1UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE
CROSS-SECTION
Issue No. 97
An old rifle range near Roseville NSW is being converted into a £180,000 documentary film studio for the use of Aust'n Commonwealth Film Unit. Scheduled for completion in March next year the bldg incorporates a 2 storey admin'n
& production block, sound stage, 2 small theatres, garages &
stores. (C. Dept of Work, arch'ts; G. A. Cleary, bldr.) (( Work started on the new Govt Printing Office bldg at Kingston—a Canberra suburb. Expected to be complete by 1963, this single storey structure is the 1st of a 3 stage development designed to cater for staff & equipment expansion up to 1985. (C. Dept of Works, arch'ts; E. S.
Clementson Ltd, contrs; Cost: £3,179,413 first stg).
Photo: Wolfgang Stever., This is B'NAI B'RITH, a Jewish Lodge in Hotham St, St Kilda, Vic. Approached from an impressive ground floor lobby the main Assembly Hall at upper level seats 350.
It is the firs+ stage of a larger development which will incorporate a library, offices & conference rooms at rear of the site. Reinforced Conc frame const'n has in-fill panels that create a variety of textural effects. The copper sculpture in front is a modernised version of 'the seven arm candelabra'—an ancient Jewish symbol. (Dr. Ernest Fooks, arch't; L. U. Simon, bldr; Max Lyle, sculptor; Cost, 1st stage, £8,000)
RAIA's NSW Chapter has awarded the 1959 Sir John Sulman medal & diploma to the Melb firm of Grounds, Romberg & Boyd. The award was made in recognition of the merits of the Aust'n Academy of Sciences bldg in Gordon St, Canberra.
11' "St. Malo", one of Syd's finest old homesteads at Hunter's Hill has been saved from complete demolition.
It will now be systematically rebuilt on a nearby site. Its removal from the present location has been necessitated in order to make way for approaches to the new Lane Cove bridge.
Photo: Max Dupain
November I, 1960
Photo: Max Du pain This is "Liner House'', Aust'n HQ's for the Wilh. Wilhelmsen Shipping Agents, recently completed in Bridge St, Syd. A prestige bldg, it exhibits a consistently high design standard reflecting in no small measure the total freedom given to the arch'ts by the clients. The owners were successfully persuaded against erection of a limit height structure—a decision based largely on aesthetic grounds, but also influenced by the small site (90' x 45'). Quiet & well- mannered, the bldg is one of Syd's best recent examples of this type. Remarkable for the set back from the bldg line
& the sun-control louvred hoods at each floor, the street elevation shows an unusual quality of peace & repose. The sun hoods are accessible through a sliding panel on each level & are fitted with ladder tracks for cleaning glass. The structure is steel framed with reinforced cont rib floors spanning 35 ft. It is comprehensively serviced with air- conditioning, telephone & power grid in the floor. A dis- tinctive screen in the main entrance foyer (see left) is the result of close collaboration between its designer & the arch'ts. Its many & varied shapes formed in brass, copper, aluminium & stainless steel are supported on a structural frame from the floor above. The delightful colours resulting from the heating of the metals have been allowed to remain, giving an effect of sombre richness, lit quietly by day &
dramatically by night. The pieces, however, though interest- ing in themselves, largely fail to add up to anything unified.
The overall impression is no more than a collection of fas- cinating fragments. In fact the view is better from the mezzanine looking out, as there is less distraction from people being close behind it. (Bunning & Madden, arch'ts; Robert Wall & Sons, bldrs; Douglas Armand, designer of foyer screen made by Vesley Metal Products.)
If
Messrs Gilbert Herbert of Johannesburg & Torben Schiett from Denmark have been appointed reader & lecturer respectively in Adelaide Univ's Dept of Arch & Town Planning.I! WA's Local Gov+ Minister Logan has approved a reduction in the min'm ceiling height of homes from 9' to 8'. The decision now brings 8 ft min'm ceiling hts in all the states except SA where it is still restricted to 8'-6".
Work started on a 60 bed hostel bldg — Ist stage of the new township of Khancoban, 17 miles from Corryong Vic.
Situated on the base of the Great Dividing Range, Khanco- ban has been promoted by the Snowy Mountains Authority which intends to make it a residential & official HQ's. Ex- pected to develop as a tourist attraction, its 4 year pro- gramme envisages bldg of 300 homes, camping accommo- dation for 1,000 & a civic centre that includes shops, public hall, professional rooms, public services & recreational reserves. (Yuncken, Freeman Bros, Griffith & Simpson, consult'g arch'ts & T Planners; Architon Const Co, bldrs for hostel; £74,000.)
A "non-profit" private bldrs group has offered to build about 400 flats at a cost of about £2m on 5 acres of re- claimed slum area at N Melb. The same group has already built 108 flats in a scheme promoted by Vic Housing Commission (C-S June '60).
An argument between Melb City C & former firm of arch'ts (Perrott, O'Connor & Osborne) over a bldg that will never be erected has been made the subject of private arbitration. Final fees of £5,300 have been claimed in the dispute that started in 1949 when the firm won a Corn.
petition conducted by the Council for a suitable develop- ment plan for the Western Market Site. These were shelved & later dropped by the Council. Last year, it issued a 99-yr lease on the site to Underhill Invest't Pty Ltd for erection of a 28-storey bldg costing £9m (C-S July '60).
Work has begun on an 8 storey £IZm Custom Credit Corp'n Office bldg in St. Kilda Rd, Melb. (R. S. Demaine, Russell, Trundle, Armstrong & Orton, arch'ts; E. A. Watts, bldgs.)
A £41m International Airport is to be built at Mange:e, Auckland NZ, to handle large modern aircraft on world flights. Auckland Harbour Board is handling the project.
A 120,000 sq ft Dept Store will be built at Brookvale, NSW, for David Jones Ltd. This will form the cornerstone of a £l+m shopping centre. Hooker-Rex Pty Ltd (a div of L. J. Hooker Invest't Corp'n) will develop the 26 acre site. (Alexander Kann & Ass'ts arch'ts.)
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This is 'Kinkabool', Surfers Paradise's 1st multi storey home unit bldg recently completed in Hanlan st. (CS—Mar '60).
The 9 flr structure is supported by a 2ft thick r.c. raft slab;
incorporates shops, car park & 34 luxury flats with ample, not quite private, deck space for sun bathing & relaxation. (Lund, Hutton & Newell, arch'ts; Anthony Tod, eng'r; John D.
Booker Constn, bldrs; Units priced from £5,400 each).
If Nth Syd C has approved amended plans for a 10 storey commercial bldg, a 24 storey block of flats & a 3 storey hostel to be buil+ over & around Nth Syd Railway Stn.
If A contract valued at over £Zm has been le+ for the construction of a new School of Graphic Arts—Ist stage of a planned programme of development of Syd Tech College. The 6 storey bldg features louvred alum'm sun control shutters & black mosaic tiles on the external columns.
(PWD arch'ts; W. B. & F. D. Rudd, bldrs).
IT A new 13 storey block of 23 flats is to be built on Mounts Bay Rd, Perth next to Jacob's Ladder, by fhe A.M.P. Society. The £400,000 bldg will rise alongside the cliff-face of Mt. Eliza. A 120 ft long footbridge will link the top storey with Mt St & Kings Park. (Krantz & Sheldon, arch'ts).
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Arch't Albert W. Ross, 29, has won 1960 RAIA's Robert& Ada Haddon Scholarship. An ex Melb Univ graduate, Mr Ross submitted the winning entry in a competition for design of a block of separate title flats.
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Mr. Noel L. Lyneham, 37, has been selected as the next executive director of Melb's City Development Ass'n. He was one of the 52 people who applied for the post after the resignation of Mr. R. A. Gardner.Photo: A'elaide Advertiser This is Hotel Australia, Adelaide's new £650,000 bldg which opened its doors to guests recently. Located on an elevated site in Nth Adelaide the hotel commands magnificent views of the city & foothills of the Torrens Valley. This 7 storey structure has been erected in a record time & is SA's Ist to use lift slab method of const'n. 7 r.c. floors (each 9"
thick & weighing 250 tons) were poured one above the other & left to cure over the Xmas vac'ns before lifting operations started early this year. Finished externally with glass mosaic tiles & painted cement blocks, the bldg appears quite effective & neat from the South. But far from being consistent, the designer—when it came to East, West & North—seems to have really let his hair down.
Here is a mixed bag of projections, cantilevers, flues &
balconies crowned with what looks almost like an after- thought—a dining room enveloped by different coloured glazing & a double butterfly roof. Viewed from a distance the jagged outlines of the new bldg compete unhappily with the city's fine old Romanesque St. Peters Cathedral. Once inside, the visitor gets a pleasant surprise. Natural colours of fine marble, timber & metals admirably match well selected furnishings & rich tones of carpets. Interiors are spacious & airy with bed rooms planned on the 'Statler' principle (bath rm on the corridor & a small passage leading into a comparatively quieter bed rm). The hotel, however, is not without its share of poor planning. The service lift, for instance, is somewhat unhappily sited. It is not unusual to find top dining room waiters carrying food up the lifts used at the same time by hotel guests. (Lucas, Parker &
Ptnrs, arch'ts; S. J. Weir Pty. Ltd., bldrs).
Photo: Day This Woollahra Old Peoples Centre is indeed one of the most unfortunate bldgs erected during recent years in Sydney. Staggeringly inept, its rather pathetic emphasis on struct'I grandeur is only matched by complete lack of appreciation either of site or arch'I problems involved.
(Steven Kalmar, designer; built by day labour, with Ralph Symonds Pty Ltd, as main sub-contrs; approx £14,000) if In the report on Chadstone Shopping Centre last month CS overlooked 2 consulting firms who had been ass'td with the project. They are J. L. & E. M. Daly, Struct'I engr &
W. C. Jewell & Ass'ts, meth engrs. The omission is regretted.
If NSW State Cabinet has decided to amend the Local Govt Act to speed up decisions on town & country planning schemes. The proposed changes will simplify procedure for town planning local areas, increase planning authority of local councils & reduce the functions of Cumberland C. C.
"The period between the start of a scheme & the Minister's final approval now averaged 10 years," remarked one Cabinet Minister (P. D. Hills) while outlining the 20 odd necessary amendments.
Photo: Vic. Housing Commission If A letter from Syd on slum clearance published in CS last month brought the following reply from Melb Arch't Grahame Shaw, who says: "lt appears that the writer does admit there are slums & slums. He lives, he says, 'if not actually in, at least on the fringe of, a slum area'. I think he would agree that it is not sensible 'to spend some money making them (i.e. substandard houses) better from a sanitary or constructional point of view', particularly where houses such as these from Richmond—an old Melb suburb—are concerned (see above).
lt
is this kind of housing which predominates in the areas proposed for redevelopment in Melb. No doubt there is a great need for more research into the social & economic factors of slum reclamation;but the Minister can hardly be accused of 'rushing in with vast cure-all schemes' when it is considered that the present programme calls for action on no more than approximately 10/0 of MeIb's sub-standard housing—and that too, spread over a period of 10 years. We are often wont to forget that our cities are being continuously torn down & rebuilt.
One unfortunate trend of recent years, in both Melb &
Syd, has been the acquisition & demolition of large houses on extensive grounds in the intermediate suburbs. These are then replaced by flats designed primarily to take full advantage of building regulations. The process results in the removal of many fine bldgs with long years of life still in them & the wholesale destruction of the very charac- teristics which make these suburbs so popular to live in.
In the meantime, slum areas, many of which occupy prime situations, continue to degenerate for want of a plan which could allow the assembly of the many small plots in slum areas into what could be termed as a useful sized site capable of comprehensive redevelopment. The present pro- gramme claims to be no more than just such a plan. Its success or otherwise, when translated into actual living environments, will depend to a large extent on the effective- ness of the leadership & sagacity of the architectural &
planning professions, both colectively & individually."
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A town planning scheme providing zones for industry, residential & rural development of Traralgon Vic has been approved by Governor in Council.This Kindergarten at Erindale SA (see below) lives up to the usual high standard of its designer & is remarkable for its low cost—achieved largely through imaginative use of materials. These have, invariably, been left in their 'natural' state. The advantages of this practice are doubtful in SA where the harsh climate results in their rapid deterioration.
Built up of 'foam cont' floors & 'Besser block' walls, all its exposed timber members are 'Oregon' finished with marine varnish. 'Woodtex' (compressed pinus shavings) forms the ceilings & 'Flintkote' roofing is applied directly to this with a final covering of aluminium paint. (Brian Claridge, arch't;
Alan Tosolini, bldr; Cost: £6,134 for approx 22 sqs.)
Photo: Ingerson-Arnold
DUNLOP RUBBER FLOORING
AT THE NEWS FRONT
Big buildings make news. Especially a £1,000,000 building where news is made, like Adelaide's top construction project
the 12-storey Advertiser newspaper building.
And right at the nerve centre where press and people meet — the ground floor public hall — Dunlop contributes to this notable structure.
Where a quiet and long lasting floor was essential, hardwearing Dunlop Rubber Tiles were laid.
After a year of service, the newspaper itself reported 'a remarkably quiet atmosphere' in the busy public offices of the Advertiser Hall.
ARCHITECTS: WOODS, BAGOT, LAYBOURNE SMITH AND IRWIN. BUILDERS: WILCKENS AND BURNSIDE LIMITED
DUNLOP FLOORING SERVICE
MELBOURNE: Dunlop Floorings Pty. Ltd., 96 Flinders Street, Melbourne. MF 0371 SYDNEY: Dunlop Rubber Australia Ltd., 27-33 Wentworth Ave., Sydney. 2 0969 BRISBANE: Dunlop Rubber Australia Ltd., Centenary Place, Brisbane. 31 0271
PERTH: The Dunlop Flooring Centre, 473 Murray Street, Perth. 213085 ADELAIDE: The Dunlop Flooring Centre, 131-133 Pirie Street, Adelaide. W 1647
HOBART: Dunlop Rubber Australia Ltd., 27 Argyle Street, Hobart. 2 6581
LAUNCESTON: Dunlop Rubber Australia Ltd., 18 Paterson Street, Launceston. 2 2067 3932
