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Former Ardoch Flats

Other Name Ardoch Education Centre Location 226 Dandenong Road and 7 - 9 Ardoch Avenue,, ST KILDA EAST VIC 3183 - Property No B6445 File Number B6445 Level State

[1/1] B6445 Former Ardoch Education

Statement of Significance

The former Ardoch flats complex built principally between 1920 and 1922 by developer Alex M Younger is significant as an early example of grouped housing in a garden setting which developed as a response to post World War 1 housing shortages and the demand for new housing types to replace unfashionable terrace houses. The group is notable for its representation of the garden city possibly derived via North America from the bungalow court concept. Ardoch represents the most substantial integrated garden/flat development from the 1920s remaining in Melbourne.
Ardoch is important for the scale and variety of plan type of the development and the consistenc y of the early adaption of the bungalow style to flat design. The flats also exhibit characteristic flat planning of the era with balconies and sleep-outs reflecting the interest in notions of healthy living in a period when tuberculosis and bubonic plague existed in Australia.
The original external form of the 1860s house, once the home of famous architect William Wardell, is still evident but the additional flats built in 1928 and 1938 are stylistically consistent with the 1920s buildings. The external integrity of the group remains high but substantial internal alterations have been made to some of the buildings.
Classified: 19/5/1993