3 Spencer Street, Turner was designed by husband and wife architects Malcolm Moir and Heather Sutherland in 1946. The house is a late example of the inter-war functionalist style with its asymmetrical massing, simple geometric shape and roof concealed by parapet.

This modern brick architecture was a continuation of the Moir and Sutherland’s work from the period 1935-1939. In some ways it represents a more conservative approach to the functionalist style, with the windows timber framed rather than metal and a lack of corner windows in the design. However, this may be due to a shortage of building materials in the period immediately after WWII, when there were restrictions placed on the use of steel.

Significance

3 Spencer Street, Turner is listed on the ACT Chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects Register of Significant Twentieth Century Architecture. The house is regarded by the RAIA as a good, late example of the inter-war functionalist style. Despite the various alterations to the house, it still incorporates most of the principal design features of the inter-war functionalist style. It was probably the last house in Canberra built in this style.

Description

The cavity brick house is constructed of brown face bricks with flush vertical joints and raked horizontal joints. The roof is a low pitched metal roof hidden by a low brick parapet. This has the effect of emphasising the horizontal plane. The windows are mostly green painted timber, double hung. A number of the original internal elements including joinery, ceilings and features such as Art Deco door handles remain and are in good condition.

The elongated plan of the house extends along a north/south axis with a central entry. A large front terrace extends across the two north east bedrooms while the lounge/dining room projects out to the front, at the southern end of the terrace, providing a protected approach to the entrance. South of the lounge/dining is a dinette, east of the kitchen, which faces west. The northern part of the house contains the two bedrooms and the wet areas. The main bedroom extends across the north side with extensive glazing to the north and west with a smaller window to the east.

The original residence had a roofed court to the west of the entry which was a major central feature. The wall here was fully glazed to the west, so that upon entry, one was afforded a view through the house to the courtyard and beyond to the rear garden with the hall lit with natural light. However, an unsympathetic living room extension was placed into the courtyard area and into the rear garden. The main bedroom was also enlarged by glazing the original north west sleep out and removing the wall. The original glazing on the front eastern facade had the same low level sills; both the eastern bedrooms have had their sills raised.

Image credit

The images of 3 Spencer Street, Turner (above) are reproduced with the permission of the photographer, Merrilyn Sernack.

Sources and further reading

• Royal Australian Institute of Architects RSTCA Citation No. R130
• Short biography of Malcolm Moir
• The inter-war functionalist style

24 Arthur Circle, Forrest was designed by Kenneth Oliphant in 1939. The house is a late example of the inter-war functionalist style with its asymmetrical massing, simple geometric shapes and roof concealed by parapet. Along with the house at 43 Melbourne Avenue, Forrest (1935), it was one of the first modern designs in Canberra and one of very few inter-war functionalist style houses designed by Oliphant.

By the early 1990s the house was in a poor state of repair. In 1995 it was sold and subsequently extensively modified. An additional building was added to the rear and the original brickwork rendered and painted.

Its significance has been markedly compromised by these alterations, particularly the rendering of the face brick, although a number of the elements peculiar to the inter-war functionalist style are still apparent.

Significance

24 Arthur Circle, Forrest is listed on the ACT Chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects Register of Significant Twentieth Century Architecture. It is regarded by the RAIA as a good example of the inter-war functionalist style, with most of that style’s features still visible despite the major modifications to the house.

Description

The original house was a single storey rectangular plan with two circular bay windows, one off the living room and one at the corner of the main bedroom. The living room had an open fireplace centrally located in the south wall constructed of small narrow bricks in the Art Deco style. The bay window of the living room still opens out to the east onto a curved porch formed by double glass doors and two large sidelight windows set under a curved flat concrete hooded roof. On the opposite side of this room to the west was the dining room.

A secondary bedroom next to the entry faced the street, sharing three symmetrical double hung windows with the main bedroom: two to the front bedroom and one to the main. The main bedroom was located at the north east end of the house. A semi-circular corner window with a radius of 1.5m is located under a curved flat concrete hooded roof. It protrudes from the corner of the room and originally had built-in window seats and under seat storage below.

The corner half circle glazing on the main bedroom bay window is an interesting play of volumes, with the curve essentially a half cylinder placed in the cubic mass of the house protruding from the facade. With its cantilevering concrete beams, this was a technically complex feature unusual in Canberra houses of the period.

The external form of the house is dominated by the asymmetrical massing of simple cubic shapes, typical of the inter-war functionalist style. Originally, the construction was of light toned face brickwork, showing the influence of Dutch modernist Willem Dudok. This was an important feature; sadly it is no longer visible.

Sources and further reading

• Royal Australian Institute of Architects RSTCA Citation No. R121
• Short biography of Kenneth Oliphant
• Inter-war functionalist architecture
• Willem Dudok

The Whitley Houses in Griffith and Braddon were designed by Government architect Cuthbert Whitley in 1939. Until 2004 they were the last remaining intact examples of inter-war functionalist style public housing in Canberra designed by the Works Branch of the Department of the Interior.

The Whitley Houses were some of the first government designed and built detached functionalist style houses in Australia. The houses are located at:

• 60 Leichhardt Street, Griffith;
• 95 and 97 Canberra Avenue, Griffith; and
• 107 Limestone Avenue, Braddon.

The houses exhibit the typical characteristics of the inter-war functionalist style, with asymmetrical massing of simple, cubic shapes, a flat roof concealed behind a parapet and the use of plain surfaces and metal framed windows, to emphasise horizontality.

Although listed on the ACT Interim Heritage Places Register, development approvals were granted and multi-storey developments went ahead on each of the blocks during 2004-2005, seriously compromising the heritage significance of all the houses.

Significance

The Whitley Houses are listed on the ACT Chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) Register of Significant Twentieth Century Architecture. The houses are regarded by the RAIA as being excellent examples of the inter-war functionalist style and are some of the first functionalist houses in Australia designed and built by government.

The houses are also important for their association with Cuthbert Whitley, Senior Architect in the Works Branch of the Department of the Interior. Whitley, with Chief Government Architect Edwin Henderson, was responsible for the design of numerous Government buildings in 1930s Canberra.

Bearing in mind the key role played by public housing in the development of Canberra, these houses are also important for revealing Whitley’s aim, while in charge of the Works Branch, of introducing modernist architecture to Canberra’s public housing after 1939.

On 26 October 2002 the Whitley Houses were also added to the ACT Interim Heritage Places Register. When the Heritage Act 2004 came into force in March 2005, places included on the old heritage places register under the Land (Planning and Environment) Act 1991 were henceforth taken to be registered under the Heritage Act 2004.

Until 2004 these were the last remaining intact examples of inter-war functionalist public housing in Canberra.

Description

The Whitley houses are all built on a single level, with brick walls and parapets concealing low-pitched roofs, which were originally asbestos cement. The houses in Griffith were designed to present a streetscape that incorporated the key design elements of the group. These included a low, painted connecting wall, brick flower box, cantilevered concrete hood over the entry and steel framed corner windows with horizontal panes on the more prominent front elevation.

60 Leichhardt Street, Griffith is a Type 108 house. Four houses of this type were built on the corners of this section; however two have been demolished. 97 Canberra Avenue, Griffith is the only Type 111 house remaining and was one of a set of five facing Canberra Avenue. It has a central entry and more elongated appearance than a Type 108 dwelling, with a wider front window and longer cantilevered hood. 95 Canberra Avenue sits diagonally opposite 60 Leichhardt Street and is another Type 108 house. The Griffith houses were all painted white.

107 Limestone Avenue, Braddon (pictured at top) is a Type 133 house. This design is similar to a Type 108, but not intended to be painted. The design features of this very well preserved house are readily apparent from the street.

The design and location of public housing and building types was an important consideration for Canberra’s planners in the 1930s. The Whitley houses on Canberra Avenue were arranged symmetrically along the main southern entry to Canberra as a demonstration that this was a modern, developing city. The Northbourne Housing Group was presented along Canberra’s major northern entry in much the same way some twenty years later.

Sources and further reading

• Whitley Houses, Griffith and Braddon Interim Heritage Places Register citation, prepared by the ACT Heritage Council.
• Blog post: Whitley houses ‘preserved’
• Inter-war functionalist architecture

The Forrest Fire Station precinct, which includes the Fire Station and seven residences, is located in Forrest at Section 35, Canberra Avenue, Manuka Circle, Fitzroy Street and Empire Circuit. The seven residences are made up of a two storey house at each of the four street corners, with three two storey duplexes in between. Garages are attached to the residences, acknowledging for the first time the new status of the car. The Fire Station, on Empire Circuit, housed fire engines and duty staff.

The Fire Station was operational from 1939-1983, with the precinct supporting the main ACT Fire Station. The Fire Station is now a museum and the residences have been converted to a variety of offices. The buildings are substantially original and, with the recent redevelopment of the Whitley Houses in Griffith and Braddon, are the last remaining examples of Government sponsored functionalist residential architecture in Canberra.

Cuthbert Whitley

The Forrest Fire Station and residences were designed by Government architects E H Henderson and Cuthbert Whitley in 1939. E H Henderson was the Chief Architect of the Department of Interior, Works Branch. As such, he had responsibility for the design of the precinct. However, many of the design drawings were signed by Cuthbert Whitley and given the progressive nature of the designs it is likely that he had a significant role.

The residences in particular are very good examples of inter-war functionalist architecture. The Fire Station and residences are built in panels of red and cream face bricks with a regular arrangement of windows and flat roofs concealed by parapets and small cantilevered balconies (on the residences). The interlocking horizontal and vertical elements of the residences relate directly to Willem Dudok’s European modernist architecture in Holland.

Significance

The Forrest Fire Station and residences are important examples of inter-war functionalist architecture. They represent the few remaining intact examples of the work of Cuthbert Whitley, one of the key originators of functionalist architecture in Canberra and Australia. Whitley, with Chief Government Architect Edwin Henderson, was responsible for the design of numerous Government buildings in 1930s Canberra.

The Forrest Fire Station and residences are listed on the ACT Heritage Register and the ACT Chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) Register of Significant Twentieth Century Architecture. The houses are regarded by the RAIA as being excellent examples of the inter-war functionalist style.

The buildings are located on a landmark site along Canberra Avenue, an important axis leading to Capital Hill. They are also an important link with the early days of Canberra through the history of the ACT Fire Brigade.

Sources and further reading

• Andrew Metcalf, Canberra Architecture, Watermark Press, 2003
• Forrest Fire Station Precinct, Entry to the ACT Heritage Register, 2004
• R Garnett and D Hyndes (eds), The Heritage of the Australian Capital Territory, National Trust, 1992
• Royal Australian Institute of Architects RSTCA Citation No. R29
• Inter-war functionalist architecture
• Willem Dudok

The Evans Crescent Housing precinct in Griffith was designed by husband and wife architects Malcolm Moir and Heather Sutherland in 1939 and 1940. The houses are an example of the inter-war functionalist style with their asymmetrical cubic massing, roofs concealed by parapets, metal framed corner and ribbon windows and cantilevered balconies and hoods.

The houses in the precinct are among the first truly modern designs in Canberra and represent a major architectural urban form designed by the same architects in the same style over a two year period.

Significance

The Evans Crescent Housing precinct, Griffith, is listed on the ACT Chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects Register of Significant Twentieth Century Architecture. The precinct is regarded by the RAIA as an excellent example of the inter-war functionalist style and the only example in Canberra of a coherent group of residences in this style. Malcolm Moir is recognised as one of Canberra’s leading architects of the middle period of the twentieth century.

Three of the houses are particularly important, since they retain their original character: numbers 7, 11 and 15. These display clearly the different types of massing and the growth in the confidence of the architects as the consecutive designs unfolded: the first (number 15) has a conservative tiled roof over the living area while later designs (numbers 11 and 7) have flat roofs concealed by parapets.

Description of the precinct

The precinct consists of numbers 7, 9, 11, 15 and 17 Evans Crescent. Number 13 Evans Crescent is not included. Designed by Kenneth Oliphant in 1939 in the same functionalist style as his house at 24 Arthur Circle, the house was extensively altered in 1978 with a cape cod style extension. Its placement in the centre of the precinct detracts from but does not destroy the urban form of the group. The siting of the houses on a curved, sloping street is a significant aspect of the precinct. It allowed the architects to exploit both the three dimensional expression of the inter-war functionalist style and the relationship between the levels, utilised by split level planning.

Number 15

Number 15 Evans Crescent was the first residence designed and is a generous split-level two bedroom plan with extensive glazing. The living areas have a pitched, tiled roof. Entry is at the middle level, which contains the living, dining, kitchen, study and sun rooms laid out in a rectangular plan. With the exception of the kitchen, all these rooms have full height glazing. The upper level is located over the garage and consists of two bedrooms and a bathroom while the garage, laundry and storage area are located on the lower level. Corner windows are used extensively.

Number 11

Number 11 Evans Crescent was the second house designed in the precinct. It is a tri-level house with a large porch at each level. The roofs are all low pitched with parapet walls and the entry is centrally located on the ground level and opens into a wide hall with a low ceiling. The living room is separated from the entry by a fireplace, with the living room and kitchen set three steps down to the north of the house.

A bedroom is located to the south at the mid upper level off the main stair landing, while the top level has a large bedroom, a lounge room with a study opening off it and a bathroom. The lounge has a large corner window (the only one in the house) and a glazed double door opens out from the study onto the large terrace above the garage and entry, which is surrounded by horizontal pipe railing.

The house was built by the well known local builder J C Tobler (1903-1989), and it has remained in the family. The Swiss born Tobler arrived in Canberra in 1927, establishing a furniture, joinery and building business. He was involved in many early Canberra construction projects and was building supervisor for the construction of the US Embassy in 1943. Tobler was also an enthusiastic amateur photographer. An exhibition of his work was held at the Canberra Museum and Art Gallery from 5 February-26 March 2000.

Number 7

Number 7 Evans Crescent is a split level four bedroom house with a plan that turns about the entry axis to address the curve in Evans Crescent. The entry porch is covered by a thin concrete roof slab, partially supported by a steel column. Entry is on the lower level through a hall with an angled and curved wall directing the visitors to the upper living level. The living room faces north and has a central fireplace, with the dining room to south, forming an L shaped plan. The kitchen is off the dining room.

The lower level to the east has four bedrooms, a sun room and a bathroom. The lower level has three corner windows. The street facade of the house is mostly original. The rear has been altered with the addition of a bedroom and bathroom in the mid 1950s.

Number 9

Number 9 Evans Crescent was originally a five bedroom residence, with two bedrooms located at the rear of the ground level and three to the rear upper level. The house was set out in a T form, with the top of the T across the rear. The entry was centrally located on the south side with the living room facing the street. Interesting features included an internal curved stair expressed as a two storey curved wall at the south rear corner of the house, tall brick chimneys and a long porch off the living and dining rooms to the north.

The house was extended to the south in the early 1980s, with the addition extending past the original front. A number of unsympathetic features have also been added to the street facade.

Number 17

Number 17 Evans Crescent has been extensively altered with extensions in 1965, 1971 and 1973. The front elevation has been altered with the addition of an upper level and a number of unsympathetic features have been added which further compromise the front facade. Although the modifications have substantially affected the character of the house it can still be seen that it was once an inter-war functionalist design, like the other houses in the group.

Sources and further reading

• Royal Australian Institute of Architects RSTCA Citation No. R114
• Short biography of Malcolm Moir
• Inter-war functionalist architecture
• Short biography of Kenneth Oliphant