So, i was sitting out the back of my good friend Cassie's place, South Yarra, a suburb in Melbourne i would have never had much time for, but Cassie lives there and she let me stay there, so things were starting to look up, for me, Cassie, and South Yarra, if truth be told and then i actually looked up and a funny thing occurred to me.
The apartments next door, what style are they? I was telling Cassie, 'Can you imagine living up there and waking up and strolling out on that balcony, that would really be something?', it would be even something better if i would do it, i would be naked as the day i was born, i would hide nothing, Melbourne accept me for who i am, and then i would take a sip of my coffee and start munching my Vegimite and toast.
But enough about me, this post i want to do about the guy that gave these building's to the people of Melbourne, they were his legacy, his vision, and everybody now loves them, even me and people at the time thought he was mad...like me?
Introducing...Australia's first builder architect, Howard Lawson and some of the buildings he built!
10/ 61 Darling Street
If you a book reading type of person, check out Homes in the sky
From what (little) i understand, they are Art Deco
Dorrington House
The Dorrington building is built at an acute angle- approximately 60 degrees, into the corner of Caroline St and Alexandra Avenue. Dorrington House is one of several apartment buildings constructed during the 1920's by Howard Lawson, he built it out of reclaimed materials as the city of Melbourne went through a reconstruction boom. Lawson was greatly influenced by Hollywood movies and the "California" style.
Many were built in the depression using recycled materials from buildings and mansions that were being pulled down at the time. The apartments were linked with gardens and grottoes etc and rents were kept cheap to encourage artists to live there.
When Howard Lawson died much of the site was left to his daughter Beverly Burslem, who was named after the flats Beverly Hills. The land of the gardens was sold off as were most of the apartments over the years and some modern blocks built where the gardens were.
House in Arthurs Seat, VIC, Designed and built in the 1930's
Beverly retained ownership of many of the flats in Beverly hills into the 1980s. She gradually sold them off. She had an office in the building next door to beverly Hills.
I remember reading that he went bankrupt, he also built dance halls and theatres in Melbourne and inter state
26 Steane Avenue, Arthurs Seat, Victoria
A funny thing just occurred to me, i remember watching a documentary years ago about a celebrated Architect, i think it was Richard Neutra.
A group of students i think in Sweden used Google maps to locate all the houses he designed in Los Angelas and then they went there and knocked on the door, imaging the new owners surprise to have 30 students form a country somewhere in europe studying your house? Check out Richards houses
Maybe one day this might happen for Howard, someone might start by doing a wikipedia page even!!
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