Snapshot, St Patrick's Cathedral from Parliament Gardens

I always enjoy when you spot a piece of architecture from a new angle and through a new frame.

Melbourne Bike Share

I thought I would share my thoughts on this scheme, slightly off topic, but this is a blog that is partly about Melbourne so I guess it fits. Here is the bike I borrowed the other day with my vegies from the Vic Market securely stowed in the front, that little basket is better than it looks.

When I heard about Melbourne Bike Share starting up I was pretty excited as I really like riding around Melbourne, but since having my bike stolen I haven't been able to. I could buy a new bike but I have absolutely zero room inside to store it and I am reluctant to store one outside again after the last theft. Plus the block of flats I live often receives grumpy body corporate letters from lawyers stating that we are not allowed to keep anything in 'common areas', despite the fact that the area surrounding the flats is basically concrete and a few tidily stored bikes would hardly be a problem... but that is a separate issue.

My point is that I am probably an ideal candidate for this bike share stuff. I live close enough to a couple of bike stations, about a 5 minute walk. I don't have my own bike and much of what I do, uni, meeting friends, shopping, is located near other bike racks.

I am still getting my head around which routes to take, which roads have bike lanes, where the bike lanes suddenly vanish, and so on. So far I have been using it to ride to Melbourne Uni where I work/study, I usually walk so this cuts my travel time from about 35-40 mins to 15-20 mins, which is great. There really is no way for me to get to uni on a tram or bus that would be quicker than walking, so riding is ideal. I have also used it to ride to the Vic Market, and that took about 10 minutes instead of 25, and from Melbourne Uni into the city, which took about the same time as a tram but was a lot more fun.

I have some days when I ride in and then have other things on in the evening and don't ride home, so the flexibility of not worrying about how to get my own bike home works well. The little basket with an elastic works quite well as long as your bag is sturdy/big enough, the other day my bag was a pretty empty and almost too small to secure - but they basically work well. As you can see in my picture I secured my market shopping nicely. The seats are easy enough to move up and down, though I have noticed some bikes getting a bit stiff, or being completely stuck - so double check it can be adjusted before you hire it. They are quite easy to ride, they are the style where you can sit up straight, which is my preference. I'm not concerned about riding fast and there are not too many hills, and certainly no really difficult ones, on the routes I take. They are quite heavy and noticeably less maneuverable compared to most other bikes I have ridden, but for short trips they are fine. I am a bit concerned about riding at night, they do have a light but it seems very weak? Also it would be good if they had a bell on them (unless I have missed it).Also it would be useful to be able to get a small fold up map of where all the stations are.

I took out an annual subscription so hiring the bike is pretty easy, I just stick my key in and it beeps and releases the bike. Then you give it a good shove into the stand when it is returned and it beeps again. I had one issue the other week where a bike I returned locked in but for some reason didn't register as returned and my key was blocked, however, the bike share people sorted it out and were very helpful so that was great.

There has been a lot of talk about this scheme, and mostly about what is wrong with it, and there are some things wrong. I also feel that it has been marketed very badly, I keep thinking of opportunities for them to promote it, yet I have seen virtually no promotion of it.

More stations - I guess this is something that is dependent on it growing in popularity but it does seem to me that the area covered is a bit limited. There are some places in the city with several stations within metres of each other, whereas other areas are completely missed. I think the area covered is only about 5 square kilometres, which isn't much. Also many stations are located along tram lines. For me the motivator in subscribing was the ride to uni, the route is badly served by public transport as nothing goes there directly, I would have to catch a tram in the opposite direction and then catch another tram, or walk halfway and catch a bus. Things that take longer than walking. I feel that more stations that allowed people to take routes across Melbourne that don't have direct tram or bus lines would be really sensible. I would love to see some in Fitzroy, some in South Yarra near the Domain Rd shops, some in Richmond, even Prahran - and these are just the places I tend to frequent, I'm sure other people would like to see them in other suburbs. It seems to me at the moment some stations are positioned in places that councils or tourist marketers (is that a phrase??) like to think everyone wants to be in Melbourne (i.e. Docklands, Southbank etc), rather than where many people are actually going. Also getting between inner city suburbs in Melbourne on PT can be a bit of a joke, especially on weekends, I often end up walking rather than waiting for trams. A bike would be a great way of getting round this.

Marketing - Why does the website not link correctly to twitter or facebook? Both icons simply prompt you to promote the Bike Share website via your own twitter/facebook account. I actually had no idea they had a twitter account until a friend tweeted at them. Not only is it silly not to link directly to their own accounts, but icons that automatically 'promote' something via your own facebook/twitter account without explaining that this is what they will do are frustrating and a bit sneaky.

Why is Melb Bike Share not involved with 'Ride to Work Day'? [UPDATE - I just noticed that on their website they are affiliated w RTWD, but I can't really find out how exactly] Surely they could give out some free day passes to people who register with Ride to Work but don't have their own bike. I think they need to get people on the bikes as much as possible, even just for one trip, to break the ice. There are quite a lot of racks at Melbourne Uni, so I wonder why they don't promote it more with the students, who could even use them for getting across campus. I have had to trek between Tin Alley and the Law School in the past, and it is a good 10-15 minute walk.

I also feel they should take on the bad press, maybe have a blog on their website where the post media coverage, both good and bad and actually respond to the bad, how they are tackling it etc.

Cost - I think the annual subscription that I took out is very reasonable, $50 for a year. The daily and weekly rates are also pretty good, they are aimed at short trips and I think this is fine. However, I think one huge barrier for daily and even weekly users is the ridiculously high security deposit of $300. I read somewhere that this is not refunded till the next working day, and I could imagine even longer if used over the weekend depending on your own bank. As someone who does not use a credit card I simply don't have this in my debit account to be put aside. I know people who wouldn't have this space on their credit cards. Or imagine a family wanting to use them, you could end up having to put down $1200+ in security deposits! Or you might be a tourist on a budget, or worried that if there was an error and you have left Melbourne it might be tricky to get your money back. A definite deterrent. This actually put me off using the scheme until I was ready to take out an annual subscription. I understand the need for a security deposit for the bikes but the other schemes I have looked up, like the one in London, simply take credit/or debit card details and charge you after it is clear the bike has not been returned. So if you use the scheme correctly then you only have to lay out the actual cost for daily/weekly rental and other usage costs you incur.

Helmets - I know this is the big thing in most discussions. I do feel though that talk about the scheme has been a bit hijacked by people who want to ditch helmet laws, and as most of these seem like super keen bikers, with their own bikes, are they really worried about the scheme? I do I get the problem, honestly I do. Especially for tourists the need to have a helmet will be a huge barrier, who travels with a helmet? Who would want to buy one just for the day? But it seems the government won't shift so rather than everyone getting up in arms about it I would prefer to see how Melb Bike Share, the RACV, the city council and whoever else is involved will try and find a work around it. They at least need some rental helmets, if not at all stations maybe at the more touristy locations like Fed Square. Also what about those dinky fold up ones they had in The Age a while back? Those would be perfect. 

Personally the helmet thing is not a huge barrier for me. I had a few bad falls as a teen and my preference is always to wear a helmet. Also, for me the helmet is not the only thing I have to consider, I need to make sure I wear the right shoes, have a bag that can go in the basket or won't fall off as I ride, not wear the wrong kind of skirt and so on. But, still there will be times when I will think 'damn if I only I didn't need a helmet, I would jump on a bike', specially for the trips that are down very safe streets.

Has anyone else used it? Any other opinions?

Look ma! I'm in the paper.

This blog has fallen down several slots in my current 'to do' list. The main reasons are imminent thesis submission and a new semester of teaching. I also have a few other projects on the go. One of which is the new group 'Melbourne Heritage Action'. It has risen from the ashes, or the dust, of Lonsdale House. Several of us felt so angry that all the community protests over the demolition of that art deco building were ignored that we have formed a new group to hopefully stop similar demolitions in the future. The National Trust encouraged us to form a  group focused just on the CBD. In part because the CBD is very vulnerable, the land is valuable and there is a demand for new buildings with CBD addresses. Also because the CBD has lacked such a group. Many suburbs have resident's groups, or heritage groups and while the CBD does have some they don't tend to have nearly as many members and are often focused on specific areas or specific buildings. Our hope is to connect all these groups and give the general public a place to find out about heritage threats and what they can do about them, how they can protest and so on.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/art-deco-destruction-spurs-gen-y-heritage-protectors-20100814-1248e.html

A few weeks ago we had our inaugural meeting, and today we got a story in The Age. Please visit our site and get involved http://www.melbourneheritage.org.au/
We are standing outside Scots Church Hall, which is under threat of demolition along with the art deco car park next door and the building on the corner of Lt Collins and Russell streets.

Save the Windsor Rally

I was at the rally yesterday and there was a decent turn out. I'm terrible at guessing crowd numbers but maybe 150 people? Enough to fill the steps and crowd the pavement. Rod Quantock MC'ed, and various people spoke including Bob Brown. Who promised to make it a national issue. I also hope that The Greens make it an election issue. They came very close to winning the seat of Melbourne in the last election and I hope that if they could campaign on issues like this then maybe they would unseat Bronwyn Pike. Some of the liberal members also spoke but I am a bit cynical about their motivations, they were more focused on the corruption in the planning process and one man in particular seemed to be very obviously avoiding stating that he was against the proposal for The Windsor.

I am very against for a few reasons. I believe that a huge tower tacked on the back of The Windsor will ruin its appearance, the way the the sun shimmers over its facade will be lost and the grand hotel will sit uncomfortably in the shadow of a glass monolith.  I think the design itself is boring and completely insensitive to The Windsor, it speaks of an architect who wants to dominate a low rise area with a  statement building, not try and work sensitively with what is already there. The issue here is not simply about a single building but about good urban planning, about how buildings sit in relation to one another. Tall buildings in Melbourne's grid plan create wind tunnels and shade streets for much of the day. Lonsdale St beside the QV is a good example, the BHP billiton building funnels the wind along the street and keeps the street cafes in shade almost all day.  It's all a bit depressing. Melbourne has places for high rise buildings, like docklands and Southbank and the other end of the CBD, we need to retain low rise areas as well. Many cities have very successfully kept strict height limits, and these have led to very creative and inventive pieces of architecture. Anyway here are some pictures, I particularly like my one of the Madden Mad Hatter towering over the Windsor so I have made a new badge to replace my now defunct Save Lonsdale House Badge.

The relevance of the Alice in Wonderland characters is that Madden is the Mad Hatter (naturally). Brumby is the March Hare and Heritage Victoria is the Dormouse, asleep at the table. Alice represented the public, confused and treated with contempt.

British Archive of Old Signs

Remember that old sign I posted a few weeks ago? Well I was reading in The Guardian about an archive of 'Ghostsigns'.

Painted signs were once common but have been replaced by printed billboards, and those that survive are fading fast, or being demolished during building work.
Project manager Sam Roberts has documented over 650 painted 'ghostsigns' around the country, with the help of interested photographers through the Ghostsigns Flickr group.

A flickr group seems like a good idea, maybe the Melbourne map of old signs 'Our Fading Past' should also have a flickr group. Thoughts?(Possibly there may be something like this already that I have missed!)

Some of the signs I have photographed...

Lt Lonsdale St, Melbourne

 Gertrude St, Fitzroy

Gore St, Fitzroy

Demolition has begun on Lonsdale House and Caldeonian Lane

I was deeply saddened yesterday to walk past Caledonian Lane and find it blocked off. Pieces were being hacked off the buildings in Caledonian Lane. For now the façade of Lonsdale House is intact but for how long I don't know. Sources suggest that scaffolding will soon be erected.


A protest is planned for tonight at 6pm.

The demolition of Lonsdale House and Caledonian Lane has begun.

Protest this evening (Friday 15th January) at 6pm.

Come to Lonsdale House this evening and show your anger at Myer, the State Government and the City of Melbourne for allowing the destruction of our architectural heritage.

Please bring friends and pass this message along, we need as many people as possible.

Snapshot, Melbourne

Interior of the lift at the Athenaeum Library in Collins St.

Art and Architecture related events this week.

A heads up about a couple of art and architecture related events on this week. I am hoping to get to both.

Amelia Douglas
Recipient of 2009 Chancellor’s Prize for Excellence in the PhD, University of Melbourne

Pierre Huyghe and the Association of Freed Time

Pierre Huyghe is one of the most significant artists of the 21st century. His work – encompassing film, architecture, situations, installations and events – has been shown at the TATE Modern, Centre Pompidou, the Guggenheim Museum, the Musée d’art moderne de la ville de Paris, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image and recently at the Biennale of Sydney (2008), where Huyghe transformed the Opera House into a tropical rainforest. This lecture focuses on a few of Huyghe’s major works, including A Journey That Wasn’t (2005) and Streamside Day Follies (2003) and will include clips from several of Huyghe’s works not previously exhibited in Australia, courtesy of Marian Goodman Gallery, New York and Paris.

What is at stake in the making and recording of history, and what does it mean for a contemporary artist to work as an historiographer? The contemporary French artist Pierre Huyghe is well-known for his multi-faceted works that operate in the gaps between history and story. In this lecture, Huyghe’s practice is shown to facilitate a new model of contemporary history. History as a discursive concept is pliable; its meaning shifts depending on contexts. In presenting an historiographic reading of Huyghe’s practice, this lecture reflects upon how the coalescence of story and history may be a key factor in pulling together the diverse strands of Australian and international art histories.

6.00 pm Tuesday 17 November (drinks from 5.30)
Prince Philip Theatre, Architecture Building, University of Melbourne
All Welcome

More details here http://fineartsnetwork.wordpress.com

AND

The Secret Life of the Shrine

Presenters: Prof. Bruce Scates and guests
Venue: BMW Edge Federation Square

Wednesday 18 November 5:30pm

Bruce Scates, author of A place to remember: a history of the Shrine of Remembrance, will be joined by a panel of leading historians to reveal some of the stories from the Shrine’s rich history. Guests will discuss many of the remarkable events that have taken place at the Shrine of Remembrance and reflect on the Shrine’s changing role in the community.

Bookings essential, click here for more detail.

Protest TOMORROW against the proposed demolition of Lonsdale House

A reminder that the protest against the demolition of Lonsdale House is tomorrow (Saturday 22nd) from 12pm till 1pm. We are hoping for good numbers so please come down, bring some friends, family and let's show the government, the developers, the retailers and the council that we will not stand quietly by while our heritage is demolished. For more details visit www.savelonsdalehouse.com

Snapshot, Melbourne University.

The chemistry building at Melbourne University. Built in 1938 by the Victorian Public Works Department. Don't know who the architect was I'm afraid.

Snapshot, Melbourne

I'm afraid I know nothing about this lovely building. It is at 415-419 Bourke St, just up the hill from Elizabeth St. I would hazard a guess that it dates to the early twentieth century. It has quite stylised classical elements, such as the pilasters which have been reduced to mere dividers with but a hint of a capital. But then there are the large three high relief urns. Curious. Would like to know more so if you have any ideas please let me know.

As an aside I also have to add that I am very much enjoying the framing effect of the bare branches of trees in the city at the moment.

Protest against the demolition of Lonsdale House

There are plans for a protest against the demolition of Lonsdale House as detailed in the post below. Please visit the facebook group here for further details. Also, if you haven't done so already, you can sign the petition here.

It is so important that we do not stand silently by as these buildings are demolished.

UPDATED: A quick update to link to this article from The Age newspaper. Seems the council is not only ignoring their responsibility to safeguard Melbourne's heritage but actually profiting from it. This is really disturbing behaviour in my opinion. Not only the obvious destruction of Lonsdale House, but also the destruction of our laneways. It seems even worse considering the emphasis upon the value and attraction of Melbourne's laneways that was championed by the City Council under John So.

Lane sales to make $1.4m
Kate Lahey
August 4, 2009


MELBOURNE City Council will make almost $1.4 million by selling CBD laneways for a massive new shopping development, after its controversial refusal to protect a historic building on the site....

Read the full article here.

Lonsdale House may be doomed.

Some other bloggers have already reported this, but I feel so strongly about it I thought I would add my own post.

The Age is reporting that the State Government has given approval for the Myer redevelopment and given Colonial Global Asset Management permission to knock down the wonderful art deco Lonsdale House.

I am appalled that Myer, who like to advertise themselves as a central part of Melbourne, appears to have no desire to retain buildings that make Melbourne unique. How do we encourage businesses like Myer, and David Jones (who are also guilty of destruction in this area), to have a conscience? How do we make them see that they have a responsibility to save and conserve Melbourne along with the rest of us?

I am appalled that the City Council essentially washed their hands of the affair (though we have recently seen Robert Doyle's attitude to Melbourne's iconic Flinders St station). Do they not realise that Melbourne's appeal lies in the range of architecture and diversity of street fronts? Every city, even every suburban area has its glass cathedrals to consumerism, but only a few have the range of art deco buildings that Melbourne does, or should I say did.

I am appalled at the State Government. Planning minister Justin Madden, who trained as an architect, lists "20th century architecture" as one of his interests. I can only think this is a cruel joke, or that he simply has not had the chance to change it to "bending to the will of developers".

The area where Lonsdale House is has a heritage overlay, meaning essentially that the area is considered to be of heritage significance. Sadly these overlays seem to count for little and one wonders what the point of them is. It seems there is little recognition that preserving heritage is not about keeping a few surviving key examples of styles, or just keeping the biggest and brightest. It is about preserving the look and feel of a city. It is about the overall urban appearance, the range of façades along a street, not just individual examples. Melbourne suffered at the hands of development and in particular the infamous Whelan the Wrecker in the 1950s and 1960s. Philip Adams recently wrote about how these "The wreckers deserve a National Trust classification for the simple reason that Whelan helped bring the National Trust into being." Sadly it seems we have not learned from our mistakes.

I honestly do not know if there is anything else that can be done, but I will certainly be writing letters to the paper, to the government and to Myer and Colonial to let them know what I think.

Lonsdale House and its unique crystalline tower, with a view of the 1990s skyscrapers which took inspiration from art deco towers.

Help.

Melbourne Open House 2009 - Photos Part 1

I had a great time on Sunday. I only had about 2.5 hours to visit buildings but I managed to squeeze in seven. Not too shabby. I was disappointed to miss the Manchester Unity building and the Russell Place Substation, but the queues were just too long. I tend to agree with what some others have remarked, that the day could easily be run more than once a year, or over a whole weekend. But on the upside it is great to see so many people turning out to look at Melbourne's architecture. It gives people a chance to see inside buildings that are generally closed to the public. It also heightens the awareness more generally and reminds people (me included) to stop and actually look at the buildings around us. I saw several groups of people, little blue books in hand, stopping to admire the façades or decorative details of buildings that weren't even on the Open House itinerary.

There were so many people taking photos, and below are a few of my favourites. I did have a bit of camera envy, me with my 5 year old canon point and shoot, everyone else (it seemed) with the world's biggest SLRs. But the buildings were the stars at the end of the day.

To see others' photos take a peek at the Melbourne Open House Flickr Group, where you can upload your pictures as part of a competition.

View from the Boardroom of 101

View from the Boardroom of 101 Collins St. Forum Theatre.

View across the Boardroom of 101 Collins, with the spire of St Paul's.

Glass dome of the atrium at T&G now KPMG building on Collins St.


View of the ceiling of the new foyer at KPMG.


A much photographed art nouveau lamp at the Athenaeum Library, Collins St.

The lamp in the dome of the wood-panelled lift at the Athenaeum Library, Collins St.


The ceiling of the old boardroom at 271 Collins St, formerly The National Bank of Australasia, Collins St.


The sideboard in the dining room, adjacent to the boardroom at 271 Collins St, formerly The National Bank of Australasia, Collins St.


More to come.... or check out my Melbourne Open House flickr stream here.

Melbourne Open House 2009

I am excitedly planning what to see tomorrow at the Melbourne Open House. In the past I have always had something else on, and even tomorrow I have to dash off by 1pm to see an opera at the Nova, which I had completely forgotten about. Anyhoo here is the website if you are interested.

Melbourne Open House.

My short list of things I can squeeze in between 10 and 12:30 is

The Melbourne Athenaeum
The boardroom of 101 Collins St (I am assuming this is UP HIGH, it had better be or I will complain.)
The Donkey Wheel House
Manchester unity (I have spent hours in the accessible parts of this building so looking forward to seeing the boardroom and other bits you usually don't see, though I admittedly I have possibly 'wandered into' several section you usually don't see).
T&G Building of KPMG House.
Capitol Theatre.
271 Colllins St.
Denmark House.
Russel place Substation.

That is probably more than enough, at this rate I will snore through the opera! Anyhoo I am currently charging my batteries and hoping to bring you many lovely pictures of the buildings that we don't usually see.

Happy gorging on Architecture Day to you all! (When I am mayor this will be an official holiday, possibly a four times a year holiday).

All photos courtesy of the Open Melbourne website.

Also see Melbourne Heritage Watch for a more comprehensive write up.

Timorous Beasties

I was just listening to an interview on By Design about the wallpaper and fabric designers called "Timorous Beasties". You can download the interview here. I looked them up and had to share their designs with you all. Absolutely beautiful illustrations. But I also like the way that they create new variations on old themes. In particular the toiles, see the London Toile below, which eschews the usual chinoiserie buildings and shepherds and shepherdesses and instead includes shady characters and modern architecture from the streets of London. Apparently they have a Sydney Toile planned. As you stare at them more and more details emerge, which is what I think wallpaper is all about after all. Something to gaze at first for the rhythmn of a the repeated pattern and the richness of colour, and then as you look for longer small details and even a type of narrative begin to emerge.

The designers are featured in an exhibit at the Melbourne Exhibition centre for the State of Design Festival. More information here.

It will be a long time before I have my own place to wallpaper willy nilly but in the meantime I can wallpaper my blog instead. All images come via the Timorous Beasties website.

London Toile

Napoleon (though as a keen scholar of Baroque Rome this says Barberini to me!)

Devil (I love the idea of having this on the wall and as you stare at it the Devil emerges, maybe not for a bedroom though...)

Branch Out

Bloody Hell

Decorative Details - Doorway

I like collecting decorative details on buildings with my camera. I get especially excited when I notice one that had previously passed me by as it was with this magnificent doorway on Flinders Lane in Melbourne. The National Trust tells us that the building was built in 1901 for Robert Reid and Co as a warehouse and showroom. It was designed by Bates Peebles and Smart. The doorway has a sort of 'pared back till it is almost invisible' classicism. The long vertical grooves set with geometric rosettes suggest pilasters. The central 'keystone' has been transformed into a sort scroll tablet. I think you can see elements of mannerism in the way that classical forms are being played around with (as I suggested in a recent post about a doorway in Fitzroy) as well as the elegant elongation and simplification of classical forms which looks forward to the architecture of the Art Deco period.

Melbourne Snapshot

St Paul's Cathedral in eth afternoon sun, bifurcated by electricity and tram lines. A glimpse of Burke (or is it Wills?) as a dark sentry. I do sometimes go to great lengths to find an angle without any lines across the view, a difficult thing to do in Melbourne. However, I have decided their presence adds something to the image.

Snapshot, Melbourne.

View of the Horti Hall and the old Russell St Police Station with its recent appendage Concept Blue, or as I call it, Concept Poo. And some brown brick thing.