Repost 2015: The stylish 1965 TAA HQ in Franklin Street has just been #heritagelisted. One of dozens of buildings in the city north heritage study, approved by the #CityofMelbourne last year, just approved by the Minister. First #postwarhighrise to be independently listed by the City, and first office tower that isn't severely #modernist to be … Continue reading TAA, Franklin Street →

Repost 2017: The #PalaisTheatreMelbourne new enclosed #wintergarden / glazed lobby extension thing is finished - not awful, but sooo black, and oddly curved, the arches don’t extend out from the arched windows behind, so why didn’t they just make it straight ? and then you could see the tops of the arched windows behind (which … Continue reading Palais Theatre →

Repost 2019: Collins House, just finished, 466 Collins, #BatesSmart l, on top of the partly preserved #Huddartparker building - I’m quite surprised to see that the stepping back then forward again, normally a no-no, works in this case- prob because it’s such a high gap, and effectively puts the tower above the National Bank next … Continue reading Collins House →

Great #OldEnglish shops on Commercial Road near Chapel Street, recently sold for $9.8 mill to ‘Malaysian developers’ (I’m told it’s Buelah) - but they’re B graded in the chapel street #heritageprecinct, so pretty safe. Might replace the rear wings with 10 storeys, but the price reflects shop income I think. Can’t find much about them, … Continue reading More Tudor shops →

Repost 2017: A Gothic sandwich in Collins up from Queen. In the middle, Aldersgate House (originally Colonial Mutual Fire Insurance, dont know when it became Aldersgate), built 1924 designed by #sydneysmithoggandserpell which would have stuck out from lower stuff until the almost exactly matching #decogothic vertically striped blocks built either side- Trustees Chambers, #AandKHenderson on … Continue reading Gothic x 3 →

Repost 2017: #RoyalExhibitionBuilding looking fine in the #eveningsun. When I first saw the #historicphoto with a lake I thought ‘there’s no lake there !’ but there is, though pretty sure it was overgrown until recently (?), but certainly looks smaller than in 1880. Architect #ReedandBarnes, garden #WilliamSangster.

So the @cityofmelbourne has created a Design Review Panel, who are going to provide advice on selected projects, hopefully improving them in some way - there’s 10 members and 18 experts, lots of great names, can’t fault that, but remains to be seen what kind of improvements they might actually generate - the size and … Continue reading City of Melbourne Design Review Panel →

Repost 2019: South Melbourne Woolies, opp the market - I think it’s the combo of giant bulk and cheap looking glass and detailing that makes this one so …..urgh. The ‘streetscape’ part, that is the first two levels with a variety of looks, is ok, but the rest ! Good to have a local giant … Continue reading Spotlight on South Melbourne →

Repost 2017: The #HorticulturalHall, 1873, designed by #WilliamEllerker, with a front office section added later in 1878 (also Ellerker?) faces the heavy traffic of #VictoriaStreet opposite the Carlton gardens. Back in the days before tv, every interest group had a hall, and the #RoyalHorticulturalSociety was important enough to get this prominent spot, and counted luminaries … Continue reading Horticultural Hall →

Rather unexpected to find this in a reserve in Essendon West ! (and thanks to @alisonmp for the pics). This was built as the Infant Welfare Centre in 1963 - the City of Keilor Engineer Garnet Price thought up this solution for the uneven ground, taking his cues from some of the 1950s experiments with … Continue reading Space age community centre in Essendon →