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 flats were Canberra’s first medium density public housing and have similarities to European postwar housing, particularly in English new towns. In 2010, they appear destined for demolition, making way for a large scale redevelopment on this valuable land near Civic.

Significance

The flats have been nominated to the ACT Heritage Register and are listed on the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) Register of Significant Twentieth Architecture. They are a good example of the post-war international style, with cubiform shapes, large sheets of glass, plain smooth wall surfaces, cantilever and overhang for shade. As a group they exhibit fine proportions and clean detailing. Their low scale and alignment with the street layout combine to make them a coherent and successful design.

The complex is also of value for the way it demonstrates the planning and design of Canberra’s first medium density public housing, built as the city was emerging from the austerity of the immediate post World War II period. It’s also a rare example of architects and planners being influenced by the designs of English new towns, in the decade prior to the National Capital Development Commission becoming responsible for Canberra’s planning and development.

Background and description

The design concept of the Bega, Allawah and Currong Flats was the result of town planner Trevor Gibson recommending to the National Capital Planning and Development Committee in 1952 that new types of housing should be used in Canberra to increase density, comparing Canberra to the English new town of Harlow. Gibson, a Sydney graduate, had been appointed to head the town planning section of the Department of Works and Housing in 1949. In 1950 the section was transferred to the Department of the Interior in Canberra, which then became responsible for developing the city. The timing of the project was a result of the urgent need to reduce the postwar housing shortage prior to the completion of the new Administrative Building in Parkes.

The principal architect for the project was Richard Ure, who had won the competition for the design of the Australian-American Memorial in 1950. Ian Slater was responsible for documenting the working drawings. Slater was later the project architect for the Canberra Olympic Pool, which won the Sulman Award in 1956.

The flats comprise 6 blocks of 18 flats along Ballumbir Street raised on columns over car parks (pictured) with laundries under 2 blocks, and 10 blocks of 12 flats on the ground forming rectangular courts behind them. Their proportions and detailing along with their siting continuing the street pattern made them more successful than the 3 eight-storey blocks of flats along Currong Street, which completed the development.

Each flat has a passage opening into a living room with a balcony, a kitchen, two bedrooms with built-in wardrobes and a bathroom. Construction is of face brick end walls, incised-patterned rendered brick front and rear walls, concrete floors and balconies and flat metal-deck roofs without parapets. Each stairwell has a fully glazed wall and each flat has full-height glazing the width of the living room and balcony. The flats were considered to be well appointed accommodation for their time.

Sources and further reading

• Royal Australian Institute of Architects draft RSTCA Citation
• Canberra: An Architectural Guide to Australia’s Capital, RAIA, 1982
• The post-war international style

The following citation was prepared for the 1998 RAIA 25 Year Awards by architects Philip Leeson and Cassandra Kelleher for the ACT Chapter of the RAIA. It is reproduced here with their permission.

1998 RAIA 25 Year Award Citation

In stark contrast to the archetypal suburbia of Canberra are three houses in Campbell designed in the early 1960s by the partnership Grounds, Romberg and Boyd of Melbourne. The houses of 42-46 Vasey Crescent are unique firstly for their united appearance which is typified by a low key aesthetic, clean lines and cubiform shapes. Secondly, unlike the houses which surround them, they are notable for their careful planning as a group of houses with a considered relationship to their site.

At a time when the Academy of Science Building by Roy Grounds was under construction in Canberra, the first of the new landowners of Vasey Crescent approached Grounds asking if he would design a house for them. Admirers of the new Academy Building and having moved recently from Melbourne, the Blakers were well aware of Grounds’ work. On meeting them he accepted the commission saying,

had it been a mansion I would have refused, but a cottage I’ll accept.

— Roy Grounds

The Blakers own taste for simple materials and their limited budget must have appealed to Grounds’ own sensibilities and his desire to develop an inexpensive and unassuming but sensible house type. Independently, the other two block owners also approached Grounds to design their houses: the Griffings at the suggestion of the Department of Interior, who were aware of his work for the Blakers, and the Phillips, also a Melbourne couple, from their own knowledge of the ‘good design’ of the partnership.

Thus, as much by chance as by good management, there arose an unequalled opportunity to design three houses for three individual families which would have the scope to be a harmonious composition within themselves.

In response to their varying position on the site and the individual needs of each owner, each house is original in its conception, however a consistency of style, form and materials ensures a unity across the three. The family resemblance between the three houses is heavily influenced by the use of concrete blockwork, slender balcony and roof supports and the deep spreading eaves of each of the flat roofs. Similarly the planning typology shares a common idea of open plan living space with a distinct separation between the children’s and parent’s areas of each house. In each instance all the children’s rooms open on to a common play/family area.

Of the three, numbers 46 and 42 have remained in the same ownership since completion and consequently hold the best preserved interiors. Importantly, in line with the Blakers original brief, the houses have not required significant maintenance since completion. Some interior innovations included folding screens as space dividers and opening panels above doors for ventilation. The interiors of the two houses which included fair faced blockwork, finely crafted timber panelling, window framing and matching joinery show a consistency of finishes rarely seen in new housing. Hints of the Academy interior can also be found including the same deep red tiles in one kitchen and the joinery work (including secret nailing) of the Academy of Science carpenters in another.

The staggered siting of the houses across the side of the ridge allowed uninterrupted views from each house north to Mt Ainslie and west towards the lake. In this way the striking vertical form of the Phillips house

a tower and not a cave

— Roy Grounds

…was set back farthest from the street so that it did not dominate surrounding houses. With its strong formal composition, large areas of glazing and its open plan living and sleeping areas this house exhibits many aspects of the post war international style.

Influenced by his European travel and also by the strong Melbourne regional style which Grounds had helped to develop, the houses are in many ways typical of his unified rationalism, economical planning and a love of warm natural materials. It is notable, however, that due to the new commission Grounds received to design the Victorian Arts Centre Robin Boyd took over their management.

The three houses represent the strongest expression of housing designed by Grounds in Canberra. While other isolated examples exist, the clarity of the Vasey Crescent triptych in their conception and unity remain an outstanding lesson to architects and housing developers of the advantages of designing individual family houses together.

Further reading

• Profile of Vasey Crescent houses
• Philip Leeson Architects

4 Cobby Street, Campbell is a three bedroom house designed by Roy Grounds, with Theo Bischoff as project architect, in 1969-70 for Sir Otto and Lady Frankel and was completed in 1970-71. Sir Otto Frankel was Australia’s pre-eminent geneticist and head of the CSIRO Plant Industry Division from 1960-71.

He became acquainted with Grounds during the building of the Australian Academy of Science in 1959, when he was on the building committee and Grounds was the design architect. Grounds later designed this house for Frankel’s retirement, where a significant part of his study and writing took place.

4 Cobby Street is the last of a small number of private residences Grounds designed in Canberra. Like his house at 24 Cobby Street, this house is a late example of a combination of two styles: the post-war Melbourne regional style, with its long, unbroken roofline and widely projecting eaves (in this example, at the rear only); and the post-war international style with its cubiform overall shape and large sheets of glass.

Significance

4 Cobby Street is listed on the ACT Chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) Register of Significant Twentieth Century Architecture. It is regarded by the RAIA as being an example of significant architecture by a prominent Australian architect and a valuable educational resource for students and designers.

The house is an interesting example of a mixture of the post-war international and post-war Melbourne regional styles and exhibits design features peculiar to both those styles of architecture. The house is also important due to its association with Sir Otto Frankel and the design of this house by Grounds as his retirement residence further highlights its significance.

Grounds designed a number of buildings and houses in Canberra. Other houses are the Forrest Townhouses, 42-46 Vasey Crescent and 24 Cobby Street; the buildings are the Australian Academy of Science (1959) and the CSIRO Phytotron Building (1963).

Description

The house is located on a large block with the Mount Ainslie Nature Park native bushland at the rear and to the east. It has a simple rectangular plan which has a slight curve following the front boundary and street. The concave curve of the front of the house and open brick grills which obscure the windows give the house a terse appearance from the street. It seems that the brick grill detail has been incorporated into the design to disguise the small, irregular windows in the street facade. The same feature can be seen on the western end of the Forrest Townhouses, also designed by Grounds.

The recessed entry opens into a small lobby off an open plan living room. A door to the left opens into the laundry and on into the kitchen, both rooms facing south to the street. The living room is partially separated from the dining room by a brown brick fireplace. These rooms open out to the north east terrace through full height sliding aluminium glazed doors and are fully lined with timber veneered plywood sheets on the walls and spaced boards to the ceilings, with no skirting or cornices.

Joinery around the fireplace includes low level shelving and cupboards, a veneered benchtop and two posts, one of which conceals a structural column, while along the wall with the kitchen there is a servery and more shelving. All joinery matches the panelled walls and both these elements are important to the integrity of the building as a whole.

The bedrooms, wet areas and study extend to the south east off a curved central passage, with each internal wall set out on the radius of the curve. The large (about 25sq m) study is located at the end of the passage with an external door to the south east providing access to the garden via a suspended concrete stair. Two of the bedrooms face northeast while the third and smallest of the bedrooms faces south to the street.

The house is mostly brick veneer with the wet areas and the north east wall of the dining and living areas in cavity brick while the floor structure is reinforced concrete. The external brickwork is a medium brown colour and the flat, metal deck roof has a 450mm high metal fascia that extends out 450mm past the longer north east and south west walls and 1800mm over the north east living, dining and utility terraces.

Sources and further reading

• Royal Australian Institute of Architects RSTCA Citation No. R124
• Short biography of Roy Grounds
• Biography of Sir Otto Frankel
• The post-war Melbourne regional style
• The post-war international style

1 Astley Place, Garran was designed by Dirk Bolt and Associates in 1967. The house is a late example of the post-war international style with its simple, cubic form, large sheets of glass, plain smooth wall surfaces and deep overhang for shade.

Although the house has been extended twice (in 1973 and 1979), it has maintained its original design qualities and interesting features. In September 2000 the house was awarded the ACT Chapter of the RAIA’s Twenty-five Year Award for its contribution to the cultural heritage of Canberra.

Description

The house is located on a steeply sloping corner block with views of the Brindabella Range to the west. The siting takes advantage of these views, with glazing the full width of the house. Construction is of grey concrete blocks, flat metal deck roofing and marine plywood for fascias, soffits and wall cladding.

The simple form and detailing continues in the interior, with the arrangement of spaces and detailing in the full height doors and panelling. The design of the house is based around a central service core which contains the kitchen and a passage leading to the sleeping areas.

The western facade features a frameless, cantilevered plate glass wall held in place by a system of adjustable cables. On the underside of the protruding glass wall is a system of shutters which provide natural ventilation throughout the living areas. The house demonstrated a great deal of innovation for its time.

Sources and further reading

• Muse, Canberra Art Monthly, September 2000
• RAIA ACT Chapter Bus Tour of Modernist Houses, 7 April 2001
• The post-war international style

3 Arkana Street, Yarralumla is a large six bedroom house designed by Noel Potter of Bunning and Madden in 1967 for Professor and Mrs A J Birch. Professor Birch was the Dean of the Research School of Chemistry at the Australian National University. The house was later owned by Romaldo Giurgola, one of the design architects for Australia’s New Parliament House (1988).

The house is an example of the post-war international style, with its cubiform overall shape and large sheets of glass.

Significance

3 Arkana Street is listed on the ACT Chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) Register of Significant Twentieth Century Architecture. It is regarded by the RAIA as being an important example of the post-war international style and was awarded the 1968 C. S. Daley medal for architectural merit.

The plan of the house is innovative and detail throughout the house interesting and unique, reflecting the freedom given to the architect Noel Potter by his clients. The client’s desire for privacy and outdoor living was well met by the battle-axe site and the siting and design of the house itself.

The firm of Bunning and Madden have designed a number of public buildings in Canberra, including the Woden Valley High School (1967), the National Library of Australia (1968) and the Indian High Commission (1981). Noel Potter played a prominent role in the design of the most important of these buildings, the stripped classical style National Library of Australia.

The house was designed to represent a modern version of an Australian homestead—but with the verandas facing inward to a private enclosed courtyard with outdoor living areas and swimming pool, rather than the street.

Description

The house was designed to represent a modern version of an Australian homestead—but with the verandas facing inward to a private enclosed courtyard with outdoor living areas and swimming pool, rather than the street. The design takes advantage of the Australian climate and a lifestyle based around outdoor living. Maximum privacy is provided by the U-shaped plan of the house and the site, which does not have a street frontage.

The entry to the house is located on the bottom and south side of the ‘U’ with living areas and bedrooms located on either side of the ‘U’. To the left of the entry is a large living area, dining, kitchen, laundry, music room and garage/workshop area. To the right of the entry is the study, main bedroom and five remaining bedrooms and two bathrooms which are located off a gallery style games room which is 9.45 metres long and 2.14 metres wide and looks out on to the courtyard.

All rooms facing the tiled courtyard have access to it through double cedar framed glass doors. The house has simple lines and few windows in the exterior walls. The living and dining area are open plan, with heavy cross beams lending a feeling of space to the living room, the end of which is a redwood and glass curtain wall with a view over the Brindabella Ranges to the west. Internal and external brickwork was originally painted white, with Canadian redwood timber trim and windows. Pierced brickwork is used to screen some windows on the exterior walls.

Sources and further reading

• Royal Australian Institute of Architects RSTCA Citation No. R44
• ‘A Winner All The Way’, Australian House and Garden, August, 1969
• The post-war international style
• The late twentieth century stripped classical style