Commission, completed in 1962. Designed by Bernard Evans, towards the end of a long career, its possibly in slip-form, a groovy new way of building concrete towers back then that never took off.

Not sure if this one uses precast panels, but probably, theyre quite flat and featureless, one reason it looks so bad – not helped by the grey colour scheme trying to enliven it. The balconies also look a bit rusty up close.

It’s on the demo list like all the others, but no scheduled date yet. Last year they demolished the walk-ups next door, which were just like one the left across the street (pics 7), pretty cheap looking, and steep stairs to boot. The empty site is going to be 131 new social homes, twice what was there before, construction to start this year (?), but surprised only that many – room for a tower here, why not 20 storeys, with lower round the edges, maybe some private ? Then replace the old tower with another one. If the new towers in Carlton are anything to go by, they might look much the same as the existing one, but nicer.

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