Professional Chambers, 114 Collins Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Total copies: 1
Title:
Professional Chambers, 114 Collins Street, Melbourne
Creator:
Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 102155 1
Level of description:
Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
Type of materials:
Graphic materialsTextual material
Part of:
Series: Central City (BIF-CITY)
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UnrestrictedOpen access.
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UnrestrictedPlease contact City of Melbourne Libraries about obtaining permission to reproduce images.
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ASSOCIATED RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER:.VICTORIA HERITAGE REGISTER H0414What is significant?The Professional Chambers building in Collins Street was designed for the Trustees of the Independent Church by Beverley Ussher of the firm Ussher and Kemp. The building was finished in 1908. The three storey red brick structure with attic is styled in a mode eclectically derived from Romanesque, Gothic, Elizabethan and Queen Anne Revival architecture. The construction is of tuck-pointed face red brick decorated with rendered cement dressings and a terra cotta tile roof. The picturesque roof line with steep gable ends and tall clustered chimneys, the oriel windows and central round arch Romanesque entry with foliated decoration together produces a bold facade to Collins Street. The design reflects Ussher's preoccupation with the Picturesque domestic revival in Victoria and has links with the so-called Queen Anne Revival movement in England.How is it significant?The Professional Chambers building is of architectural significance to the State of Victoria.Why is it significant?The Professional Chambers building is architecturally significant as a picturesque composition drawing on an eclectic range of sources in a street that had traditionally associated itself with a more reserved classicism. It is an unusual commercial work of the architect and the building's picturesque form is emblematic of Beverly Ussher's more abundant domestic oeuvre..GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM cites GRAEME BUTLER 1982-3, ROYAL AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS (VIC) 20TH CENTURY ARCHITECTURE SURVEY and 20th CENTURY BUILDINGS REGISTER ;CITY OF MELBOURNE BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATIONS 567.LEWIS, M- AUSTRALIAN ARCHITECTURE INDEXRecord 74672 Ussher & Kemp, Collins St Independent Church Trustees Melbourne VIC Office Buildings Scott, Henry - 375 Collins St 1907 08 13 567, MCC registration no 567 [Burchett Index]. Fee 6.0.0 professional chambers.VICTORIA HERITAGE REGISTERContextual History:The partnership of Ussher and Kemp produced some of Melbourne's most distinctive domestic architecture during the Federation period. Their Arts and Crafts inspired houses were exemplars of the so-called Queen Anne style which was characterised by Marseilles tiles, red brick, turned timber verandah posts, casement windows and dynamic picturesque rooflines of chimneys, dormers and finials.Beverley Ussher was born in Melbourne in 1868. He visited England and Europe in 1887-88. When he returned to Melbourne he went into partnership with the English Arts and Crafts architect Walter Butler, whom he had met in England. The partnership lasted until 1893. Ussher entered into partnership by Henry Kemp in 1899, specialising in domestic architecture, of which Dalswraith in Kew is considered their most accomplished design.(From Philip Goad, Melbourne Architecture, 1999, p.243)Associated People: Dr H Ham; (Tenant)Ussher & Kemp;.NEWSPAPERS (TROVE)The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957)Saturday 22 August 1908 - Page 20https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/10189900"PROFESSIONAL-CHAMBERS."The latest addition to modern buildings in Collins street east is Professional- chambers, at 110, 112, and 1114 Collins Street, Dr. Ham (of Messrs Ham and De Ravin, dentists) secured the lease of a block of land 66ft. by 160ft. from the trustees of the Collins street Independent Church, and has just completed a fine building, entirely covering this block. An indication of the need of such a building is provided in the fact that Baillieu Patterson and Sons Pty. Ltd. (Dr. Ham's agents), who carried out the work, let nearly every room before the building was completed. The total cost was over £10,000.The building forms an attractive feature at the east end of Collins street, grouped as it is between two other recent erections, and rising a story higher than those on each side. The style of the design is fifteenth century Gothic, faced with red brick on bluestone foundations, and has projecting oriel windows, high gables, red-tiled roof, and prominent chimneys make a very pleasing piece of architecture.It was designed and carried out under the direction of Messrs. Ussher and Kemp, architects. There are upwards of 60 rooms. The roofs of all the buildings behind the front block are constructed in reinforced concrete, covered with Trinidad asphalt, and this new method of construction has entered largely into this design.
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Record number:
1197258
| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 102155 1 | 1 JPEG : 814 KB ; A4 | Single Item (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |