First posted Instagram 28 February 2020 A bit of fun design from @johnwardlearchitects; the angular brick I mean #bricktile entry to the office block he designed plonked on top of the #ElmsFamilyHotel. I like it, though better in matching #redbrick like the old buildings either side, and like the little industrial bldg it replaced. In … Continue reading John Wardle in Spring Street →

First posted Instagram 27 February 2020 The Anglican Mission To The Streets And Lanes in Spring Street was treated much better than the #ElmsFamilyHotel by the @australianunity office thing; they just took out a back corner (a kitchen) and kept the rest of it more or less intact, though I didn’t get to see the … Continue reading Spring Street Mission House done over first time in, well, maybe forever. →

8 Nov 2019 😮 not a fan; but if you’re going to cantilever, at least do it a long way up and make it look like a hanging part of the building, not a whole building leaning out. That angling inward bit is unfortunate, and wasn’t meant to be there, it was just going hang, … Continue reading 80 Collins Street new tower →

First posted Instagram 28 February 2020. Poor ole 1925 #ElmsFamilyHotel, got #heritagelisted but not before plans were already underway to build something big on top (by @johnwardlearchitects), so it was mostly demolished - but Im pleased to see they actually kept one internal wall complete with with lovely blue #pubtiles - BUT they made the … Continue reading Elms Family Hotel →

First posted 9 November 2019 #MelvilleHouse, one of the few big houses/terrace houses built for the medical profession in the 19th century, when the #parisend was the Harley St of Melbourne. They were built for Dr Ray in 1881, and designed by #NathanielBillings, in a fairly elaborate #RenaissanceRevival. They were knocked over her and shops … Continue reading Victorian townhouses in the Paris End, an early conservation win. →

First posted 9 November 2019 #ProfessionalChambers in #CollinsStreet has a rather nice entry (but they could have thought of a more inventive name!). For a while I thought maybe it wasn’t worthy of the VictorianHeritageRegister, I mean it’s a very nice example of #TudorRevival, but there are plenty of them, though maybe not so many … Continue reading Edwardian Tudor in Collins Street. →

First posted 10 November 2019 George + Powlett in #EastMelbourne just finished, 11 apartments, I assume luxury ones, designed by #PowellAndGlenn (#AllanPowellArchitect) replaced a rather daggy 70s brick motel. I quite like it, a rather severe channeling of #YunckenFreeman, complete with basement flats facing into an ‘area’ as seen in #1MacarthurStreet. Could have done with … Continue reading Refined contemporary in East Melbourne →

27 January 2020 A lesser known work by the great Ermin Smrekar, better known for the Veneto Club and fisherman’s pier restaurant in Geelong. For the early 80s medical suites building at St Vincent’s Hospital he went a bit Deco, with a curved corner (with subtle #speedlines) vs side corners that curve upwards. And the … Continue reading Ermin Smrekar In Fitzroy →

I’ve got a thing for this kind of American barn shape; it’s also more or less the ‘Rescode’ envelope, which architects hate but I like - even though it’s at odds with most streetscapes - maybe because it represents #goodneighbourliness ? allowing sun to penetrate next door, which it does in this case, at 90 … Continue reading Rescode townhouses St Kilda →