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Chelsea House, 55 Flemington Road, North Melbourne

Graeme Butler and AssociatesJuly 1991

Record details

Title:

Creator:

Graeme Butler and Associates

Date of work:

July 1991

Reference number:

BIF-NORTH 103814

Level of description:

Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)

Type of materials:

Graphic materialsTextual material

Part of:

Series: North Melbourne and West Melbourne (BIF-NORTH)

Access restrictions:

UnrestrictedOpen access.

Use restrictions:

UnrestrictedPlease contact City of Melbourne Libraries about obtaining permission to reproduce images.

General notes:

Grading as at 1991 : DA five storey concrete coloured glass curtain-walled office building with basement parking. A good example of early Melbourne International/modernist style it was designed by Harry Ernest and built in 1955-6. It was an early freestanding curtain-walled multi-storey office blocks built in Melbourne and attracted some notable business tenancies such as Ibm and BHP. Refurbished and subdivided into 118 office units that are used mainly as medical suites and ground floor retail unit/s in 2006. This image has a view down Hight Street of an industrial area now demolished.___________________________RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER 2024:__________________________________________________RBA ARCHITECTS 2013, CITY NORTH HERITAGE REVIEW55 Flemington Road, North MelbourneStatement of SignificanceWhat is Significant?The building, especially the general form, the regular patterning of the fenestration and the blue spandrel panels.How is it Significant?Chelsea House is of historic and aesthetic significance to the City of Melbourne.Why is it Significant?Chelsea House is historically significant as one of the earliest examples of curtain wall office buildings in Melbourne, which were constructed during the middle to late 1950s. (AHC Criterion A4) Chelsea House is of aesthetic significance as a largely intact, mid-20th century example of the International style, with its prismatic form and extensive use of glazing, including the striking use of blue spandrel panels. (AHC Criterion E1)___________________________BUILT HERITAGE web sitehttps://www.builtheritage.com.au/dua_alexandra.htmlDictionary of Unsung ArchitectsDOUGLAS ALEXANDRA (1922-2000)During this prosperous period, Alexandra also lectured in design at the University of Melbourne and, in 1962, entered into partnership with fellow university staff member Raymond Berg (1913-1988). The two men opened an office in Chelsea House, on Flemington Road, North Melbourne – a building designed in 1955 by a former student of theirs, Harry Ernest. The firm, styled as Berg & Alexandra, undertook a string of major municipal projects in regional Victoria, including another regional art gallery at Mildura, a cultural centre at Portland, and civic centres at Shepparton, Traralgon and elsewhere.___________________________CITY OF MELBOURNE BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATIONCard Index 47-59 Flemington Roadhttps://www.ancestry.com.au/imageviewer/collections/60672/images/44777_349584-00381?pId=66613June 1955 29160 £250,000 erection of building (Smorgon's) south west corner Wreckyn St___________________________DIRECTORIES OF VICTORIA, MELBOURNE-SANDS AND KENNY, SANDS & MCDOUGALL1960Wreckyn St55 Chelsea House55 Colonial Holdings Py Ld55 Ellis Agencies Py Ld,toilet mnfrs55 Clensel Prdcts Py Ld, (sales dept)55 Consolidated Zinc Py Ld55 IBM Australia Py Ld, time recording clocks55 Interstate 0il Ld55 New Broken Hlll Consolidated Ld55 Thermal Traders (Vic) Py LdHigh st

Names:

City of Melbourne

Topics:

Conservation studiesNorth and West Melbourne Conservation StudyInternational StyleOffice buildingsCurtain walls1950-1959Modern architecture

Places:

North Melbourne (Vic.)

Form/Genre:

Building Identification Forms (BIFs)

Record types:

Images, maps and artefacts

Record number:

1308216