Norman Avenue Precinct

The Norman Avenue Precinct, South Yarra, comprises eleven unusual early-Edwardian brick villas, which were developed as a subdivision of the nineteenth-century Bonnington mansion estate.

Elements which contribute to the significance of the precinct include:

- High degree of intactness of the streetscape to its c.1904 stage of development.

- Generally consistent asymmetrical villa form of early dwellings and their appearance as a single, unified programme of work.

- The consistent single-storey scale of built form.

- The combination of Victorian and Edwardian elements in the design of individual dwellings with unusual polychrome brickwork.

- The detached form of the early dwellings with generally uniform street orientation and front and side setbacks.

- Intactness of built form and extent to which original cast iron and timber detailing survives.

- Absence of prominent modern additions and alterations.

- Face brick materiality and hipped and gabled roofscapes with slate tile cladding and original chimneys.

- The cul de sac form of Norman Avenue and allotment pattern resulting from the original subdivision.

- Bluestone kerbs, channels and laneways.

How is it Significant?

The Norman Avenue Precinct is of local historical and aesthetic significance.

Why is it Significant?

The Norman Avenue Precinct is of local historical significance as a comparatively early Illustration of the resurgence of development in the 1900s after the economic recession of the 1890s. The precinct is also of historical significance as a demonstration of early twentieth century middle class housing development resulting from the subdivision of a Victorian era mansion estate (Historic Theme: 8.2.1 Mansion Estates and the Higher Ground - Middle Class Estates in Prahran).

The Norman Avenue Precinct is of aesthetic significance as a rare and highly intact streetscape of villa housing which illustrates the transition between late nineteenth and early twentieth century forms of domestic building expression (Historic Theme: 8.4.2 Functional, eccentric and theatrical - experimentation and innovation in architecture). The precinct is also of aesthetic significance for the consistency of its building stock and the manner in which it presents as a single, unified, programme of work. The aesthetic significance of the precinct is further enhanced by the unusual polychromatic brickwork displayed by some of the villas.

Group

Residential buildings (private)

Category

Residential Precinct