Australian non-residential architectural styles are a set of
Australian architectural styles that apply to buildings used for purposes other than residence and have been around only since the first colonial government buildings of early
European settlement of Australia in 1788.
Their distribution follows closely the establishment and growth of the different colonies of Australia, in that the earliest colonial buildings can be found in
New South Wales and
Tasmania.
The classifications set out below are derived from a leading Australian text.[1]
Old Colonial Period (1788–
c. 1840)
Old Colonial Georgian; Old Colonial Regency; Old Colonial Grecian; Old Colonial Gothic Picturesque
The Victorian period, generally aligned with the reign of
Queen Victoria, covers the period from
c. 1840 to
c. 1890 and comprises fifteen styles, all prefaced by the word "Victorian", and are namely, in loose chronological order, Georgian, Regency, Egyptian, Academic Classical, Free Classical, Filigree, Mannerist, Second Empire, Italianate, Romanesque, Byzantine, Academic Gothic, Free Gothic, Tudor, Rustic Gothic, and Carpenter Gothic.
Victorian Georgian
An extension and continuation of the
Old Colonial Georgian style into the Victorian era.[17]Georgian style houses built before c.1840 are characterised as Old Colonial Georgian, while buildings between c.1840 and c.1890 are characterised as Victorian Georgian. Both styles are essentially the same, being characterised by symmetrical facades, simple rectangular and prismatic shapes, and orderliness. Six and eight paned windows were common.[17]
Albury Court House,
Albury; built 1860; Palladian-style
As with
Victorian Georgian architecture, the Victorian Regency style was a continuation of the
Old Colonial Regency style into the Victorian era (c.1840 – c.1890).[18] A more elegant and refined form of the Georgian style.
Notable examples in Australia include: Culwulla Chambers (Sydney);
Old Police Station, The RocksBlock Arcade (Melbourne); Stalbridge Chambers (Melbourne), National Bank Pall Mall (Bendigo); RESI Chambers (Melbourne); Lygon Buildings, Medley Hall (Carlton, Victoria); Former Money Order Post Office and Savings Bank (Melbourne); Mutual Store (Melbourne);
Notable examples include: Sydney Town Hall (Sydney); Hotel Windsor (Melbourne); Princess Theatre (Melbourne); Former Records Office (Melbourne); Melbourne General Post Office (Melbourne); Melbourne Town Hall (Melbourne); East Melbourne Synagogue (East Melbourne, Victoria); Royal Exhibition Building (Carlton, Victoria); Collingwood Town Hall (Collingwood, Victoria); South Melbourne Town Hall (South Melbourne, Victoria); Malvern Town Hall (Malvern, Victoria); Former Rechabite Hall (Prahran, Victoria); Brunswick Town Hall (Brunswick, Victoria); Camberwell Town Hall (Camberwell, Victoria); Bendigo Town Hall (Bendigo, Victoria); Shamrock Hotel (Bendigo Victoria); Bendigo Courthouse (Bendigo, Victoria); Bendigo Post Office (Bendigo, Victoria); Institute of Technology (Bendigo, Victoria); Queensland Parliament House (Brisbane)
Notable examples include: Sydney Hospital (Sydney), Taronga Zoo Pavilion (Sydney), the main terminus building of the
Central railway station in Sydney,[49]Flinders Street station (Melbourne), Sacred Heart Church (St Kilda, Victoria), Read's Emporium (Prahran, Victoria), Old Royal Hotel (Williamstown, Victoria), the former Queensland
Lands Administration Building (Brisbane).
Gledden Building,
Perth; completed in 1935. The Gledden Building was the only large commercial building in the Art Deco style ever built in
Western Australia
The functionalist and moderne style often used combinations of blonde and brown bricks in linear vertical or horizontal patterns.
Notable examples include: Museum of Contemporary Art (Sydney); Captain's Flat Hotel (NSW); Russell Street Police Headquarters (Melbourne);
Astor Theatre (St Kilda, Victoria); Ballarat Law Courts (Ballarat);
A subset of postmodernism is mock-historicism tries to imitate historic styles using modern materials to the point where it is difficult to tell them apart from historic buildings. The most imitated styles are those that are easiest to clone (including the Georgian style).
Paddy's Markets redevelopment (completed 1976).
Haymarket. Tower is reflective of the building style
The Jam Factory redevelopment (completed 1979).
Chapel Street,
South Yarra. Completed in 1979. Feature mock historical elements juxtaposted with old factory
Former Australian Stock Exchange (completed 1990). Collins Street, Melbourne. Features a classical inspired podium base and Georgian inspired pyramid roof.
Notable examples include Green Building RMIT; Deakin University main building; Australian Centre for Contemporary Art; Gottlieb House (Melbourne)
Storey Hall (The Green Building). RMIT.
Swanston Street,
Melbourne. Completed 1994. One of the earliest examples of Deconstructivist design in Australia.
450 Swan Street. Completed 1995. Deconstructivist form integrates an old bank with new offices.
Notable examples in Australia include: 60L (Melbourne); CH2 (Melbourne); K2 Apartments (Windsor, Victoria);
Dunc Gray Velodrome (Sydney);
Forest EcoCentre (Tasmania);
Rozak House (Noonamah, Northern Territory).
K2 Apartments.
Windsor, Victoria. Completed 2006. Highly visible solar panels, prominent natural ventilators and use of natural materials.
Council House 2.
Little Collins Street,
Melbourne. Completed 2006. World's first 6 star green rating building features louvered facade, natural and recycled materials, solar panels and thermal mass cooling.
^0012t000002ipHIAAY.
"History and Architecture". St. James - King Street. Retrieved 2021-11-12.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link)
^Thalis, Philip; Cantril, Peter John (2013). Public Sydney: Drawing the City. Sydney, Australia: Historic Houses Trust and Content, Faculty of Built Environment,
University of New South Wales, Australia. pp. 112–117.
ISBN9781876991425.
^Communications, c=AU; o=The State of Queensland; ou=Department of Environment and Science; ou=Corporate (2015-06-09).
"Empire Hotel | Environment, land and water". apps.des.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 2023-04-14.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)
^"Hotel History". The Palace Hotel Broken Hill. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
Apperly, Richard; Irving, Robert; Reynolds, Peter (1989). "A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture: Styles and Terms from 1788 to the Present,"
Angus & Robertson.
Ulrike Laule, Rolf Toman, Achim Bednorz - Architecture of the Middle Ages - Background to the Gothic Revival style.
George Wilkie - Building Your Own Home - Section on Architectural Styles