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Major Research Assignment: 40% of total assessment          Semester 1 2015

Modern Times:

Modernism and Modernity in Australia

This is a research and writing assignment. It is structured in two sections.

The learning objectives for each section are:

Part One: developing research, citation and information organisation skills.      DUE: Friday April 24, 9am

Part Two: developing understanding and academic literacy, including essay writing, critical analysis and graphic communication skills.                                                                                    DUE: Friday May 22, 9am

 

                                                           

Frederick Romberg                                                                     Gert Sellheim                                                                              

Stanhill Apartments, Queens Road, South Melbourne.             ‘Australia For Sun and Surf’ poster, 1931

Designed 1942. Built 1948 – 50                     More info: http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=391676

More info: http://modernismus.wordpress.com/modern-idea/

http://modernismus.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/img_542313.jpg

http://images.powerhousemuseum.com/images/zoomify/TLF_mediums/297798.jpg

Submission process:

Include this cover page and fill in your student details.

Both MRA Part One and Part Two should be submitted online into the MRA Forum in your studio group.

You will receive feedback via email for MRA Part One. This will help you to complete the work for Part Two.

NB: Avoid plagiarism – that is the copying or summarising of other people’s writing or ideas without proper acknowledgement of your source in endnotes and bibliography. Plagiarism will be severely penalised.

 

Student Name: _____Laurence C Anderson_________________________

 

Student Number: ______4914457______________________

 

Option Chosen: 1 / 2 / 3 (please circle)

 

Tutor’s Name: ______Karen Fermo_______________________

Interwar Period Modernism in Australia – Portrayed Through Architecture

20th Century Design – DDD10001 – Laurence Anderson – 4914457

On this web page, I’m researching modernism, modernization and modernity in Australia through 1919-1939, focusing on the development of architectural styles in Melbourne.

I will be giving a brief history of Melbourne of the time then delve into the three main styles of architecture of the time (Edwardian, Art Deco & Streamline) and the growth between these.

Modernism, modernization and modernity are three key terms that can be chiefly associated with contemporary design; The Oxford Dictionary defines contemporary simply as, ‘following the latest ideas’, however when looking through design history these terms lend themselves to much higher significance.

Modernism on it’s own is hard to define; the common ideal throughout most modern design looks to innovate & to reject traditional techniques, materials and concepts. Modernity is merely the quality or condition of being modern, it’s thinking, working and living in a contemporary way.

Modernism is usually anti historicist, highly functional and designed for mass production using new materials and techniques.

Modernization is probably the most relevant of these terms for the period In Melbourne, between the first and second wars; modernization was the process of looking forward not back, through adopting modern design principles and techniques and applying them to every day life.

Australia grew to become more sophisticated and was seeing it’s societal norms changing, gone were the days of the pre war depression. In the post WW1 landscape, modernist design, especially that for architecture, played a huge role in the regeneration and growth of the country. After the war, Melbourne the newly named National Capital became a beacon of hope for Australians. The new Australian lifestyle had been shaped and became much more modern.

After the First World War, with a much less restrictive immigration policy, Melbourne experienced its fastest and largest population boost since the gold rush era of the 1850’s, one of the largest in the world’s history.

These new immigrants were brought predominantly from southern Europe like Italy & Greece, but also from the war-scarred countries from all over Europe. This arrival of immigrants dramatically altered the cultural landscape of Melbourne and with them they brought much wealth and prosperity to the city.

In particular, the time between the to world wars saw Australia become a country engulfed by social change driven by design, which had become a very significant factor in the evolution of the times. This social change was happening mainly from the experimentation of upcoming modernist designers.

So modernist architectural design in Australia develops from the Edwardian style, into Art Deco and refined through Streamline Moderne.

Classic Edwardian

Thanks to the Victorian Gold Rush in the 1850s and the land boom of the 1880’s, large parts of inner Melbourne had a markedly classical architectural character. Through The Arts and Crafts movement and the emerging Art Nouveau style the classical influence prevailed throughout Melbourne architecture, most markedly neo-Gothicism marked the Edwardian period. Classic facades characterized the style of the time, red-faced brick rendered brick and intricate stonework.

The classic Edwardian style can be defined by a number of key elements and principles; Buttresses and gothic pointed arches to express the structural engineering upon which the style was based, complex tracery and stained glass windows, Intricate stonework and a plentiful variety of ornament.

One of Melbourne most recognizable Edwardian building is that of St Paul’s Cathedral. Designed by William Butterfield to be constructed in sandstone masonry combining early English and decorative gothic styles.

St Paul’s Cathedral, View From Flinders St

A Number of elements apparent at St Paul’s cathedral reflect strongly on the classical/neo-gothic revival before WW1.

The first striking feature is that of the slender spire protruding from the roof, this is called “Fleche” which translates loosely from French to “arrow, and often uses thorny like stone crafted protrusions and intricate detail which gives the building a grand scale and signifies importance.

Among the other grand buildings of the time, St Paul’s cathedral remained unusual due to its limestone and sandstone construction. This resulted in its warm yellowy-brown appearance, which juxtaposed with the characteristically cold dark blue stone of Melbourne’s other buildings.

When looking from inside we also a wide array of stained glass windows of all sizes and shapes, which both adds ornamentation but lets in natural light.

St. Paul’s Cathedral, Interior

We also see in the above photo the use of Gothic arches, which were used at the time to express the engineering feats.

Until the First World War, the classical style design was very popular, with people looking back into the past in order to portray grandeur and purpose. But after the First World War, and the depression in Melbourne, the designers and people were looking toward a better future instead of harping on the past, and this characteristic of looking forward was the driving force behind modernism in Australia.

Inter War Period

The interwar period in Melbourne, from 1919 to 1939 saw a rapid and grand emergence of the newer and more modern design styles in response to the war and the great depression, Styles of this period included art deco, Moderne and functionalist.

Moving from the classical styled buildings of the past, the designers of the time who were styled, influenced and schooled by Europeans and the modernist movements of the wider world.

The two main Melbourne specific movements were Art Deco & Streamline Moderne, and Important remaining buildings include the Manchester Unity, Shrine of Remembrance, Century Tower, former National Bank of Australia, Nicholas Building, T&G buildings and Myer, Port Authority, Yule House, Regent, State and Capitol Theatres.

Art Deco

Possibly the most influential interwar design movement in Australia, and Melbourne in particular was Art Deco which reached it’s apex of popularity between the two world wars.

Art deco was a globally prevalent style influencing all aspects of life For example, interior design, fashion, industrial design, cinema, graphic arts and most importantly for this research, architecture.

Art Deco gets it’s name from a large exhibition held in Paris in 1925, the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels. The long-winded French title was later condensed to the more appealing title we recognize today which is defined by Rich colors, bold geometric shapes and extravagant ornamentation helped along by the dawn of mass production and consumerism.

Art deco, although developed in Europe was extremely influential in North America, and associated with the booming cities, soaring skyscrapers and new transport of the major cities in North America like New York. It’s remembered for its opulence in the style of 1930’s Hollywood films.

Due to enforced height restrictions in Melbourne, it’s Art deco buildings are generally of more modest scale than those overseas, however they are still however remarkable examples of the style. One of the buildings in Melbourne that still shows these remarkable art deco elements is the Manchester Unity Building.

Manchester Unity Building, Swanston Street, Melbourne

The Manchester unity building shows a vast number of traits strongly centered in art deco. We first look to the stepped façade, which is the epitome of the art deco style that is shown here in the foreground. Another very art deco element is the use of bold geometric patterns, this time shown by the glazed terracotta façade, another new and commonly used material in the art deco world.

Manchester Unity Building Foyer

What we see when we look inside the first floor is the bold colors and metal elements. New industrial processes in the early 20^th century made different alloys like aluminum that were economical to use on a larger scale. The reason metals were used in art deco designs was to highlight certain areas and to add vivid colors to heavy masonry through the buildings.

Another very important element to any modernist design is that of light, and the incorporation of light in is all due to new and improved glazier techniques along with steel frames able to hold the large windows in place. The essence of art deco is encapsulated by the designer’s use of line, usually shown in vertical orientation, which is plain to see throughout the façade of the Manchester unity building.

Streamline Moderne

^  Mitchell House, Elizabeth Street, Melbourne. ^

Harry Norris

Sometimes mistaken for art deco, buildings with a streamline modern style came into prevalence in Melbourne before the outbreak of World War 2. Although some elements of streamline Moderne do correlate with those of art deco, there are a number of distinguishing elements that will juxtapose it with those of art deco.
Streamlines beginnings were about simplifying forms and fitting them to maximize function. The look was unmistakable, it consists of machine made and a streamline aesthetic that looked to the future and celebrated the latest in production line items like cars, motorboats and trains.

These production line items can are referred to using smooth exterior wall surfaces, porthole windows and subdued colours that were typically light earth tones or variations of white.

When looking into streamline moderne design in Melbourne one name kept popping up, Harry Norris.

Harry Norris, an Australian designer from Melbourne was one of the most prolific commercial architects in the interwar period. Most of his works were inspired by his regular overseas trips to observe current architectural trends, mainly to the United States, which was exhibiting strongly streamlined designs at the time.

One of the most prominent of his commercial buildings is Mitchell house, Mitchell House is a six-story reinforced concrete commercial building on Lonsdale Street in Melbourne.

Mitchell House

Throughout the facade it’s easy to see the extremely streamlined and horizontal orientation of the building, the round smoothed concrete gives the illusion of a grand ocean liner.

The light cream Colour pallet with the dark highlights is also very reminiscent of the style.

Another important element in streamline moderne is that of flat rooves sometimes surrounded by metallic coping, like you can see at the top of mitchell house.

We see throughout the building the use of the smooth exterier wall surfaves which are used to portray the looks of ocean liners at the time which were sleek, stylish and fast.

As with the art deco buildings, though the refinement of techniques and materials, large steele framed windows are able to be constructed giving an immediate look of modernity from the outside while also allowing maximum natural light into the building.

Mitchell House Sign

Streamline Moderne overall intended to portray an impression of speed and efficiency and the importance of depicting the new ultra-fast technology.

Modernist designers in Australia throughout the interwar period were looking to build a better future for their country in the wake of the First World War and the depression. An international movement, modernism in Australia looked to capture the possibilities of the new 20^th century through modern materials, techniques and styles.

Bibliography

Art Deco Society of New York. (n.d.). What is Art Deco. Retrieved 19 April 2015, from http://artdeco.org/what-is-art-deco

Building, M. U. (2011). HISTORY. Retrieved 18 April 2015, from http://www.manchesterunitybuilding.com.au/manchester-unity-building-history.html

Canberra House. (2011, April 26). Inter-war art deco architecture. Retrieved 19 April 2015, from http://www.canberrahouse.com/2011/04/26/inter-war-art-deco-architecture/

Carr, A. (2004). St Pauls Cathedral – North Aspect & Spire. Retrieved from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Ac.stpauls1.jpg

Craven, J., & About.Home. (n.d.). Art Moderne House Style. Mid-Century Architects Go Mod. Retrieved from http://architecture.about.com/od/periodsstyles/ig/House-Styles/Art-Moderne.htm

Fishlock, S. (2011). Neo-Gothic Style Profile. Retrieved 17 April 2015, from http://www.walkingmelbourne.com/style_info2.html?style=1

Fishlock, S. (n.d.). Interwar Buildings (Searching) – Buildings [Walking Melbourne]. Retrieved 22 April 2015, from http://www.walkingmelbourne.com/search.php?period=13

Grow, R. (2014). Melbourne Art Deco. Australia: Brolga Publishing Pty.

Hemmings Daily, & McCourt, M. J. (2014). When Art Deco is really Streamline Moderne. Retrieved from http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2014/05/29/1930s-auto-design-art-deco-and-streamline-moderne/

Jirousek, C. (1995). Art Deco. Retrieved 22 April 2015, from http://char.txa.cornell.edu/art/decart/artdeco/artdeco.htm

St Pauls Cathedral. (n.d.). Pic – Interior St. Pauls. Retrieved 15 May 2015, from http://s3.media.squarespace.com/production/674592/8019199/2010/07/interior_st-pauls-cathedral_melbourne_2438.jpg

Stephen, A., McNamara, A., & Goad, P. (2007). Modernism and Australia: Art, Design and Architecture 1917-1967. (A. Stephen & P. Goad, Eds.). Australia: Melbourne University Publishing.

Visual Arts Cork. (n.d.). Art Deco Design Style: Origins, History, Characteristics. Retrieved 22 April 2015, from http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/art-deco.htm

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Interior_of_st_pauls_melb02.jpg. (n.d.). St Pauls Cathedral – Interior.