State Accident Insurance Building, 412 Collins Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Total copies: 1
Title:
State Accident Insurance Building, 412 Collins Street, Melbourne
Creator:
Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 102127 1
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:
Style: ModernePeriod: Inter-WarConstruction date: 1939-1941.ASSOCIATED RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER:.GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYStatement of SignificanceHistoryThe English Workmen's Compensation Act of 1897 set the precedent for similar legislation in Australia, compensating workers or their families for work-related injury. Western Australia (1902) and Victoria (1914) were among the first states to legislate; the latter setting up a State Accident Insurance Office.A rising number of claims, involving motor vehicles, inspired the Motor Car (Third Party Insurance) Act in 1939, coinciding with the commencement of this building on a site located in the insurance centre of Melbourne. It opened as both the State Motor Car and State Accident Insurance Offices, in January 1941. Public Works Department Chief Architect, Percy Everett, supervised the design and the contract was let to Hansen and Yuncken for a sum of a little over 57000 pounds. Mackay and Potter's new State Insurance Centre, built further to the west in Collins Street, re-housed the growing office in 1965.These two public owned and built offices were among the increasing number of government instrumentalities, since the SEC in the 1920s, to erect offices outside of government reserves and locate themselves in the market place.DescriptionDisplaying the virtuosity of Everett's designers, this building coincided with the Moderne horizontality of the RMIT Buildings 5, 7, and 9, the Dudok-like brick masses of the William Angliss Food Trade School and the stepped Moderne of Russell Street Police Headquarters. Where some parallels existed for the other examples, few of the world's buildings had tampered with an inverse curved facade which cantilevered over a public footway. Only the strange Palais Stoclet (1905) by Joseph Hoffman showed any parallel, albeit slight.Contemporary Moderne styling is, nevertheless, the theme and its favoured commercial faience cladding is the medium. A vertical, finned `feature' erupts from the doorway terminating the horizontal layers in the upper facade, implied by the glazing strips, in a similar manner to that of McPhersons Building (1936). The traditional monumentally sized ground- level podium atypically reflects the upper facade's asymmetry. A valid connection between the two is the overlap of the lowest cantilevered window base and the alignment of each glazing slot or slit with an amplified equivalent opening in the ground-level podium.Perhaps more convincing is the recently rebuilt glazing details at the main entrance which now provide the answering convex curves, parallel with the upper levels, and draw emphasis away from the original side entrance, to its relocation at the centre.External IntegritySympathetic alteration of the ground level glazed entry.StreetscapePart of a Modern and Moderne streetscape.SignificanceAn unusual use of asymmetrical Moderne styling and material which recalls the roots of the Moderne, in Hoffman's work, and is hence, a prelude to the Post-Modern style in contemporary Melbourne. Also an early office in the CAD to be built for a government instrumentality outside of the public building reserves..GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM cites source 80, page 131; GRAEME BUTLER 1982-3, ROYAL AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS (VIC) 20TH CENTURY ARCHITECTURE SURVEY and 20th CENTURY BUILDINGS REGISTER ;National Trust of Australia (Vic)Statement of SignificanceMelbank House was constructed in 1939-41 as the offices for the newly former State Accident Insurance Office and was designed by the influential Public Works Department Chief Architect, Percy Everett. The building is an extremely well resolved example of the modern (sic) style in Melbourne.Classified: 06/06/1994HERITAGE BRANCH, MINISTRY FOR PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT 1987 CITY OF MELBOURNE CENTRAL CITY NOTABLE BUILDINGS CITATIONSSTATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCEMelbank House was constructed in 1939-41 as the offices for the newly formed State Accident Insurance Office and was designed by the influential Public Works Department Chief Architect, Percy Everett. The building is an extremely well resolved example of the moderne style in Melbourne.Historic Buildings CouncilHermes 2109HBC MEETING NOTES 1/12/81 ?Potential STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCEThe former state insurance offices were constructed between 1939 and 1941 to a design by the public works department (Percy Everett, chief architect) - it is a ten storey building places on a relatively narrow site with a stair and lift well on the western side of the building. The building is constructed with a reinforced concrete frame and utilises coloured terra-cotta faience on the facade along with bronze-work decoration. the building is an extroverted example of the modern movement in Melbourne and claimed to be the first building to use "corner windows". These windows rise as a continuous bay through the facade. The use of colour (green and cream) on the facade is unusual, particularly in this part of Collins Street. it can be compared with the buildings on the opposite side of the street (Trustees and Executors and A.U.C. Building), which while using modern design forms restricted their materials to more traditional colours and textures. While no longer occupied by State Insurance the building appears to remain in a relatively intact condition, at least externally.(Registration Refused).NEWSPAPERS (TROVE)The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957)Tuesday 5 July 1938 - Page 3COLLINS ST. BUILDING £50,000 SALECOMPLETED STATE BUYER The building at 412 Collins street has been sold to the State Accident Insurance Office, of 481 Bourke Street. The price has not been disclosed, but it is understood lo he j about £50,000. The premises will be vacated this month by The Trustees Executors and Agency ! Co. Ltd?.Legislative authority for the completion of the purchase Is being sought from Parliament. It is understood that the sale was the result of direct negotiations between The Trustees Executors and Agency Co. Ltd. and the purchaser..`The Argus': Saturday 13 January 1940The tender of Hansen & Yuncken Pty. Ltd., at £57,513 has been accepted for the erection of the premises at 412 Collins Street, Melbourne, for the State Accident Insurance offices. The plans were drawn by the Chief State Architect, Mr. P. Everett..The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954)Wednesday 23 July 1941 - Page 5https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/205166637STATE INSURANCENew Premises in Collins-streetA milestone In the history of Government Insurance In Victoria is passed with the opening for business of the State accident insurance office premises at 412 Collins-street, Melbourne, as announced in an advertisement elsewhere in this issue. The building is a remodel of the old Trustees Executors and Agency Co. premises at the corner of Bank-place, alongside the historic Mitre Tavern. The old Trustees building and land were purchased by the Board of Lands and Works, for use of the State office. -Unique features are the concrete blades around the windows and the artistic treatment given - the fire escapes. The facade is finished in ceramic veneer, the window frames of the front elevation are of bronze, and elsewhere steel. Considering the size of the block maximum floor space has been secured by having windows and fire escapes overlook the pavement.For the aesthetic design of the new premises, credit is due to the Chief Architect of the Public Works department (Mr. P, E. Everett) and staff.Mr. W. H. Holmes, who has been insurance commissioner since 1914, when Government insurance was launched in Victoria, has made available the following figures in relation to nationalised Workers' Compensation Insurance, total net premium (since 1914) £2,037,694. Net claims £1,285,861, expenses £249,557, net profit £378,148, general reserve £136,560, bonus distribution £161,370, special discounts (iu addition to bonuses) £318,405. A bonus distribution will be made this year; For the year ended June 30, 1940, the expense ratio was down to 9.6 per cent, and it has been under 10 per cent, for the past four years. The Government since the proclamation of the Third Party Act on January 22 this year has been transacting motor car insurance.
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Research and reports
Record number:
1196873
| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 102127 1 | 1 PDF : 904 KB ; A4 | Group of Items (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |