John Medley Building

Last updated

John Medley Building
John Medley Building East Tower, May 2013.JPG
John Medley Building east tower, May 2013
John Medley Building
Alternative namesBuilding 191
EtymologySir John (Jack) Medley [1]
(Vice-Chancellor,
The University of Melbourne,
1938–1951) [2]
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeAcademic administration
Architectural style Brutalist
LocationKernot Road, The University of Melbourne, Parkville Campus, Melbourne, Victoria
CountryAustralia
Coordinates 37°47′57″S144°57′38″E / 37.799234°S 144.960433°E / -37.799234; 144.960433
Construction started1969
Completed1971
Owner The University of Melbourne
Technical details
MaterialConcrete and brick
Floor count5 (with two six-storey towers)
Design and construction
Architect(s) Sir Roy Burman Grounds

The John Medley Building is at Kernot Road, The University of Melbourne, Parkville Campus, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The building was designed by Sir Roy Burman Grounds. It was constructed between 1969 and 1971, [3] and was built to relieve the cramped conditions of the campus Old Arts Building, which was built from 1919 to 1924, and to house the larger departments of the university's faculty office. [4]

Contents

According to Sowerwine & Gamer, 2007, many in the university community began to demand more attention be paid to architectural issues of the campus; for that reason, Grounds was appointed as architect of the John Medley Building. [4] Grounds, who developed an interest in the Bauhaus and architectural modernism, was a leader of the modernist movement who had broken away from its principles. The John Medley Building disappointed many, notwithstanding that Grounds was seen as prolific in the profession following his design of the Victorian Arts Centre. [4]

The building is currently planned to be demolished by 2040, along with five other major university buildings, to create more open space in the campus. [5]

Design

The John Medley Building sits as a giant gateway to the Parkville campus of The University of Melbourne. It flanks the original axis of the campus's clock tower from Grattan Street (which has been closed to traffic since February 2018 due to ongoing construction work [6] ), which leads to the Old Quadrangle. [3]

The building includes two medieval tower-like buildings that are joined by an arched walkway, and the pronounced corners of the building's towers suggest a fortress city. The fifth-floor Common Room, which bridges the two towers, provides excellent views of the City and the University. [4] The two six-storey towers are named ‘East Tower’ and ‘West Tower’, and are capped by the sixth story's projected eaves. The windows of the lower levels are fitted with rounded framed, aluminum sash windows, whereas the equidistant windows of each tower's upper level appear castellated. Some windows of the towers are fitted with hooded shades.

It is not clear what materials were used to construct the John Medley Building. The building appears, from observation, to have been predominantly constructed from a light-brown brick. The pronounced corners of the towers appear to be formed using pre-cast concrete. The bridge section marks the John Medley Building in the Brutalist style, which reflected similar designs on college campuses in the United States and Canada in the previous decade. Consistent with that style, the bridge section has an inset first level of exposed aggregate concrete with thin arrow-slit windows.

Context in Grounds’ body of work

Grounds' initial design layout of the John Medley Building in 1967 drew criticism for not being functionalist enough, for having too much unusable space, and for not enough unusable space. [3] While the building possesses modernist, especially Brutalist, tones of Grounds’ earlier National Gallery of Victoria (constructed 1959-1968), the building also reflects Grounds’ interest in the Italian neo-liberty movement. [7] This may be seen through what Hamann, 2007 describes as, the hybridisation of palazzo forms and medieval references, which was seen by some critics as a betrayal of modernism; to combine such historical details. [7] It was an articulation of Grounds style however, that was already evident in previous examples, such as the design Grounds prepared for Melbourne's National Art Gallery, which, according to Hamann, 2007, has an ‘oriental styled palazzo’ type of planning, and in the Cultural Centre of the late 1950s. [7]

Etymology

The building was named in 1971 in honour of Sir John (Jack) Medley, the Vice-Chancellor of The University of Melbourne, between 1938 and 1951. [2] Medley was a member of the Eugenics Society of Victoria, an organisation credited with justifying the White Australia Policy and the removal of Aboriginal children. In the mid-2010s there was a campaign by students at both Melbourne and Monash universities to rename this building [1] and the John Medley Library at Monash's Clayton campus. [8] The Monash campaign was successful and the library was renamed as the Student Union Recreational Library (SURLY). [9] [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monash University</span> Public university based in Melbourne, Australia

Monash University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a number of campuses, four of which are in Victoria, one in Malaysia and another one in Indonesia. Monash also has a research and teaching centre in Prato, Italy, a graduate research school in Mumbai, India and graduate schools in Suzhou, China and Tangerang, Indonesia. Courses are also delivered at other locations, including South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Melbourne</span> Public university in Melbourne, Australia

The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb north of Melbourne's central business district, with several other campuses located across Victoria.

Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the bare building materials and structural elements over decorative design. The style commonly makes use of exposed, unpainted concrete or brick, angular geometric shapes and a predominantly monochrome colour palette; other materials, such as steel, timber, and glass, are also featured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlton, Victoria</span> Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Carlton is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, three kilometres north of the Melbourne central business district within the City of Melbourne local government area. Carlton recorded a population of 16,055 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newman College, Melbourne</span>

Newman College is an Australian Roman Catholic co-educational residential college affiliated with the University of Melbourne. It houses about 220 undergraduate students and about 80 postgraduate students and tutors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilam Hall</span> Residential college in Carlton, Melbourne, Australia

Wilam Hall is the smallest hall of residence of the University of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. Established in 1954, it is situated at 48 Drummond St in Carlton, Victoria, away from the other nine residential colleges in Parkville. It is home to approximately 73 students from around Australia and overseas. Wilam Hall was renamed in 2024 following the gift of the name "Wilam" by the Wurundjeri Council. The residence was previously named Medley Hall in honour of Sir John Medley, a previous Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre</span> Medical institute in Australia

The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, also known as the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute and commonly abbreviated as Peter Mac, is an Australian oncology research institute, cancer treatment and professional oncologist training centre located in Melbourne, Victoria. The centre is named in honour of Sir Peter MacCallum. Since June 2016, the centre has been located within the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) in Parkville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monash University, Parkville campus</span>

Monash University, Parkville campus is a campus of Monash University, located in Parkville, Victoria, Australia. It is home to the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Founded in 1881 and previously known as the Victorian College of Pharmacy, the faculty is the oldest school of pharmacy in Australia. A major centre of research and teaching, it is internationally regarded for its research in drug target biology and discovery, medicinal chemistry, drug development, formulation science, and medicine use and safety, including the discovery and development of the world's first successful anti-influenza drug, Relenza. In international rankings, it is ranked as the number one school of pharmacy and pharmacology in Australia and number two worldwide.

Sir Roy Burman Grounds was an Australian architect. His early work included buildings influenced by the Moderne movement of the 1930s, and his later buildings of the 1950s and 1960s, such as the National Gallery of Victoria and the adjacent Victorian Arts Centre, cemented his legacy as a leader in Australian architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daryl Jackson</span> Australian architect

Daryl Sanders Jackson is an Australian architect and the owner of an international architecture firm, Jackson Architecture. Jackson also became an associate professor at University of Melbourne and Deakin University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederick Romberg</span> Swiss-trained architect (1913–1992)

Frederick Romberg,, , was a Swiss-trained architect who migrated to Australia in 1938, and became a leading figure in the development of Modernism in his adopted city.

Kevin Borland was an Australian post-war Architect. Over his career his works evolved from an International Modernist stance into a Regionalist aesthetic for which he became most recognized. Many of his significant works were composed of raw materials and considered ‘Brutalist’ typifying Borland’s renowned motto ‘architecture is not for the faint-hearted’. Borland died in 2000 leaving a legacy of work throughout Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baillieu Library</span> University library in Victoria, Australia

The Baillieu Library is the largest of the eleven branches which constitute the University of Melbourne Library, intended to support education and research in the arts, humanities and social sciences. It is located on the west side of the University's inner city Parkville campus, near the corner of Grattan Street and Royal Parade. The building, designed by John Scarborough and opened in 1959, is named after the Baillieu family, who funded the library through the William Lawrence Baillieu Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Parade, Melbourne</span> Road in Melbourne, Victoria

Royal Parade is a major urban road in Victoria, Australia, linking Melbourne City to Brunswick and the northern suburbs. It is the site of major educational and sporting facilities as well as several buildings of heritage significance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Pathology Building Melbourne University</span> Academic administration in Victoria, Australia

The Old Pathology Building, officially renamed as the Elisabeth Murdoch Building, is an educational building, part of the Parkville campus of the University of Melbourne, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The building is located at 156-292 Grattan Street as building number 134, campus reference number F20. Built in 1885 by architects Reed, Henderson & Smart, the Old Pathology Building is of historical and architectural significance to the State of Victoria, due to its example of early English Gothic architecture and its continued use as a university building for over 100 years. The building was added to the Victorian Heritage Register on 24 June 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Tate Building</span> Academic administration in Victoria, Australia

The Frank Tate Building, also known as Building 189, is a student centre of the University of Melbourne, Parkville Campus, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Designed by Percy Edgar Everett, it was built between 1939 and 1940 as an expansion of the Melbourne Teachers' College, housed in the '1888 Building' to the south. In 1994 the Melbourne Teachers' College relocated and the building became part of the main Melbourne University Parkville Campus. In 2010 it was refurbished as a learning centre by Cox Architecture, designed to allow a multitude of different user groups to configure the space according to their individual requirements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Physics Conference Room and Gallery</span> Educational in Victoria, Australia

The Old Physics Conference Room and Gallery is a university teaching and art gallery located at 156-292 Grattan Street, The University of Melbourne, Parkville Campus, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baldwin Spencer Building</span> Academic administration in Victoria, Australia

The Baldwin Spencer Building, also called Building 113, is a university teaching facility that serves as a student service centre, located at 152-292 Grattan Street, The University of Melbourne, Parkville Campus, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Lawn car park</span> Car park in Victoria, Australia

The South Lawn car park is a parking garage at the University of Melbourne constructed in 1971–72 using an innovative reinforced concrete shells with parabolic profiles supported on short columns structural system designed by Jan van der Molen, an engineer. The car park was added to the Victorian Heritage Register on 6 April 1994.

Sir John Dudley Gibbs Medley was an Australian businessman and administrator. He held the position of Vice-Chancellor at the University of Melbourne from 1938 to 1951.

References

  1. 1 2 Dobbin, Marika (30 November 2015). "Heart of darkness: Melbourne University's racist professors". The Age . Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  2. 1 2 Serle, Geoffrey (2000). "Medley, Sir John Dudley Gibbs (Jack) (1891–1962)". Australian Dictionary of Biography . Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN   978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN   1833-7538. OCLC   70677943 . Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 Goad, P.; Tibbits, G. (2003). Architecture on Campus. A Guide to the Architecture of the University of Melbourne and its Colleges. Carlton, Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. p. 80.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Sowerwine, Charles (2013). The Wandering Scholar's Guide to Melbourne (PDF). The University of Melbourne. p. 1 4. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  5. ↑ "The Melbourne University plan to tear down six buildings, fling open its gates and let in the city". The Age. 30 July 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  6. ↑ "Grattan Street closes for five years". Bicycle Network. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 Hamann, C. (2007). "Grounds, Sir Roy Burman (1905–1981)". Australian Dictionary of Biography . Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN   978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN   1833-7538. OCLC   70677943 . Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  8. ↑ Copp, Amanda (10 April 2017). "Link to eugenics spur Melbourne universities to rename buildings". SBS News . Australia. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  9. ↑ "About the Library". Monash Student Association. n.d. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  10. ↑ Crozier, Jayden; Nichols, Bryda (25 February 2017). "A Medley Of Evil – A Dark History Of Our Student Union Library". Lot's Wife. Monash Student Association. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.