Category Archives: Modernism

bega-flats-feature

Bega & Allawah Flats

Bega & Allawah Flats, on Ainslie Avenue and Ballumbir Street Braddon, are a group of 16 three-storey blocks of 2 bedroom flats designed in 1954 by Richard Ure and Ian Slater in the Canberra office of the Commonwealth Department of Works. These post-war international style … Read More

barton-offices-feature

Modifications to the Edmund Barton building

Disturbing news report from the Sydney Morning Herald about the fitout of Harry Seidler’s heritage listed Edmund Barton building on Kings Avenue. It seems like the consultation with Seidler and Associates promised by the owners of the building, Stocklands, isn’t working out so well. The … Read More

modernism-in-aus-feature

Modernism in Australia — a Google Maps project

The exhibition Modern Times, currently at the Powerhouse Museum, reveals how modernism transformed life in Australia across five decades from 1917 to 1967. Given that a major outlet for modernism has been the built environment, there exists an opportunity to extend the reach of this … Read More

top-20-feature

Canberra’s top twenty modernist houses

Over at my Flickr photostream I’ve put together an image set called Canberra’s Top Twenty—a list of Canberra’s most important modernist houses. The images are geo-tagged, and I’ve created a KML file for you to play in Google Earth. While some may argue that the … Read More

brisbane-modern-feature

Brisbane Modern — independent content from Chris Osborne

Independent content publishers deserve all the help and support they can get. Issue 2 of the excellent Brisbane Modern: mid 20th century design magazine was released in June. It’s a recently established publication which examines that city’s architecture, art and design from the mid twentieth … Read More

Northbourne-feature

Northbourne Housing Group

The Northbourne Housing Group was designed by Ancher, Mortlock and Murray for the National Capital Development Commission (NCDC) in 1959, with construction completed in 1962. The group was the first high (though now it would be regarded as medium) density public housing scheme commissioned by … Read More