Yarrabee Flats

Yarrabee Flats
General information
Architectural style Mid 20th century Expressionism style
Address 44 Walsh street, South Yarra
Town or city Melbourne, Victoria
Country Australia
Completed 1940s
Design and construction
Architect Mary Turner Shaw and Frederick Romberg
Architecture firm Romberg & Shaw

Yarrabee Flats is a building located at 44 Walsh street, South Yarra, Melbourne, Australia consisting of five flats. It was designed by the Australian architecture firm, Romberg & Shaw,[1] consisting of Mary Turner Shaw and Frederick Romberg, both Australian architects. The building is known for its architectural style and innovation. Yarabee Flats was built in 1940 for two musicians.[2]

Romberg

Frederick Romberg (b. 1912, Tsing-tao, China - d. 1992, Australia ) was a Swiss trained architect who emigrated to Australia in 1938.[3] He soon became established in Melbourne as an independent architect. His work is characterised by its forward looking design features and transcendence of the rules of architecture of old Europe.[4][5]

Shaw

Mary Turner Shaw (b. 1906, Victoria, Australia - d. 1990 ). Mary (Mollie) Turner Shaw had found it difficult to complete her architecture studies at the University of Melbourne, and instead became an architect via articled studentship. She worked for various Architectural Firms in Australia (1931-1936) and the UK (1937), and traveled Europe meeting many key Modernist architects. After working for others again in Australia (1938), she formed an architectural firm, Romberg & Shaw, with the Modernist architect Frederick Romberg. The firm operated from 1939 to 1942. During that period they produced "some of the most celebrated blocks of flats in Australia",[1] including the Yarrabee Flats, and the Newburn Flats, South Melbourne, Victoriain 1939. Shaw continued to practice architecture until her retirement in 1969.

Description

Yarabee Flats takes a familiar form but its plan in elevation shows detail that is unusual in Melbourne buildings. Romberg demonstrates concern for natural light and a subtle materiality in the form of delicate, unrendered brickwork at the exterior walls. The building has crisp, rectangular blocks resting on the piloti. Striped awnings block direct sunlight. Each level has a rounded balcony constructed of curved corrugated iron. The window size is generous. The top floor flat has a large stone chimney in the lounge room.[2]

Similar buildings

Yarrabee Flats is one of a series of pre war buildings designed by Romberg in association with Mary Turner Shaw.[6] They were both employees of Stephenson and Turner.[7][8][9][10] Two comparable buildings from the period are Newburn flats and Stanhill flats in South Melbourne.[4] Similarities include the open, cantilevered balconies, the generous windows, and the detailed facade[11]

Key influences

Yarrabee Flats has a sculptural quality that gives reference to European modernist architecture.[10] These elements include curved lines and bold horizons. The influence of the work of Erich Mendelsohn, an expressionist and Walter Gropius (the Berlin housing estate) is also seen.

Renovation

Yarrabee Flats has been refurbished and its unrendered brickwork painted. The original plan of the building has been altered to suit its current use.

References

  1. 1 2 Willis, J. 2012 "Shaw, Mary Turner" in P.Goad and J.Willis The Encyclopedia of Australian Architecture, Cambridge University Press, New York, p.624
  2. 1 2 Edquist H. (ed.) "Frederick Romberg: the architecture of migration 1938-1975." University of Michigan, RMIT University Press, Melbourne 2000 p88.
  3. ↑ MacMahon B. "The Architecture of East Australia: An Architectural History in 432 Individual Presentations." Edition Axel Menges, 2001 p19. ISBN 3930698900, 9783930698905. Accessed at Google books 7 January 2014.
  4. 1 2 Clerehan N. "Professor Frederick Romberg 1913 - 1992." Architecture Australia January 1993 Vol 82(1) p16.
  5. ↑ Spooner M. et al "Frederick Romberg, an architectural survey." RMIT Design Archives, RMIT website 2013. Accessed 7 January 2014.
  6. ↑ Willis J. and Hanna B. "Women architects in Australia, 1900-1950." Royal Australian Institute of Architects, 2001 p61. Accessed at Google Books 7 January 2014.
  7. ↑ "Types of buildings." Metropolis Apartments website.
  8. ↑ Serie J. "Mary Turner Shaw". Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australia National University. Accessed 7 January 2014.
  9. ↑ "Heritage". Stephenson and Turner Architects website. Accessed 7 January 2014.
  10. 1 2 Goad P. "Melbourne architecture." Watermark, Boorowa, N.S.W. 2009 Second edition.
  11. ↑ "Newburn Flats." Australian Institute of Architects website. Accessed 6 January 2014.

Coordinates: 37°50′13″S 144°59′06″E / 37.836906°S 144.98511°E / -37.836906; 144.98511

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