Provident Life Building, 37-41 Queen Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Provident Life Building, 37-41 Queen Street, Melbourne
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Date of work:
1985
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BIF-CITY 108061
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Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
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Graphic materialsTextual material
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Series: Central City (BIF-CITY)
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RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER 2022:__________________________________________________DATE: 1936-1937;ASSOCIATIONS: Provident Life Assurance Company Ltd;DESIGNER: Eggleston, A S & R A;BUILDER: Thompson and Chalmers Pty. Ltd._________________________________________GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYStatement of SignificanceHistoryThe former Provident Life Building, it was designed in 1937 by architects AS & RA Eggleston and attracted the attention of Robin Boyd ('Victorian Modern') as an example of the turning point from the all pervading commercial classical revival towards the international Modernistic manners of functionalism (here showing perhaps Wright's influence as well). Noting with approval the plain spandrels, regular and continuous window strips, free internal planning and bright and colourful interior, Boyd queried the need for the 'weighty pi-sign' applied to the otherwise strictly functional elevation, seemingly as a semi-decorative gesture. It was also clad with stone.DescriptionAlthough it still possessed the implied classical podium (high ground level, separately expressed), the austerity and functional nature of the façade above resembled on the one hand, the later column and spandrel-born elevations of the 1960s and, on the other, the reversion to massive pseudo-structural expression used in the late 1960s, early 1970s commercial designs (MMBW Building). It was neither a revival or after the expressive Moderne style as seen at Alkira House, Queen Street. Instead, it foreshadowed (particularly the south face) the later preoccupation with regular fenestration based on the structural grid and the shunning of all classical trappings such as implied cornices (the corner piers bypass the almost floating ''cornice'' and hence do not support it), architraves and punched fenestration. Another adventurous attribute was the full-height glazed screen set inside the otherwise monumental ground floor lobby which apparently achieved near invisibility, forsaking the heavy surrounds typical of the period.External IntegrityGenerally original, air units addedStreetscapeIt adjoins the two slick curtain walls built 200 years later after the dictums explored by this building and hence it relates to the regular geometry of their elevations.SignificanceRecognised as one of the influential few pre-war proto-Modern commercial multi-storey designs_________________________________________GRAEME BUTLER & ASSOCIATES 2011, CENTRAL CITY (HODDLE GRID) HERITAGE REVIEWStatement of SignificanceWhat is significant?The former Provident Life Building was designed in 1937 by architects AS & RA Eggleston as part of the ongoing boom in insurance architecture within Victoria from the Edwardian-era into the inter-war period; Melbourne was then the financial capital of Australia.Built on the north-western corner of Queen Street and Flinders Lane, this limit-height headquarters building for the Provident Life Assurance Co. at 37-41 Queen Street consists of twelve storeys and a basement. Bounded by streets on three of its four sides, much was made of the opportunity for natural lighting in the building's planning. All services suchas lifts stairs, ducts and lavatories were placed on the attached north wall thus dispensing with light courts and maximising the lettable floor area. The structural beams were designed with particular care to permit the future installation of air conditioning ducts without interfering with the ceiling levels.The Provident Life Building attracted the attention of architectural critic and award winning designer, Robin Boyd in his `Victorian Modern' (1947) as an example of the turning point from the all pervading commercial classical revival towards the international functionalism (here showing perhaps Frank Lloyd Wright's influence as well). Noting with approval the plain spandrels, regular and continuous window strips, free internal planning and bright and colourful interior, Boyd queried the need for the `weighty pi-sign' cornice applied to the otherwise strictly functional elevation; and it was clad with stone. Boyd also commented on the glass entrance screen which gave a sense of transparency with the building name on the wall slipping through from inside to out. The reason that Boyd's comments are significant are that along with his mention of Barnetts Building and McPhersons in Collins Street, the Provident Life Building was seen as one of the few commercial buildings constructed during the 1930s to employ the visual and functional principles of European modernism.Although it still possessed the implied classical podium (high ground level, separately expressed), the austerity and functional nature of the façade above resembled on the one hand, the later column and spandrel-born elevations of the precast facades of the 1960s and, on the other, the reversion to massive pseudo-structural expression used in the late 1960s, early 1970s commercial designs (i.e. MMBW Building). It was neither a revival or in the expressive Moderne style as seen at Alkira House, Queen Street. Instead, it foreshadowed (particularly the south face) the later preoccupation with regular fenestration based on the structural grid and the shunning of all classical trappings such as implied cornices (the corner piers bypass the almost floating `cornice' and hence do not support it), architraves and punched fenestration. Another adventurous attribute was the full-height glazed screen set inside the otherwise monumental ground floor lobby which apparently achieved near invisibility, forsaking the heavy surrounds typical of the period.How is it significant?is significant historically and aesthetically to the Melbourne Capital City ZoneWhy is it significant?The Provident Life Building is historically and aesthetically significant for its recognition as one of the few influential pre-war proto-Modern commercial multi-storey designs in Melbourne's Capital City Zone.The Provident Life Building was one of a small number of commercial buildings in the Capital City Zone constructed during the 1930s to employ the visual and functional principles of European modernism which in turn reflects the general trend towards emphasised verticality in a number of city buildings in the 1930s, notably HW and FB Tompkins' Myer Emporium and Marcus Barlow's Manchester Unity and Century Buildings. While the polished granite facing and abstracted neo-classical podium of the former Provident Life Building creates a formal elevation to Queen Street, the Flinders Lane elevation is articulated by a simple repetitive rhythm of piers and spandrel panels more typical of 1960s high rise construction. Open planning, the evident flow of interior to exterior space achieved through the use of a large glass entrance screen placed midway across the entry, and the provision of space for future air conditioning are further significant features of the building.Historically the building is evocative of the boom period of insurance buildings in the Capital City Zone during a time when Melbourne was the financial capital of Australia._________________________________________Central City Heritage Study Review 1993: appendix 4:`Statement of SignificanceThe former Provident Life Building, 37-41 Queen Street, iS of architectural significance at a state level as one of the few commercial buildings in the CAD constructed during the 1930s to employ the visual and functional principles of European modernism. Designed oy architects AS and RA Eggleston and built in 1937 the piers of the extended portal frame on Queen Street facade reflect the general trend towards emphasised verticality in a number of city buildings in the 1930s. notably HW and FB Tompkins's Myer Emporium and Marcus Barlow's Manchester unity and Century Buildings The polished granite facing and abstracted neo-classical podium of the former Provident Life Building creates a formal elevation to Queen Street. while the Flinders Lane elevation is articulated by a simple repetitive rhythm of piers and spandrel panels more typical of 1960s highrise construction Free interior planning. the flow of interior/exterior space through the use of a large glass screen placed midway across the entry, and the provision of space for future air conditioning are further significant features of the building.'`History & Description:Built on the north-western corner of Queen Street and Flinders Lane, the limit-height headquarters building for the Provident Life Assurance Co at 37-41 Queen Street consists of twelve storeys and a basement. Bounded by streets on three of its four sides, much was made of the opportunity for natural lighting in the building's planning.' All services such as lifts stairs. ducts and lavatories were placed on the north wall thus dispensing with light courts and maximising the lettable floor area. The structural beams were designed with particular care to permit the future installation of air conditioning ducts without interfering with the ceiling levels.The external appearance of this high-rise office building caught the attention of critic Robin Boyd in 1947 when he commented favourably on its 'direct and unassuming'' expression of structure but questioned the weighty pi-sign of the Queen Street facade The piers of the extended and obviously attached portal frame sitting above a podium of polished granite facing indeed gave the building a formal air but also alluded to the general trend in 1930s city buildings toward an emphasised verticality. The Flinders Lane façade was much simpler and was a direct expression of repetitive piers and spandrel infilll panels. This treatment predated the same articulation of high rise buildings that was to become popular in the 1960s. Boyd also commented on the glass entrance screen which gave a sense of transparency with the building name on the wall slipping through from inside to out. Indeed the reason that Boyd's comments are significant are that along with his mention of Barnetts Building and McPhersons in Collins Street, the Provident Life Building was one of the few commercial buildings constructed during the 1930s to employ the visual and functional principles of European modernism.Designed in 19363 and butt in 1937, this building adjoins and complements two curtain wall buildings designed some twenty years later. The Provident Life Building also completes the corner to create a minor precinct of modernist urban design in Melbourne.The architects for the Provident Life Assurance Building were the father and son partnership of AS and RA Eggleston (later to become Eggleston McDonald and Secomb in the early 1950s) At the time of the building's completion in 1938, Alec Eggleston was President of the Royal Victorian Institute of Architects. While son Robert was writing about the design of the 'The Modern Office Building'4 for his professional colleagues. Clive Steele was the consulting engineer for the building.' The cost of works was £69000. 8In 1936, tenants included the E.C.Fowler & Co. (basement), Provident life Assurance Co (Ground & 2nd Floor); Messrs. A. Gordon Allard & Co. (2nd Floor); Workers Compensation Board, Messrs Samar) and Mogg (3rd Floor), S. Lie (4th Floor); Commonwealth Institute of Accountants (5th Floor) V P Williams, NV Nixon & Co and Store for National insurance of New Zealand (10th floor), with a caretaker's flat on the 11th floor.'Footnotes:1. 'Provident Life building' RVIA Journal March-Aprl 1938. p 8.2 Robin Boyd. Victorian Modern p 553 Building Permit N' 17744. 14 9 19364 Robert A Eggleston, 'The Modern Office Building' RVIA Journal. March-April 1938, pp5-85 Building Permit No 17744 File Correspondence.6 Building Permit No 17744. 14. 9. 19367 Ibid.'_________________________________________RAWORTH, B 2002. REVIEW OF HERITAGE OVERLAY LISTINGS IN THE CBDfor the City of MelbourneHistory and DescriptionBuilt on the north-western corner of Queen Street and Flinders Lane, the height limit headquarters building for the Provident Life Assurance Co. at 37-41 Queen Street consists of twelve storeys and a basement. Bounded by streets on three of its four sides, much was made of the opportunity for natural lighting in the building's planning [RVIAJ]. All services suchas lifts stairs, ducts and lavatories were placed on the north wall thus dispensing with light courts and maximising the lettable floor area. The structural beams were designed with particular care to permit the future installation of air conditioning ducts without interfering with the ceiling levels. The external appearance of this high-rise office building caught the attention of critic Robin Boyd in 1947 when he commented favourably on its 'direct and unassuming' expression of structure but questioned the 'weighty pi-sign' [Boyd] of the Queen Street facade.The piers of the extended and obviously attached portal frame sitting above a podium of polished granite facing indeed give the building a formal air but also alluded to the general trend in 1930s city buildings toward an emphasised verticality. The Flinders Lane façade was much simpler and was a direct expression of repetitive piers and spandrel infill panels. This treatment predated the same articulation of high rise buildings that was to become popular in the 1960s. Boyd also commented on the glass entrance screen which gave a series of transparency with the building name on the wall slipping through from inside to out. Indeed the reason that Boyd's comments are significant are that along with his mention of Barnetts Building and McPhersons in Collins Street, the Provident Life Building was one of the few commercial buildings constructed during the 1930s to employ the visual and functional principles of European modernism.Designed in 1936 and built in 1937, this building adjoins and complements two curtain wall buildings designed some twenty years later. The Provident Life Building also completes the corner to create a minor precinct of modernist urban designs in Melbourne.The architects for the Provident Life Assurance Building were the father and son partnership of AS and RA Eggleston (later to become Eggleston McDonald and Secomb in the early 1950s). At the time of the building's completion in 1938, Alec Eggleston was President of the Royal Victorian Institute of Architects, while son Robert was writing about the design of the 'The Modern Office Building' [RVIAJ: 6-8] for his professional colleagues.Clive Steele was the consulting engineer for the building5. The costs of works was £69,0006. In 1938, tenants included the E.C. Fowler & Co. (basement); Provident Life Assurance Co. (Ground & 2nd Floor); Messrs. A. Gordon Allard & Co. (2nd Floor); Workers Compensation Board, Messrs Sloman and Mogg (3rd Floor); S.Lie (4th Floor); Commonwealth Institute of Accountants (5th Floor) V.P. Williams, NV Nixon & Co. and Store for National Insurance of New Zealand (10th Floor); with a caretaker's flat on the 11th floor [BPA].The ground floor entry has been modified and now features a sympathetic canopy cantilevering above the Queen St footpath. Otherwise, the building is in good original condition.Statement of SignificanceThe former Provident Life building, 37-41 Queen Street, is of architectural significance at a local level as one of the few commercial buildings in the CAD constructed during the 1930s to employ the visual and functional principles of European modernism. Designed by architects AS and RA Eggleston and built in 1937, the piers of the extended portal frame on Queen Street facade reflect the general trend towards emphasised verticality in a number of city buildings in the 1930s, notably HW and FB Tompkins' Myer Emporium and Marcus Barlow's Manchester Unity and Century Buildings. The polished granite facing and abstracted neo-classical podium of the former Provident Life Building creates a formal elevation to Queen Street, while the Flinders Lane elevation is articulated by a simple repetitive rhythm of piers and spandrel panels more typical of 1960s highrise construction. Free interior planning, the flow of interior/exterior space through the use of a large glass screen placed midway across the entry, and the provision of space for future air conditioning are further significant features of the building.Footnotes:'Provident Life Building', RVIA Journal (RVIAJ), March-April 1938, p.8.Robin Boyd, 1947, Victorian Modern, p.55.Building Permit No. 17744, 14.9.1936.Robert A. Eggleston, 'The Modern Office building', RVIA Journal (RVIAJ), March-April 1938, p.6-8.Building Permit (BPA) No. 17744, File Correspondence.Building Permit No. 17744, 14.9.1936..GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM cites `Victorian Modern': 55 photo_________________________________________Graeme Butler, 1982-3, Twentieth Century Architecture Register of Royal Australian Institute of Architects:cites Building Permit Application 1936, ₤69,000 ;_________________________________________REID, KEITH & JOHN R, 1976, MELBOURNE CBD STUDY AREA 7 (source 80): 131_________________________________________City of Melbourne i-Heritage:Central Activities District Conservation Study - Graeme Butler, 1984 Building Identification Form (BIF): Alterations / Recommendations: Air unit added (inappropriate - remove or reinstate sympathetic alternative). Notable features include high standard design of rendered surfaces - stone facing; early modernist influence in City of Melbourne. Central Activities District Conservation Study - Graeme Butler, 1984, albeit placed on a traditional 'podium' base; corner site._________________________________________CITY OF MELBOURNE BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATIONSMCC Building Permit Application 1936, 17744._________________________________________`Victorian Year Book' (VYB) 1973:344`At the same time industrial assurance was increasing rapidly, and by 1911 the number of policies was 147,044 and the sum assured $6m. Theboom of the 1920s led to a great increase in the amount of new business of both types written in Victoria. The number of ordinary life assurance policiesin force in 1920 was 238,414 and the sum assured was $107m, but in 1929 policies numbered 288,847 and the sum assured was $174m. During thesame period industrial life assurance policies also increased from 286,106 to 552,943 and the sum assured rose from $16m to $47m'278…in terms of profits in 1970-71, out of the ten largest listed companies incorporated in Australia, seven were based in Melbourne. The flow of funds for investment in other States andthe income received in return clearly play an important role in Victoria's external economic relationships._________________________________________AVIVA archive:The Aviva archive contains records relating to the running of many insurance companies in Australia._________________________________________NEWSPAPERS (TROVE)1937The North Western Courier (Narrabri, NSW : 1913 - 1955)Monday 25 January 1937 - Page 2https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/133514596INVISIBLE RAY FOR LIFTS IN NEW BUILDINGAn invisible infra-red ray is to bp used for the automatic control of lift doors during after-hours service in the lifts of the new Provident Life Assurance Building, soon to be erected in Melbourne. The ray will be focussed across the door opening upon a photo-electric cell. This not only prevents the door shutting, when passengers are entering or leaving, but also ensures that they close with a minimum of delay once the traffic has ceased.Towering more than 150 feet above the footpath, the lift tower of the new structure will be a conspicuous feature of the new building design. The lift machinery which it will house, will operate noiselessly and efficiently, representing the last word in vertical transport. It will comprise two high-speed gearless passenger elevators, together capable of emptying the building of 900 people, or almost three times its normal tenancy) in one hour. Acceleration and retardation of the lifts will be pre-determined, irrespective of the attendant and the maxi mum of movement can be attained with a minimum of discomfort to passengers.Provision will be made in one car for a change-over to complete automatic control for after-hours ser vice..1937The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954)Tuesday 21 September 1937 - Page 13https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/206728580BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURENEW P.L.A. OFFICES -RAPID CONSTRUCTION. ONE FLOOR A WEEK.The steel skeleton of the new Provident Life Assurance building, on the north west comer of Queen-street and Flinders- lane, Is now towering over Its neighbors, and it is expected that the work, apart from subdivision, will be completed about the beginning of the new year.The building will rise to the maximum permissible height of 132 feet, exclusive of the lift tower. The steel structure is now up to the roof level, and the concrete up to the eighth floor. The architects (Messrs. A. S. and R. A. Eggleston) have planned a substantial building of thirteen stories, including the basement, and the frontages to Queen-street and Flinders- lane will be faced with heavy slabs of dark green Dromana granite to the top of the first floor, with piers of the same material rising to the roof.The new building will have a cubical content of 435,000 feet, and already 5000 tons of concrete and 400 tons of structural steel have been used. Since they got beyond the basement, where work was necessarily slower, the contractors (Thompson and Chalmers Pty. Ltd.) have completed a floor of steel structure a week, and concrete has: been poured at the same rate.Taking advantage of a site with natural lighting on three sides, the architects have placed all services, such as lifts and stairways, along the remaining wall (the north), and have thus been able to plan a solid building with no breaks for light areas. There will be two gearless traction lifts with a speed of 450 feet a minute. The doors of one will be operated by a photo-electric cell, so that the shadow of a person approaching will cause them to remain open. The ground floor and basement will be mechanically ventilated, and there will be steam-heating throughout the upper floors. Contractors for the lifts are Waygood- Otis (Australia), and for mechanical services, ventilation and heating, A. E. Atherton and Sons Pty, Ltd.One effect of the erection of so many toll buildings on the north side of Melbourne's "little" streets is the blocking out of all sunlight from the premises on the south side. In the past, many suites of offices along the front of the south side buildings have been occupied by architects, commercial artists and others who found the north light an asset, but the number of such vantage points on the "little" frontages is gradually diminishing, and there may be an Increased demand for premises in south-side frontages to major streets or in strategic positions overlooking permanent light areas..1938https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/12483878 illust..1955https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/71636802Insurance Company buys buildingEmployers' Liability Assurance Corp. Ltd. has purchased the 11 storey Provident Life building at the corner of Queen st. and Flinders lane. Melbourne, in which their Victorian branch as been located for many years._________________________________________DIRECTORIES OF VICTORIA, MELBOURNE-SANDS AND KENNY, SANDS & MCDOUGALL1939 Provident Life Building, list many tenants including National Insurance company of new Zealand, Employers Liability Assurance Co, . Allard & Gordon & Co, real estate agents, Commonwealth Institute of accountants, Board of land & Works, Provident Life Assurance Company Ltd., War Service Home commission
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| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 108061 | 1 PDF : 1,165 KB ; A4 | Group of Items (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |