Moderne Apartments Blocks

The four Moderne Apartment Blocks in this series as described are located in Lygon Street, Brunswick East. The apartments are on individual allotments, and are all freestanding, of two levels and are non contiguous in location. Stylistically, and based on primary research, all of the apartment blocks appear to date from between 1940-1946. The buildings all have a very high degree of integrity externally, as do the small front gardens, although 37 Lygon Street has lost its front fence. All are in good to very good condition. The significant elements of each place include the external fabric including the building and roof form and materials, original features including doors and windows detailing and decoration, the garden setting and layout, low walls set on the title boundary (constructed of brick or rendered brick) and modest side setbacks. The clear views to the Apartment buildings from the public realm (giving them a landmark quality) is also considered significant. 

Included in this series is all of the land at the following addresses:

The Moderne Apartment Block series is of aesthetic (architectural) and historical significance to the City of Merri-bek. 

Architecturally, the series reflects the evolution of housing types in the city of Moreland in the late interwar and early postwar periods, changing from the single-storey, freestanding houses that were erected during the 1920s and early 1930s, to two-storey, multi-family flats. 37 and 299-299A Lygon St both demonstrate the direct translation of common domestic forms and details - such as hipped roofs and six-over-one sash windows (at No 37) - into this new building type. No 37 is also distinguished by the well-detailed brickwork, with rusticated pillars and tapestry brick lintels. The apartment buildings at 301 and 434C Lygon St are distinguished by their translation of a requirement of this new building type - a shared staircase - into a dominant architectural feature. Both have a projecting stairwell at the centre of the facade, with balconies projecting from it at both levels. Both buildings are also distinguished by their use of Art Deco motifs on this stairwell, and fashionable curved balconies. At No 301, the curves are carried through to the corners of the building, creating a sculptural form. The buildings at 299-299A, 301 and 434C are enhanced by original front fences executed in similar brickwork. All four buildings are rare in the City of Moreland as the earliest autonomous (that is, not linked with shops or other business uses) apartment buildings identified. Historically, the series provides evidence of the immediate post-war phase of development along Lygon Street. (Criteria B D, E & F)