| Back to search results » | Back to search page » |
|
TRAVANCORE SPECIAL SCHOOL TODDLERS' BLOCK (FORMER)
Other NameTravancore Development School and Clinic, Mindful Centre Location26-68 FLEMINGTON STREET, TRAVANCORE, MOONEE VALLEY CITY LevelIncluded in Heritage Overlay |
|
Statement of Significance
What is significant? Non-original alterations and additions to the building are not significant.
How is it significant?
Why is it significant? It is architecturally and aesthetically significant as a fine and
intact example of a Moderne school designed under the direction of
Percy Everett. It has aesthetic significance for the unusual
combination of Moderne with Old English detailing and is of note for
the half timbering detail to the gable ends. (Criteria D & E)
The former Travancore Special School Toddlers' Block, designed by
Percy Everett and constructed in 1939-40, at 26-38 Flemington Street,
Travancore is significant. Constructed of brick with a gable roof, the
building is an unusual mixture of Moderne and Old English styles. The
Moderne style is demonstrated by the strong symmetry of the design,
the treatment of the windows (variously curved, tall and narrow or
corner with horizontal glazing bars), and the projecting flat-roofed
sections at the outside end of each wing. This is combined with the
distinctive Old English detailing to the gable ends to create a hybrid
of two very popular styles of the 1930s. In plan, the building
comprises two long wings in a shallow 'v' on either side of a central
entrance pavilion, which is marked on the east elevation by a gable
placed between projecting minor hip roofs and above a flat-roofed
porch hood. Large curved window bays on either side connect back to
the projecting wings. There is a similar curved-wall form on the west
side of the building. The walls are constructed of brick, with dark
brown bricks forming a plinth and red bricks to the upper walls. The
gables to the central pavilion and at the north and south ends of the
arms of the 'v' are finished in highly decorative fachwerk,
combining multi-coloured brick bats in a herringbone pattern with
vertical and curved half timbering. The roof is clad in glazed tiles,
in the mottled finish popular in the 1930s.
The former Travancore Special School Toddlers' Block is of local
historic and aesthetic significance to the City of Moonee Valley.
It is historically significant as the only surviving building of
the Travancore Special School, which was the second school in Victoria
established for children with intellectual disabilities. The modern
design of the building represents the progressive approach adopted by
the school to the education of the children and training of the people
who instructed them. (Criteria A & B)
Group
Education
Category
Special School