red750 Posted January 11, 2020 Posted January 11, 2020 I had to go in to the Lort Smith Animal Hospital in North Melbourne this afternoon to pay the bill and collect the death certificate to cancel Roxy's Council registration. I took the camera to photograph a few of the new buildings in the city. I will leave it up to you to decide if they are inspired or hideous. I haven't tracked down what buildings they are except the first one which is the Royal Melbourne Hospital/Peter McCallum Cancer Clinic. [ATTACH]50576._xfImport[/ATTACH][ATTACH]50577._xfImport[/ATTACH][ATTACH]50578._xfImport[/ATTACH][ATTACH]50579._xfImport[/ATTACH][ATTACH]50580._xfImport[/ATTACH]
onetrack Posted January 13, 2020 Posted January 13, 2020 I think the architects there are trying to get away from the hideous "ugly repetitive grey boxes" style of architecture, and have done the best they could within the constraints of money available, and limitiations of the buildings shape. So, on that basis, they are at least trying. I don't find them hideous, but I couldn't say they are exceptionally attractive, either. We have no-one like Walter Chrysler or Antoni Gaudi here, to produce stylish architecture like the Chrysler Building or the Sagrada Familia - which is a shame. Even the houses Gaudi built are exceptional.
facthunter Posted January 13, 2020 Posted January 13, 2020 You pay a lot to just be different. the Skyline of London doesn't do much for me as it just looks uncoordinated and unplanned . Random and chaotic. Nev
Yenn Posted January 13, 2020 Posted January 13, 2020 Nev. You are correct there. I can spot if a house has been architect designed, by the number of roof lines it has. Anything more than the minimum for the shape of the house must be architect designed. They have a hard job making a city skyscraper look good, but houses are a different kettle of fish and they still fail. I spent several years drawing engineering drawings for architect designed structures and they always impressed me with their stupidity.
spacesailor Posted January 14, 2020 Posted January 14, 2020 A house with only one r oof line, has to have a very long beam, not much good wood for those beams left now, so lots of short roof lines. Our old Kiwi house in NZ had huge length of beam all over the house. It was constructed completely òut of Kauri wood inside as well as out. The local timber yard offered $ 100,000 just for the wood. 100 year old, when sold. spacesailor
facthunter Posted January 14, 2020 Posted January 14, 2020 I've got 3 sons and a grand daughter in the building business. Architects draw a shape and don' t provide the details of the structure in important places where you have to clad it. Builders, build. Architects dream and charge like a wounded bull, for 1/2 a job. Nev
pmccarthy Posted January 14, 2020 Posted January 14, 2020 We once built a house to an architect's design that had a 27 degree bend in the middle of the floor plan. The architect marked it as 30 degrees and the builder spent a day trying to peg it out. When he challenged the architect, he said “ what’s three degrees anyway?”.
facthunter Posted January 14, 2020 Posted January 14, 2020 It's the "third" degree you have to watch. Maybe he's from Boeing. Nev
Litespeed Posted January 14, 2020 Posted January 14, 2020 We can winge about architects all day but the elephant is developers and councils. Buy into a new development and you are often stuck with rude rules designed by the developer to boost his power and profit. All designs must meet very strict rules on colour, materials, window frontage, parking, style, roof colour and paint colours. They all end up looking the same, cost a fortune and reduce amenity. My bro just built and was forced to do a landscape plan before he could be approved to build. No landscaper no build. So it forced owners to get way overpriced work just to meet picky developers wims. Surprise only mega dollar landscapers would quote and get approved. Landscaping $180 k for probably $50 k of work. What a setup and all bolstered by developer friendly council, with a rep for paper bags. And to top it off the buggers won't allow you to park on front of block or road, and boats must be around back or garaged. Good luck, the steep driveway they will not allow changes to, even though simple to allow a trailer to get up. So my brothers $2.2 million home on 1700 metres can't use his mandated mega garage to hide his boat as per by laws. A absolute joke. It is only a 5 metre light boat. But if you park it on the road they will fine you and or make life difficult. Niehbour has spent same and can't access driveway down to garage as way too steep and a normal car gets stuck going from gutter to driveway. No changes were allowed to modify it to be usable at all. $ 2.2 million and can't use her four garages or even driveway but banned from parking on street. This is a exclusive estate in big blocks on farm land. No help for the owner just the developer from council. No architects were involved in this debacle. Even half drunk and one eyed architects would have seen this problem. So lots have spend big to have homes they can't properly use and threat of legal action if you use your home like everyone expects. The peak of bend over and take it by a council rigging the game for a developer. Hawkesbury council needs to be taken out back and flogged at least. My brother now has a home meant to allow him storage of a boat that can't. So he is forced to pay storage fees just to use it. $3000 min a year. Absolutely pathetic.
spacesailor Posted January 14, 2020 Posted January 14, 2020 Futher west and NO SEWERS. Probably that same council. spacesailor
Old Koreelah Posted January 14, 2020 Posted January 14, 2020 ... the steep driveway they will not allow changes to, even though simple to allow a trailer to get up... I've seen too many steep driveways. Usually a result of lack of imagination by the builder. Rev the guts on a cold engine just to get up to the road, dangerously poor visibility... Why do most people jam a standard house onto a sloping block that has so much potential for a creative design? So many of these sites lend themselves to a garage at street level with living space underneath. My ideal is bedroom sheltered by the cool, quiet earth, with kitchen, etc on the upper floor where you can see the view.
octave Posted January 14, 2020 Posted January 14, 2020 I've seen too many steep driveways. Usually a result of lack of imagination by the builder. Rev the guts on a cold engine just to get up to the road, dangerously poor visibility... Just spent a few weeks in Wellington NZ talk about steep driveways!
red750 Posted January 15, 2020 Author Posted January 15, 2020 This drive is so steep they have installed a speed hump to stop the car rolling down while they open or close the garage door. [ATTACH]50600._xfImport[/ATTACH]
pmccarthy Posted January 15, 2020 Posted January 15, 2020 Our son has a driveway like that in Tecoma, Melbourne.
Yenn Posted January 16, 2020 Posted January 16, 2020 I once designed a zig zag driveway into a commercial building to reduce the gradient, have to watch out for bottoming the chassis where driveway meets garage floor.
red750 Posted February 10, 2020 Author Posted February 10, 2020 Today was my regular monthly trip into the inner suburbs to take my wife to a Morning Melodies concert in St Kilda Road. They are not my cup of tea, so I usually park on Albert Road Albert Park. It is part of the Grand Prix circuit, but barracaded into a no through road. It is close to public conveniences and the disabled spot is not metered (I have the wheelchair pass). However, it was closed today in preparation for the F1 GP in a coule of weeks, so I went down to Docklands City where I took this photo of another example of designing outside the square. Click to enlarge to see what I mean. [ATTACH]50674._xfImport[/ATTACH]
old man emu Posted February 10, 2020 Posted February 10, 2020 You've got the same shonky builders in Melbourne as we have in Sydney. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-14/mascot-building-evacuated-after-cracks-found/11212816
onetrack Posted February 10, 2020 Posted February 10, 2020 That's what you get, when you employ a large number of unskilled immigrant wog construction workers, who don't know how to use a straight-edge or level. The Freemasons are appalled at the low building skills levels of today.
red750 Posted February 10, 2020 Author Posted February 10, 2020 Imagine working on one of those upper floors. You'd keep spilling your coffee and your pencils would keep rolling off the desk. And it's designed that way!! [ATTACH]50675._xfImport[/ATTACH]
octave Posted February 10, 2020 Posted February 10, 2020 Looks interesting inside, bet the view from the angled exterior window is fantastic. [ATTACH]50676._xfImport[/ATTACH]
Marty_d Posted February 10, 2020 Posted February 10, 2020 What a shame it's not owned by Domino's. The Leaning Towers of Pizza.
Jerry_Atrick Posted February 10, 2020 Posted February 10, 2020 WHen I first arrived in London, I was surpised at how low-line the skyline was. It actually largely still is; the City district now has skyscrapers, and the Shard is actually an aethetically pleasing building. The Gherkin is a phallic monstrosity and there are other warped shaped buildings which look stupid. Battersea is now getting skyscraper apartments - more modern version of the ghettos on inner Melbourne (though the new US embassy there is striking). Apart from that, and the odd skyscraper in Elephant and Castle, the other place of modern and tall architecture is Canary Wharf (I think Mr. Perry posted in another thread a panoramic of it). At ground level, it is a poor man's US city. Roads are too narrow, devoid of any culture (at least US cities do have something) and completely superficial. Glad i am no longer working there at the end of Feb.. Absolute pit.
red750 Posted February 10, 2020 Author Posted February 10, 2020 These new towers are under construction in the CBD, photographed from Southbank. Eureka Tower is on the right of the second photo, with the gold square at the top, at one stage Melbourne's tallest building. [ATTACH]50678._xfImport[/ATTACH][ATTACH]50677._xfImport[/ATTACH]
red750 Posted February 10, 2020 Author Posted February 10, 2020 This panorama of the Melbourne skyline was taken from Williamstown sailing club on my iphone. [ATTACH]50679._xfImport[/ATTACH]
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