Snapshots, Richmond

I like the light on days like today when one minute it is is raining horizontally and the next the sun comes out, photos from my late afternoon wander though West Richmond.

Modern houses in Richmond, quite a lot of this cheek-by-jowl with nineteenth-century terraces and weatherboards, some really good and some a bit average, this isn't my favourite but it looked good in the sun.

Red brick corner shop.

Back of the 'All Nations Hotel' on Lennox St.

Terrace Houses on York St.

Art Deco 'Davis Relova Laundry' , building designed by Walter Mason, apparently it was converted to apartments several years ago, more here. Facade is looking a bit shabby

Oh look someone made a building out of a doily! Clever.

A design for the Polish pavilion for the 2010 Polish Expo by WWA architects. Despite my facetiousness I actually think the building is beautiful. The intricate patterning on the wraparound façade (that sounds like a contradiction in terms but seems to be the best description) is based on a folk-art paper cut-out. But I'm not really that concerned with the cultural significance, I am more excited by the dedication to decorative detail as a central aspect of the buildings exterior. Also the consistency of the motif rather than splashes of colour, mixed with pattern mixed with wood mixed with shiny mixed with everything else. Found via archdaily.

Image via archdaily.

Snapshot, Melbourne.

Some shots of Monaco House on Ridgway Place in the city (just off Lt Collins between Spring and Exhibition). Constructed last year and designed by McBride Charles Ryan. The angular lines and crystalline forms are unexpected in this small laneway and they sit in direct contrast to the old brick wall of The Melbourne Club opposite.

The glass and high gloss black finish create what I like to call a 'borrowed facade,' in this case the greenery of The Melbourne Club garden is reflected and this transforms the hard modern materials and sharp edges into something softer and more organic. I think the position of this building, or you could say the way that the architect/s appear to respond to the surrounding environment, transforms it into something greater than the design itself.

More information and interior shots can be viewed here and here.