Art Deco Buildings

[helen m]

one thing i noticed about melbourne is that there are still quite a few art deco buildings surviving and they are mostly in pretty good condition.  here's one i took a photo of, but i can't tell you what it is, 'cause i can't remember!  it might have been in lonsdale street, but i'm not sure.  can glen or someone else identify it?

[glen]

this one does not look familiar. let me think about it <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[helen m]

well, i was going through my photos and this looks like the same building from a different angle (and taken on a different day come to that!) - i must have found the building interesting if i photographed it on two different occasions.....

[glen]

hi helen, so do you still need help identifying the address? because there is the side street name on the wall but I can't quite read it. Perhaps you have a higher resolution pic where you can read the blue/purple sign?

[helen m]

well, i was going through my old photos last night (or was it the early hours of the morning?) and found the photo. i thought i'd post it to add to what i'd posted previously, but it was so far past my bedtime that my thought processes weren't working too well and i didn't follow up the question of the identity of the building until now. i did a quick google search and found that yule house is located at 309-311 little collins street, melbourne. the building was built in 1932 and is heritage listed.







i found a pretty good description of it on a site devoted to art deco buildings ( [url="http://artdecobuildings.blogspot.com/"]http://artdecobuildings.blogspot.com/[/url] ) which reads as follows:



"Yule House, designed by architects Oakley & Parkes, is a sweet little building in Little Collins Street, Melbourne. It was built in 1932 as can be seen by the year inscribed high on the facade of the building.



The building is primarily cream tiles with green highlights. The large metal frames windows stretch almost the width of the building which, to be fair, is not all that wide. The horizontal spandrels between each window sport three dark green 'speed lines'. The columns either side of the building are stepped back and draw the eye you to the asymetrical parapet.



There is a lot going on at the roofline. As I mentioned previously the year 1932 is placed in the centre at the top of the building. Either side of the year are 2 rectangular decorative elements making 4 in all. You can see that three 'speed lines' which reach right across the lower spandrels are interrupted on this level and only a short section can be seen on the right hand side.



On the left hand side the top of the three lines wraps further around the corner than the two below and this is mirrored in a fourth line which does stretch to the vertical column on the right hand side. That column is where the asymetrical nature of the building really comes to the fore. The column continues past the roofline to become the highest part of the building. The parapet then steps down to the left following the steps in the column itself.



[url="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3090/2323891502_b664a9be35_m.jpg"][/url]



Then there is a short horizontal section with a series of rectangular decoration with a final step down to the usual roofline. All this is underlined in green to match the lines on the rest of the building.



In a way the spandrel immediately above the entrance echos the very top of the building. The 'speed lines' are again interruped, this time by the name Yule House and there is a fourth line which cover the entire width of the spandrel. This spandrel serves as the base for the stepped vertical columns so unlike the top of the building the do continue to the very edge of the building and are much more visible on the right hand side. In turn, this bottom spandrel is supported by an arrangement of three stepped elements which not only step back towards the building from the street but also towards the edges of the building opening up the view of the windows and entrance.



[url="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2358/2323058205_8bac1cde00_m.jpg"][/url]



The windows are copper framed and a single door in recessed into the building leading to a small foyer. Yule House is again spelt out in the metalwork above the door.



I started by saying this is a sweet little building. It sure packs a lot of elements into a tight piece of real estate and it is only 5 storeys tall so it is all laid out before you from street level. I do love the New York skyscrpaers but this is a lovely human scale building and I think it is very special."

[helen m]

just found a great site for information on art deco buildings: [url="http://www.artdecoworld.com/melbcity1.htm"]http://www.artdecoworld.com/melbcity1.htm[/url]



it describes melbourne as "one of the world's largest and yet most under-appreciated Art Deco cities" and goes on to say that "melbourne's art deco buildings are generally of modest scale, in keeping with height restrictions that applied until relatively recent times; the city nonetheless boasts some noteworthy examples of the style - many of which survive in a state more closely approximating their original condition than similar buildings in sydney."



the site has photographs of the following buildings:

Century Building - 133 Swanston Street, Melbourne

230 Collins Street, Melbourne

Manchester Unity - 291 Swanston Street, Melbourne

Newspaper House - 247 Collins Street, Melbourne - detail of facade mosaic by Napier Waller

Coles Store No 12 - 299-307 Bourke Street, Melbourne

Myer Emporium - 314-336 Bourke Street, Melbourne

ACA Building - 118-126 Queen Street, Melbourne

Buckley & Nunn - 310 Bourke Street, Melbourne

Yule House - 309-311 Little Collins Street, Melbourne

Commonwealth Bank - 225 Bourke Street, Melbourne

Australian Natives Association - 28-32 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne

152 Bourke Street - 152 Bourke Street, Melbourne

94 Elizabeth Street - 94 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne

Carlow House - 289 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

Commercial Union Chambers - 411 Collins Street, Melbourne

Royal Bank Chambers - 287-293 Collins Street, Melbourne

339 Swanston Street - 339 Swanston Street, Melbourne

180 Bourke Street - 180 Bourke Street, Melbourne

155 Bourke Street - 155 Bourke Street, Melbourne

The Trustees Executors & Agency Company Ltd - 401 Collins Street, Melbourne

Presgrave Building - 275-277 Little Collins Street, Melbourne

Lonsdale House - Lonsdale Street, Melbourne

185 Little Collins Street - 185 Little Collins Street, Melbourne

Diamond House - Bourke Street, Melbourne

Mercy Hospital - 159 Grey Street, East Melbourne

Freemasons Hospital - 166 Clarendon Street, East Melbourne



gives me some more things to look for next time i'm down south!

[dct66]

Hi Helen



I'm thrilled you found my site [url="http://artdecobuildings.blogspot.com"]http://artdecobuildings.blogspot.com[/url] and I can help you out identifying the buildings in your photos. Obviosuly you know the second one is Yule House which is a very sweet little building.



The first building you posted is Lonsdale House. Also a great building. I did a blog post about it aswell because it is currently under threat from Myer's who are redeveloping their Lonsdale Street store and have earmarked this great building for demolishion. Hopefully it can be saved but it doesn't look good.



If you are interested in seeing some other Melbourne Art Deco buildings I've created a flickr group just for Melbourne Deco. ([url="http://www.flickr.com/groups/artdecomelbourne"]http://www.flickr.com/groups/artdecomelbourne[/url]). You'll notice I chose Lonsdale House as the icon for the group.



Also the most exciting thing to happen in deco Melbourne is less than a month away. The National Gallery of Victoria is putting on an Art Deco exhibition as part of its Melbourne Winter Masterpieces program. It opens on June 28 and goes until October. It will feature lots of items from the V&A in London plus a heap of Australian stuff. it is going to be bigger than big.



Cheers,

David

[POWERZONE]

[center]Art Deco Exhibition

28 June to 5 October 2008

Open daily 10am–5pm

Open until 9pm every Wednesday

Ground Level, NGV International

Admission fees apply...

[/center]

This winter 2008, the National Gallery of Victoria is the exclusive Australian venue for a major exhibition of the celebrated and popular style, Art Deco. The exhibition is the most popular program ever mounted at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, which houses one of the world's great collections of Art Deco. The exhibition comprises over 300 works and covers all artistic media from painting to photography, fashion to film and architecture to jewellery. Spanning the boom of the roaring Twenties and the Depression–ridden 1930s, Art Deco came to epitomise all the glamour, opulence and hedonism of the Jazz age. It was the era of the flapper girl, the luxury ocean liner, the Hollywood film and the skyscraper.



Art Deco burst onto the world stage at the 1925 Paris Exposition Internationale, and quickly swept across the globe. Its influence was everywhere: it transformed the skylines of the cities of New York to Shanghai and shaped the design of everything from fashionable evening wear to plastic radios. Its influence was felt across all areas of art and design, including decorative arts,architecture, fashion, art, graphics and film. The new aesthetics were also found in industrial design, furniture, transport, communications and in household items. Above all, it became the style of the pleasure palaces of the age – hotels, cocktails bars, nightclubs and cinemas.



Exhibition organised by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.



[url="http://ngv.vic.gov.au/artdeco/images/Cord_EXHI005283_600.jpg"] [/url] [url="http://ngv.vic.gov.au/artdeco/images/ADstrand_600jpg.jpg"][/url]





[url="http://ngv.vic.gov.au/artdeco/"]Source[/url]

[glen]

i was actually at the gallery on the weekend. they have some nice stuff in there. plus it was free which is always good!!! <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[glen]

Here are some pics from NGV. Plus one of me!!! <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[POWERZONE]

I'm just amazed at how accurate artists are with their work and how they can play with your imagination.



That one with you in it is interesting. Clever artist!

S/He managed to make it look like you're standing on the outside of the picture :lol:

[glen]

hahahah...well i would be even more impressed if they could make it look like i was inside the picture!!! lol