Grange Lynne Factory, 185-187 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme01/01/1985
Archives
Total copies: 1
Former Burley Griffin Burley Griffin associate, Edgar Fielder Billson, designed a factory and offices for this site in 1937.
Title:
Grange Lynne Factory, 185-187 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Creator:
Date of work:
01/01/1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 100157
Level of description:
Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
Type of materials:
Graphic materials
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:
ASSOCIATED RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER:Period: Inter-WarConstruction Date: 1937Style: ModerneNotable Features: Horizontal and vertical massing (Moderne), portholes, window hoods.Graeme Butler 1985 Melbourne Central Activities District Conservation StudyStatement of SignificanceHistoryFormer Burley Griffin Burley Griffin associate, Edgar Fielder Billson, designed a factory and offices for this site in 1937. Replacing two residences, it was ground and first floor only accommodation for Grange Lynne Pty Ltd. Another firm, White and Gillespie Pty Ltd added a matching floor in 1943 under the supervision of R.M. & M.H King.DescriptionLittle changed since 1943, the design seems unaffected by its two-stage dual-designer extension. A Moderne design approach has produced horizontal window emphasis, closing against vertical elements such as the archetypical stair well and a more inventive brick fin cum pier at the west side. Beyond these elements, the heeler brickwork gives way to common reds. Concrete sun control hoods act as eyebrows to the window strips, stopping against another vertical element which is an impressive amplification of the west-side fin. It curves around on to the stair shaft and overshoots the parapet at its top matching the stair and other fin in height. Six port holes lend modish light to the stair between the upper window hood and entrance.External IntegrityAn air unit has been added and a large sign obscures the upper brickwork.StreetscapeUnrelated except by face brickwork used in adjoining buildings.SignificanceA successfully designed and representative example of the Moderne style which counteracts curved verticals with horizontal elements to achieve a balanced, three-dimensionally perceived design also of interest as one of the few surviving designs from Edgar Billson in this period.'.Central City Heritage Study Review 1993: appendix 4:`Statement of SignificanceThe factory at 185-187 A'Beckett Street is of metropolitan architectural significance as one of Melbourne's finest and most distinctive examples of inter-war factory and office design Built in 1937-38 to designs prepared by noted architect Edward F Billson, a former pupil and associate of Walter Burley Griffin. this building exhibits an unusual marriage of International modernism with the Arts and Crafts based aesthetic of the Dutch Wendingen group The decorative aspects of the dark brown brick façade. such as the vertical fin and rounded windows of the stairwell, are particularly noteworthy The addition of a similarly detailed third storey by the firm of R & M King in 1943 has changed the proportions of the façade, but has detracted little from the integrity of the initial concept.'`History & Description:This factory was designed by Edward F Billson for Grange Lynne Pty Ltd as a two storey brick warehouse and factory with office front, and was built in 1937-38 ' Billson had also built a block of flats called Grange Lynne (corner Grange Road & Lascelles Avenue) by 1936 for the same company, Grange Lynne (otherwise known as White & Gillespie)Billson, the first student to enrol and graduate in Architecture at the University of Melbourne, had worked in the office of Walter Burley Griffin as a student and graduate, and established his own practice in the 1920s. By the mid-1930s he was acknowledged as a leading architect on the Melbourne scene and a noted exponent both of the modem idioms emanating from Europe and America and of refined. decorative brick detailing.3 His work in the 1930s was strongly influenced by European modernism, particularly Dutch design by Willem Dudok and the Amsterdam School (Wendingen) which he had experienced first hand in 1930. In this factory the long horizontal windows and window ledges of the ground and first floors, emblematic of contemporary International modernism, were juxtaposed against porthole stairwell windows and a rounded vertical element suggestive of the romantic sculptured work of the Wendingen school. The use of dark brown textured brick reinforced the Wendingen association. The composition of the façade as a whole was distinctive for this fusion of the modern and the romantic Although the contrast of vertical elements against horizontal had become popular by the late 1930s, other examples within the Melbourne Central Activities District Conservation Study - Graeme Butler, 1984 such as 546 Collins Street and 111-125 A'Beckett Street were more strongly influenced by the streamlined, polished aesthetic of International modernism.The building behind is a standard saw-tooth roofed red brick warehouse. The addition of a third storey in 1943 by R & M King adversely affected the horizontality of the original proportions, but was otherwise sympathetic 4'Footnotes1. `MCC building permit 18986 10 12 37 Erection of building. £9.5002 .Partially illustrated in Architecture in Bookwork' Journal of the Royal VIctonan Institute of Architects July 1936, pp69-90 the firm is referred to as White & Gillespie in records held by Edward F Billson & Associates architects3. The gables and porches of the Grange Lynne flats 6 Grange Road. Toorak are also notable for their fine decorative brickwork4. MCC building permit 22745 2 7 43 Alterations and additions £2 800'.CONTEXT (WITH GJM HERITAGE) 2020, HODDLE GRID HERITAGE REVIEWSTATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCEWHAT IS SIGNIFICANTThe building at 185-187 A’Beckett Street Melbourne, built in 1937 for Grange Lynne Pty Ltd byarchitect Edward Billson is significant. The site is also significant as an archaeological place.HOW IT IS SIGNIFICANTThe Grange Lynne Pty Ltd building is historically and aesthetically significant to the City of Melbourne.It has representative architectural significance as an interwar factory/warehouse of which there are adeclining number in the city.WHY IT IS SIGNIFICANTThe building is historically significant as a well-preserved interwar city workshop and warehouse andone of a small number of surviving designs from the noted architect, Edward Fielder Billson, a formerpupil and associate of Walter Burley Griffin. The building is also a reflection of long-term industry andwarehouse concentration in this part of the City and in particular the printing industry grouping nearthe new Argus newspaper building, showing the historical grouping and evolution of similar uses thathave been assessed as significant elements of the City’s development. (Criterion A)The site is part of the archaeological resources of the central city and has research value as aninventoried site. These sites have the potential to retain relics and archaeological deposits. It is alsoassumed that such deposits have the potential to yield knowledge not available form other sourceswhich may contribute meaningfully to our understanding of settlement in Melbourne. (Criterion C)Aesthetically the Grange Lynne Pty Ltd building is a successfully designed and highly representativeexample of the Moderne style, as applied to a City commercial building, which counteracts curvedverticals with horizontal elements to achieve a balanced, three-dimensionally perceived design. Thedecorative aspects of the dark brown brick façade, such as the vertical fin and round windows of thestairwell, are particularly noteworthy. While the skilful addition of a similarly detailed third storey by thefirm of R & M King has changed the proportions of the façade, this has detracted little from theintegrity of the initial concept, showing the respect held by these architects for the earlier design.(Criterion D)The factory at 185-187 A'Beckett Street is one of Melbourne's finest and most distinctive examples ofinter-war factory and office design. Built in 1937-38 to designs prepared by noted architect Edward FBillson, a former pupil and associate of Walter Burley Griffin. This building exhibits an unusualmarriage of International modernism with the Arts and Crafts based aesthetic of the Dutch Wendingengroup. The decorative aspects of the dark brown brick façade, such as the vertical fin and roundedwindows of the stairwell, are particularly noteworthy. The addition of a similarly detailed third storey bythe firm of R & M King in 1943 has changed the proportions of the façade but has detracted little fromthe integrity of the initial concept. (Criterion E).FURTHER REFERENCES:.CONTEXT (WITH GJM HERITAGE) 2020, HODDLE GRID HERITAGE REVIEWRECOMMENDATIONSRecommended for inclusion in the Schedule to the Heritage Overlay of the Melbourne PlanningScheme as an individually Significant place.Extent of overlay: Refer to mapSUMMARYA three-storey factory and offices designed for Grange Lynne Pty Ltd by architect Edward Billson in1937, and part of the printing and linotype companies located around the north-western edge of thecity in the interwar period...SITE HISTORYThe site on which the Grange Lynne factory stands was reserved for the Presbyterian Church in 1855and later comprised one and two storey buildings (CAD Archaeological Management Plan, 1992)Former Burley Griffin associate, Edgar Fielder Billson, designed a factory and offices for this site in1937. Replacing two residences on the site, it was built as ground and first floor accommodation forGrange Lynne Pty Ltd. Another firm, White and Gillespie Pty. Ltd. commissioned the addition of amatching second floor in 1943 under the supervision of the Moderne style design specialists, R.M. &M.H King. Hawkes Brothers Pty Ltd wholesale homeware merchants and White & Gillespie (Melb.)Pty Ltd electrotypers occupied the building over a long period, the latter being part of a concentrationof printing and linotype companies around the north-western edge of the City, in areas such asLonsdale Street, in the inter-war period. This was particularly so after the construction of The Argusbuilding at the Elizabeth and Latrobe Streets corner in the mid -1920s.Edward Fielder BillsonEdward Fielder Billson (1892-1986) the first student to enrol and graduate in Architecture at theUniversity of Melbourne, had worked in the office of Walter Burley Griffin as a student and graduate,and established his own practice in the 1920s. By the mid-1930s he was acknowledged as a leadingarchitect on the Melbourne scene and a noted exponent both modern idioms emanating from Europeand America and of refined decorative brick detailing. His work in the 1930s was strongly influencedby European modernism, particularly Dutch design by Willem Dudok and the Amsterdam School(Wendingen) which he had experienced firsthand in 1930. Billson had also built a block of flats calledGrange Lynne (corner Grange Road & Lascelles Avenue) by 1936 for the same company, GrangeLynne. (Central City Heritage Study Review, 1993)SITE DESCRIPTION185-187 A’Beckett Street is an example of European ModernismIn this factory the long horizontal windows and window ledges of the ground and first floors,emblematic of contemporary International modernism, were juxtaposed against porthole stairwellwindows and a rounded vertical element suggestive of the romantic sculptured work of theWendingen School (wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendingen, accessed 14 June 2017)The use of dark brown textured brick reinforced the Wendingen association. The composition of thefaçade was distinctive for this fusion of the modern and the romantic.Beyond these elements, the distinctive tapestry and heeler brickwork gives way to common reds anda saw-tooth roof profile facing south at the rear. Concrete sun control hoods act as eyebrows to thefacade window strips, curving back onto the wall against another curved vertical element which is animpressive amplification of that on the west-side. This element curves around on to the stair shaft andovershoots the parapet at its top, matching the stair and the other fin in height. Six port holes lendmodish light to the stair between the upper window hood and entrance. Set under the semi-circularconcrete hood at the stair entry are the street address numbers, floating in boldly executed metal flatstacked to three steel bars behind. Inside, the metal stair handrail shows similar convoluted curves.The building is visually unrelated to the adjoining streetscape, except for the face brickwork used innearby buildings.INTEGRITYWhen viewed from the street and laneway 185-187 A’Beckett Street has a high integrity.....Sands & McDougall Directory of Victoria(1935 185" -Jas. Trainor 187"-Mis Ida Mack)1939 Hawkes Brothers Pty Ltd homeware merchants wholesaleWhite & Gillespie (Melb) Pty Ltd electrotypers1944 - 45 Hawkes Brothers Pty Ltd homeware merchants wholesaleWhite & Gillespie (Melb) Pty Ltd electrotypers1950 Hawkes Brothers Pty Ltd homeware merchants wholesaleWhite & Gillespie (Melb) Pty Ltd electrotypers1955 White & Gillespie (Melb) Pty Ltd electrotypers
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1179248
| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 100157 | 1 PDF : 783 KB ; A4 | Group of Items (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |