Australia Pacific House also Custom Credit House, 136-144 Exhibition Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Total copies: 1
Title:
Australia Pacific House also Custom Credit House, 136-144 Exhibition Street, Melbourne
Creator:
Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 103623
Level of description:
Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
Type of materials:
Graphic materialsTextual material
Part of:
Series: Central City (BIF-CITY)
Access restrictions:
UnrestrictedOpen access.
Use restrictions:
UnrestrictedPlease contact City of Melbourne Libraries about obtaining permission to reproduce images.
General notes:
RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER 2021:Period: Post Second-WarConstruction date: 1976-8Notable features:1. Use of single span; moment section, reinforced concrete beams with integrated lighting/ air services..CONTEXT (WITH GJM HERITAGE) 2020, HODDLE GRID HERITAGE REVIEW.What is significant?The Former Australia Pacific House, 136-144 Exhibition Street, a multi-storey office building constructed from 1975-1978.Elements that contribute to the significance of the place include (but are not limited to):· The building’s original external form, materials and detailing· The building’s structural system· The building’s high level of integrity to its original design.Later alterations made at street level are not significant.How it is significant?The Former Australia Pacific House at 136-144 Exhibition Street is of historical and representative significance to the City of Melbourne.Why it is significant?Constructed from 1975-1978 to a design by McIntyre McIntyre & Partners, the Former Australia Pacific House has a clear association with the postwar building boom which transformed central Melbourne into a modern high-rise city. The design of these commercial buildings from the late 1950s to the mid-1970s – many of which were architect designed – was driven by the commercial demands and the prestige afforded by a dominant city presence (Criterion A).The Former Australia Pacific House is a fine and highly intact representative example of a Post-War Modernist building. The building strongly reflects the style which was popular in the 1960s to the mid-1970s, particularly in central Melbourne. Constructed as an 11-storey structure, the Former Australia Pacific House clearly demonstrates typical characteristics of a later postwar commercial building, including walls which clearly express the trabeated structural system with alternating horizontal strips of glazing and distinctive solid spandrels to the front and rear facades, as well as a grid of solid spandrels and round columns to the north, and the use of materials such as precast concrete. These demonstrate important aspects of the Post-War Modernist style (Criterion D).Primary sourceHoddle Grid Heritage Review (Context & GJM Heritage, 2020).CONTEXT (WITH GJM HERITAGE) 2020, HODDLE GRID HERITAGE REVIEWSITE HISTORYAustralia Pacific House was designed by architects McIntyre McIntyre & Partners for owners Australia Pacific Investment Corporation Pty Ltd (also known as Aust-Pacific Investment Corporation Pty Ltd), with construction from 1975-1978. The City of Melbourne received a building permit application for construction of a 13 storey reinforced concrete office building at 136-144 Exhibition Street in August 1974 (with an estimated cost of $3,132,000) (BAI; BAF; McIntyre). The building was designed for owners Australia Pacific Investment Corporation Pty Ltd, to serve as Australia Pacific House. In 1975, the beneficial owners Commercial & General Acceptance Ltd (CAGA) appointed Sapris Constructions Pty Ltd as the builders (Aust-Pacific Investment Corp still held the property in trust) (BAF). The structural consultants were Parkhill and Freeman (BAP).Commercial & General Acceptance Ltd (CAGA) was a national finance company established in the 1950s, sponsored by the CBC Bank Group (Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited). Associated companies included Commercial & General Insurance Ltd, CAGA Personal Credit Pty Ltd, and CAGA Acceptance Pty Ltd, amongst others (Sydney Morning Herald, 15 Nov 1960:31; CBC Officers Club). Contemporary newspapers addressed Commercial & General Acceptance Ltd to 136 Exhibition Street from 1979 to 1981 (may extend beyond 1981; not confirmed) (Age, 24 Fen 1979:83; 21 Feb 1979:49).Specifications dating to 1974 described the ‘eleven storey office building’, to be constructed of reinforced concrete, an indoor restaurant and outdoor garden court at basement level, a foyer and rentable space at ground level, rentable office spaces on the 1st to 10th floors and a plant room and roof area on the 11th floor (BAF). Architectural drawings dated 1974 and 1975 show the elevations and proposed basement and ground floor plans, with an east and west plaza at ground level and basement level garden court and restaurant (Figure 1 - Figure 6). Two photos show the building in 1984 (Figure 8 & Figure 9).McIntyre McIntyre & Partners, architectsMcIntyre McIntyre & Partners was established in 1962 as McIntyre, McIntyre & Associates following the merger of Peter and Dione McIntyre’s architectural practice with that of Peter’s father, Robert A McIntyre. From 1967 to 1972, the firm practiced as McIntyre, McIntyre & Partners, before changing to its current iteration, McIntyre Partnership. The amalgamation was a commercial move to gain larger commissions.Prior to this, Peter and Dione’s work involved small-scale domestic projects. Peter’s work in particular focused on the interplay of function and structure, where he experimented with cantilevered and tensile structures, and the Ctesiphon arch. He gained public recognition with the commission for the Melbourne Olympic Swimming Stadium (1952-6) in collaboration with architects, Kevin Borland and John & Phyllis Murphy, and engineer Bill Irwin.Following the McIntyre merger, the new firm designed a significant number of hotels and hospitality ventures (inherited from McIntyre Snr’s practice), as well as skiing and alpine architecture. In central Melbourne, the firm completed the innovative Kings Parkade car park in Little Collins Street (1966), and commercial office buildings including 170 William Street (1968),150 Lonsdale Street (1969), 178-188 William Street (1972-73) and Australia Pacific House at 136-144 Exhibition Street (1975-78). Other notable work included the adaptive reuse and conversion of the early twentieth century Henry Jones Jam Factory in Prahran into an up-market shopping centre (1974) and the design for Melbourne’s Parliament Station (1973-82)..REFERENCESContextual History references contained within City of Melbourne Hoddle Grid Heritage Review: Postwar Thematic Environmental History 1945-1975Architecture Australia (June 1990), ‘Peter McIntyre: RAIA Gold Medal 1990’.Building Application File (BAF), No. 44960 (1974), City of Melbourne.Building Application Index (BAI), City of Melbourne.Building Application Plans (BAP), City of Melbourne.CBC Officers Club, ‘CAGA’, <http://www.cbcbank.com.au/images/Matters%20of%20Interest/CAGA/CAGA.htm> accessed 23 January 2020.City of Melbourne Libraries online Heritage Collection, reference nos. as cited.Goad, Philip (1983), ‘Peter McIntyre: Early Work 1950 – 1961’ Investigation project, University of Melbourne, Department of Architecture,.Goad, Philip (2012), ‘McIntyre Partnership’ in Philip Goad & Julie Willis’s (Eds.) (2012), The Encyclopedia of Australian Architecture, Port Melbourne.Goad, Philip (2012), ‘McIntyre, Peter & Dione’ in Philip Goad & Julie Willis’s (Eds.) (2012), The Encyclopedia of Australian Architecture, Port Melbourne.McIntyre Partnership, ‘About’, <https://mcintyrepartnership.com/about-1>, accessed 2 July 2019.The Age.The Sydney Morning Herald
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1207974
| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 103623 | 1 PDF : 703 KB ; A4 | Group of Items (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |