Designed by Philip Cox in 1975, Jerilderie Court was the first non-suburban public housing project in Canberra. Located towards the Civic end of Ainslie Avenue in Reid, Jerilderie Court was commissioned by the National Capital Development Commission (NCDC) to provide accommodation for low income families in a medium density housing scheme. The development was awarded the C. S. Daley Medal in 1978.

Philip Cox is one of Australia’s most distinguished architects and has designed some of Australia’s most important and technologically sophisticated buildings, including the National Maritime Museum, the Sydney Exhibition Centre, the Sydney Entertainment Centre and some of the facilities at Homebush Bay, including the National Aquatic Centre, used for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Cox has won many architectural awards in Australia, including both the Silver and Gold Medals from the Royal Australian Institute of Architects. He is regarded as one of the founders of the Sydney School of architecture.

Cox has designed a number of major buildings and smaller projects in Canberra. They include the Kambah Health Centre (1973), Bruce Stadium (1974), the Irish Embassy (1975), the ACT Family and Juvenile Courts (1977), the National Indoor Sports Centre (1979), the house at 34 Fihelly Street, Fadden (1983) and the National Convention Centre (1989).

Description

Sixty-two units are contained within the development in a variety of housing types, including three bedroom townhouses, single storey garden units and maisonettes. All units face north, creating oblique facades to the street frontage on Ainslie Avenue.

A large central communal space provides access to units, playgrounds and pleasant, leafy barbecue areas. To stay within budget, standard structural systems and materials were used. Staggered vertical and horizontal massing and the contrast of pitched and flat roofs provide visual interest within the limited palette of materials.

Source

• Australian Architects: Philip Cox, RAIA Education Division, Red Hill, 1984
• Cox Architects and Planners website
• The Sydney School of architecture

The University of Canberra Student Residences were designed by John Andrews in 1973, for the Canberra College of Advanced Education (CCAE), construction being completed in 1975. The CCAE became the University of Canberra in 1990. They can be accessed from the University of Canberra campus off College Street or viewed from Aikman Drive, Bruce.

Significance

The residences are listed on the ACT Chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects RAIA Register of Significant Twentieth Century Architecture. In July 2008 they were provisionally added to the ACT Heritage Register.

The buildings are a rare residential example of the late twentieth century brutalist style with their strong shapes, boldly composed in off-form reinforced concrete and diagonal orientation with the strong curved element of the roof. With their planning over five levels and roof following the slope of the north facing site, they also display characteristics of the late twentieth century Sydney regional style. The group represents the ideal of innovative modern architecture and planning—clean, functional and well sited.

The group is a relatively rare and well-preserved example of 1970s student accommodation. They are one of only two examples of on campus student residential accommodation designed by John Andrews in Canberra, one of Australia’s internationally acclaimed architects of the latter half of the twentieth century. The construction of off-form in situ concrete was also innovative for its time.

The buildings have significance for their association with the development of tertiary education in Canberra during the 1970s, in particular for the provision of housing for large numbers of students in the early 1970s as a result of the introduction of free tertiary education by the Whitlam Labor Government.

Description

Built on a north facing hillside, the group faces north and overlooks the College Park with its plantation of eucalypts and casuarinas and is framed by well-established native woodland. The complex consists of 156 student study/bedrooms set out on a 3.05m square grid, arranged in six tiers of five levels, which follow the natural slope of the site. There is approximately a two-metre change in floor level between each unit as they step down the site, a climb of 13 rises to the street/stairway, while there is a small step down in floor level across the whole residence from the east to the west. Each tier is connected by an access stairway and the interlocking, staggered layout provides all rooms with a north-east orientation. The rooms are arranged in groups of six, with common lounge, dining, cooking and bathroom facilities.

The design represented a new type of planning for on campus student accommodation called studenentheim, where modules comprising six student rooms were linked with a separate sitting room, kitchen area and shared toilet facilities. This was an ideal use for John Andrews’ additive style of architecture, where the basic building element of the student rooms is grouped around the shared facilities. The success of this studenentheim was such that the ANU then built Toad Hall following these principles, also using John Andrews as the architect.

Most internal walls are masonry, with the end wall to the wet areas painted externally. All external surfaces are off-form concrete except for the painted masonry walls to the rear entries and the bull-nosed corrugated roof. The concrete surfaces and roofing material combine to provide a uniform effect to the construction and visual character of the building.

The residences are described in Canberra: An Architectural Guide to Australia’s Capital, RAIA ACT Chapter, 1982:

Ground slope and diagonal orientation have been used to give character to both forms and spaces. Curved fascias and internal/street stairways which provide separate entrance to each cluster of bedrooms are noteworthy.

— RAIA, ACT Chapter

The residences can be compared with other buildings in Canberra designed by John Andrews:

• Cameron Offices (1972)
• Toad Hall Student Residences, Kingsley Street, Acton. (1977)
• Belconnen Bus Interchange (1978)
• Woden TAFE (1981)

John Andrews

John Andrews was born in Sydney in 1933 and graduated from the University of Sydney in 1956. In 1957 he entered the Masters of Architecture program at Harvard University. After graduating Andrews worked in Toronto until 1962, when he established John Andrews Architects in Toronto. He returned to Sydney in 1972, renaming the company John Andrews International.

John Andrews is a key practitioner of the late twentieth century brutalist and late twentieth century late modern styles. His key buildings in Australia are the Cameron Offices and the American Express Tower, Sydney (1976).

John Andrews designed other student residences in North America and two in Canberra: these and Toad Hall at the Australian National University.

Sources and further reading

• Royal Australian Institute of Architects RSTCA Citation No. R59
• Profile of John Andrews
• The late twentieth century brutalist style
• The late twentieth century Sydney regional style.
• Toad Hall Student Residences, Kingsley Street, Acton. (1977)

The Cook Housing Cooperative is a group of over 100 townhouses sited in natural bushland at Wybalena Grove, Cook. The housing group was designed by Sydney architect Michael Dysart in 1974, with construction completed in 1977.

Wybalena Grove was established when a group of residents, dissatisfied with the way the development of the Urambi Village Cooperative was progressing, split off and formed a separate group, developing the Cook Housing Cooperative. Wybalena Grove is a larger development than Urambi, being sited on roughly 28 acress of land compared with Urambi’s 11 acre site.

The townhouses are typical of the late twentieth century Sydney regional style: split level with dark tiled roofs, clinker bricks, stained timber posts and beams situated on a sloping site in a natural bushland setting.

It’s interesting to compare the landscape setting of Wybalena Grove (natural bushland) with the other Sydney regional style townhouse developments at Urambi (native but largely man-made) and Stage 1 of Swinger Hill (higher density with less landscaping).

The RAIA’s Architectural Guide to Australia’s Capital (RAIA ACT Chapter, Canberra, 1982) describes the Wybalena Grove development:

Triangular brick party walls and associated tile roofs unify a series of house rows completely integrated with the natural site.

— RAIA ACT Chapter

Further reading

• Short biography of Michael Dysart
• Urambi Village Housing Cooperative
• The late twentieth century Sydney regional style

The idea of the Urambi Village Housing Cooperative, or Urambi Village as it is now known, was conceived by a group of public servants who came to Canberra to work in the Whitlam Government’s Federal Department of Urban and Regional Development in 1973. This group wanted to establish a new style of housing that provided a better environment and facilities than the standard single lot residential unit.

At the time, use of large blocks of land for medium density housing was prohibited by local planning regulations and it was necessary to change the land tenure laws to allow large sites such as Urambi and Wybalena Grove to be developed and sold through strata title. Public meetings were called to gauge interest in the concept and a Housing Cooperative was formed to develop the village. Various disagreements saw the Cooperative split into two groups: one continued to develop Urambi while the other formed the Cook Housing Cooperative at Wybalena Grove.

The Sydney architect Michael Dysart was commissioned to design both developments in 1974.

Significance

The housing group is a relatively rare and well-preserved example of 1970s housing in the late twentieth century Sydney regional style. The place exhibits the principle characteristics of modern residential architecture in a National Capital Development Commission planned neighbourhood suburb—appropriate human scale and functional domestic planning. The housing is notable for being situated within a natural bushland setting and the intact landscaping surrounding the buildings. The setting and the architecture combine to produce a precinct of integrity, illustrative of modern architecture.

Urambi is a well-preserved example of the move towards the introduction of diverse housing types procured through communal and co-operative processes for the purpose of demonstrating a socially responsible residential alternative and environmentally sensitive form of housing.

The real achievement of Urambi lies in the way the houses have been grouped to achieve a total result which is greater than the sum of the parts.

— RAIA ACT Chapter Awards Jury, 1977

Urambi is the first of two examples of medium density housing designed by Michael Dysart in Canberra, one of Australia’s nationally noted architects. The other is Wybalena Grove in Cook.

The housing exhibits creative and artistic excellence as an entity possessing an architectural theme of modern architecture in the late twentieth-century Sydney regional style. The housing is aesthetically significant for its massing reflecting function and landform, juxtaposed with fine detailing, all expressed in the textural and tactile qualities of natural materials.

The Sydney Regional style

Urambi is an example of the late twentieth-century Sydney regional style of architecture with its asymmetrical massing, tiled skillion roofs (courtyard houses) and use of stained timber. Other architectural elements of the Sydney regional style displayed in these buildings that relate to the external forms are:

• clerestory windows
• exposed rafters
• timber decks
• timber awning sash

The following design features are of additional significance:

• site planning where the clusters are staggered across the site
• native landscape setting with paths and retaining walls
• brick courtyard walls
• external finishes—western red cedar framed glazing, panelled front doors, face brown-grey brickwork
• timber balustrades
• separate covered car parking
• split-level designs, and original detailing and finishes

Pedestrian access to the houses from the parking areas is by pathways through native landscaping.

Description

The housing group is planned around the curve of the northwest crest of a low hill, set between a golf course and the elbow street corner formed by Crozier Circuit forming an inverted ‘L’ site plan. The residential groups are approached off vehicle circulation paths and the car accommodation, which is accessed off Crozier Circuit from five evenly spaced entry roads. The site has a mature native landscape of trees and shrubs.

The Murrumbidgee Country Club golf course forms the north and west edge of the site and is linked to the Canberra Nature park. The land slopes to the north and west with westerly views across to the Brindabella Mountains.

The houses were situated within an existing bush-land setting and further planting of Australian natives within the public areas has re-enforced the ‘naturalness’ of the setting. The 43 split-level houses are located closest to the circuit and are arranged in groups or clusters of three to seven, placed to form parallel rows of terraces. The clusters are serviced by six car parking areas comprising carports and visitor car parking spaces.

Extending around the north and northwest edge of the site facing onto the golf course are 29 ‘L’ planned single storey courtyard houses, in clusters of three to seven, placed to form enclosed and partly enclosed private courtyards for each house.

The design philosophy revolved around a pedestrian street with both arms leading to a community centre, forming an agora or public space.

— Michael Dysart

Pedestrian access to the houses from the parking areas is by pathways. The complex has a communal meeting room, a swimming pool, ball court, seating areas, letterboxes and garbage collection areas. The entries to most dwellings, with their vertically panelled cedar doors, are placed seemingly without concern for a formal front facade.

All houses are constructed with brown tile pitched roofs, brown-grey face brickwork, stained exposed timber, and western red cedar framed glazing combining to provide a distinctive aesthetic appearance of textural unity. The different designs range from two to five bedroom dwellings. Spaces within the split-level dwellings are arranged on three levels taking advantage of the slope of the site, some with clerestory glazing and skylights.

By staggering the houses the external walls of adjacent dwellings help enclose the courtyards providing additional privacy, and combined with native planting, the whole provides a perception of buildings settled in the natural landscape following the contours of the hillside.

Urambi Village was awarded the RAIA ACT Chapter C S Daley Medal in 1982. In 2002 it was awarded the RAIA ACT Chapter 25 Year Award.

Sources and further reading

• Alastair Swayn of Daryl Jackson Alastair Swayn Architects, Canberra
• Royal Australian Institute of Architects RSTCA Draft Citation for Urambi Village
• Profile of Wybalena Grove: Cook Housing Cooperative
• Short biography of Michael Dysart
• The late twentieth century Sydney regional style

The Wilson House at 38 Mirning Crescent, Aranda was designed by Canberra architect Roger Pegrum in 1971-72. Aranda is located near large tracts of native bushland at the Black Mountain and Aranda Bushland Canberra Nature Parks approximately 8km from Canberra’s city centre and was developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The house is an excellent example of the Sydney regional style of architecture.

Significance

The Wilson House at 38 Mirning Crescent is listed on the ACT Chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects Register of Significant Twentieth Century Architecture. The quality, layout and siting of the house on a sloping block within native gardens make a significant contribution to the suburban environment. The house is also regarded as being an advanced design solution for its time, with the clever use of split levels to handle a sloping site and its Japanese character, looking onto the courtyard and garden rather than presenting to the street. This character is further enhanced by the simple and elegant detailing throughout, with the internal and external window frames, originally painted black, framing the landscape.

The house was awarded the C. S. Daley Medal in 1974 and is regarded by the RAIA as an excellent local example of the Sydney Regional style of architecture.

In 2005 the Wilson House was awarded the RAIA ACT Chapter 25 Year Award.

Description

The Wilson House is set in a native garden with original eucalypt trees and backs on to a bushland reserve. The site slopes towards the street and the split level house follows the sloping site, with car accommodation on the lowest level. A path winds its way through the native garden to a paved brick walled courtyard, overlooked by the living areas and main bedroom. The plan of the house is roughly a ‘Z’ shape.

The entry leads directly to the dining area and steps down to the living area, which has a high, raked ceiling. The family living area also has a raked ceiling and clerestory lighting; opening directly from this area is the kitchen and steps to the laundry on the level below. An L-shaped corridor leads on from this area to the 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, shower room and an added spa room. Although the Wilson House is carefully planned, it has an informal character and all parts of the house have a pleasant outlook to the native gardens.

The deep boarded timber fascias, timber windows and doors and timber boarding below clerestory windows were originally painted black. Door jambs, skirting and railings are all detailed in ash. The skillion and gable concrete tiled roof forms are massed together to indicate differing functions and the wide eave overhangs are angled underneath to prevent direct sun during summer. Both provide an agreeable scale to the building.

In 1988 the house was extended and altered to a design by Roger Pegrum. This involved a small extension to the kitchen, the addition of a spa room and the conversion of the dressing room to a sitting alcove, with a new dressing room added along the eastern side. These changes had the effect of adding a southern courtyard, and echoed the original idea of wrapping the house around an outdoor space.

Sources and further reading

• Royal Australian Institute of Architects RSTCA Citation No. R48
• Royal Australian Institute of Architects 2005 ACT Architecture Awards booklet
• The Sydney regional style of architecture