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Former BP House

Other Name

Domain Apartments

Location

1 - 29 Albert Road,, MELBOURNE VIC 3004 - Property No B6314

File Number

B6314

Level

State

Statement of Significance

Built from 1962 - 64, BP House, is of state significance as an example of the changing international perceptions by 1960 of the International Style tower.
Designed by architect, Anthony B Armstrong, for the Melbourne firm of R.S. Demaine, Russell, Trundle, Armstrong &Orton Pty Ltd.,the twenty-one storey tower marks the move in Melbourne away from the International Style 'box' form and the thinness of the curtain wall to a more monumental, sculptural solution. The whole building follows the arc of the site, the sculptural expressiveness similar to the AMP Head Office Building, Sydney, completed in 1962 with its heavy concrete balconies and recessed fenestration. BP House clearly contrasts with the curtain wall and rectangular forms of Melbourne's notable ICI tower, completed in 1960. At the same time BP House makes a regional contribution to the tower form through the use: of balconies as sunscreening to counteract local climatic conditions: of Ballarat bricks for facing internally and externally and the extensive use internally of Australian and exotic timbers.
The building shows its acknowledged debt to the work and philosophy of Frank Lloyd Wright, and the affinity with Scandinavian architecture. The extension of the western red cedar cladding of the lobby ceiling to the soffit of the first floor balcony is unusual in a Melbourne office building of this time. The use of the lighting grid throughout the building is also of note, and contributes to the night image of the building. Of further importance is the combination of architecture and art in the building, a prominent international idea at the time, incorporating a Competition winning foyer mural by Adelaide artist, Stansilaw Ostoja-Kotkowski, and cast bronzes sculptures by noted Victorian sculptor , Norma Redpath, in the Theatrette foyer and exterior facade.
The geometric balcony design and interior ornament draws strongly on the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. At the same time it reflects a more liberal attitude internationally to the inclusion of ornament in a commercial tower; although the introduction of ornament stirred international controversy, both in Australia and oversea. BP House achieved considerable contemporary national journal recognition, being described in Building; Lighting Engineering in 1965 as 'Melbourne's latest skyscraper'. it is also important as the first building of its size in its area and as representative of the then current ideas of de-centralization of the central business district.
Classified; 15/04/1992
Revised: 16/09/1992

File note: Converted to apartments1995

Group

Residential buildings (private)