Boom style architecture: Difference between revisions
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== Australia == |
== Australia == |
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The Australian gold rushes led to a fivefold population increase within a mere thirty year period attracting opportunists and adventurers from around the world and the resultant wealth funded the emergence, particularly in Melbourne, and to a lesser extent in Sydney and Brisbane, of a lavish architectural style known since as the Boom style. The period between the gold rushes and the major depression of the 1890s witnessed a significant surge in building activity, encompassing both residential and secular structures, as well as religious buildings.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=MacMahon |first=Bill |title=The architecture of East Australia : an architectural history in 432 individual presentations |last2=Sierins |first2=Eric |publisher=Edition Axel Menges |year=2000 |isbn=9783930698905 |location=Stuttgart |pages=10 |oclc=636811671}}</ref> |
King and Willis note that the term ‘Boom Style’ (capitalised) has entered the lexicon of Australian architectural historians, its first usage being accepted as by [[Robin Boyd (architect)|Robyn Boyd]] in the first edition of his ''Australia's Home''.<ref name=":2" /> The Australian gold rushes led to a fivefold population increase within a mere thirty year period attracting opportunists and adventurers from around the world and the resultant wealth funded the emergence, particularly in Melbourne, and to a lesser extent in Sydney and Brisbane, of a lavish architectural style known since as the Boom style. The period between the gold rushes and the major depression of the 1890s witnessed a significant surge in building activity, encompassing both residential and secular structures, as well as religious buildings.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=MacMahon |first=Bill |title=The architecture of East Australia : an architectural history in 432 individual presentations |last2=Sierins |first2=Eric |publisher=Edition Axel Menges |year=2000 |isbn=9783930698905 |location=Stuttgart |pages=10 |oclc=636811671}}</ref> |
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=== Melbourne === |
=== Melbourne === |
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With the collapse of banks in 1893 and following that, the demise of numerous newly-established companies, the building industry embraced a more modest style that reflected the prevailing sobriety. |
With the collapse of banks in 1893 and following that, the demise of numerous newly-established companies, the building industry embraced a more modest style that reflected the prevailing sobriety. |
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The "[[Queen Anne style architecture|Queen Anne]]" style emerged in deliberate contrast with the Boom Style, characterised by meticulously pointed red bricks and newly-imported Marseilles-pattern roofing tiles made of terra-cotta, and abandoning the use of stucco. Grey slate was replaced with red tiles, while the folded M-shaped roof expanded to form a high, all-encompassing cap. Instead of formal symmetry, the plan and silhouette of buildings transformed into an assortment of irregular bays, dormers, porches, and spires, striving desperately to achieve a "picturesque" appearance, and a more homely 'English' quality.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Boyd |first=Robyn |title=Australia's home : its origins, builders, and occupiers |publisher=Melbourne University Press |year=1987 |isbn=9780522843583 |edition=New M.U.P. |location=Carlton, Vic., |pages=25-44 |language=en |oclc=18648524}}</ref> |
The "[[Queen Anne style architecture|Queen Anne]]" style emerged in deliberate contrast with the Boom Style, characterised by meticulously pointed red bricks and newly-imported Marseilles-pattern roofing tiles made of terra-cotta, and abandoning the use of stucco. Grey slate was replaced with red tiles, while the folded M-shaped roof expanded to form a high, all-encompassing cap. Instead of formal symmetry, the plan and silhouette of buildings transformed into an assortment of irregular bays, dormers, porches, and spires, striving desperately to achieve a "picturesque" appearance, and a more homely 'English' quality.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Boyd |first=Robyn |title=Australia's home : its origins, builders, and occupiers |publisher=Melbourne University Press |year=1987 |isbn=9780522843583 |edition=New M.U.P. |location=Carlton, Vic., |pages=25-44 |language=en |oclc=18648524}}</ref> |
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== References == |
== References == |
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Revision as of 04:05, 10 July 2023
"Boom style" is a recognised architectural style of a late nineteenth-century period of prosperity in which domestic, commercial, public and ecclesiastical architecture burgeoned, particularly in Victoria, Australia, and in other east-coast Australian states.[1][2] The term is sometimes used to designate similar opulent architecture of overlapping periods across the late British Empire and to some extent in America.
Background
In the 19th century, there was a significant increase in the construction of civic buildings in urban areas throughout the British empire supported by the rise of the middle class and its leisure activities accommodated by theatres, shopping arcades, and coffee houses.[3] These buildings embraced the latest architectural trends incorporating both Gothic and classical elements in an unconventional manner to create visually stunning effects in a design approach criticised in later periods as uneducated eclecticism or frivolousness.
Australia
King and Willis note that the term ‘Boom Style’ (capitalised) has entered the lexicon of Australian architectural historians, its first usage being accepted as by Robyn Boyd in the first edition of his Australia's Home.[4] The Australian gold rushes led to a fivefold population increase within a mere thirty year period attracting opportunists and adventurers from around the world and the resultant wealth funded the emergence, particularly in Melbourne, and to a lesser extent in Sydney and Brisbane, of a lavish architectural style known since as the Boom style. The period between the gold rushes and the major depression of the 1890s witnessed a significant surge in building activity, encompassing both residential and secular structures, as well as religious buildings.[2]
Melbourne
Melbourne in particular, as the capital of the colony in which most gold was discovered, experienced a rapid influx of money, which contributed to the city's growth. This period marked the prevalence of elaborately decorated Victorian architecture in the city recognised as ‘Marvellous Melbourne”[1] The centres of gold mining including Ballarat and Bendigo, and even the now smaller towns such as Clunes, Maryborough, Daylesford and Beechworth also feature such buildings.
Characteristics
In the late 1880s and early 1890s, the Boom Style gained prominence, featuring unrestrainedly ornate facades. Stucco parapets or balustrades concealed the roofs, colored-brick patterns were common, and cast-iron verandas and stained glass around the front doors were chararcteristc. Architectural historians categorise 'Boom style' into sub-styles such as Georgian Colonial, Gothic Revival, Renaissance Revival, and French Second Empire.
Architects rose to the challenge of providing wealthy clients' demands for ostentatious houses. Notable examples include "Benvenuta" in Carlton, designed by Walter Scott Law in 1892 for a small-arms manufacturer. Roman-inspired, and now known as Medley Hall, a residential college, another example featured intricate garlands, encrustations of floral motifs, and statues on the parapet, all crafted by Italian artisans.[5]
Glass
During this era, colored glass became a popular feature in private homes, adorning both modest terraces and grand mansions. The availability of relatively inexpensive glass due to the Industrial Revolution, its suitability as ballast on returning ships, and the public's inclination for ornamentation all contributed to its widespread usage. By the 1880s international exhibitions in Sydney (1879) and Melbourne (1880-81) had popularised sophisticated new products from manufacturing nations and the introduction of various types of specialty glass, adding a colourful element to the generally subdued tones of boom-style building materials. Painted and enameled decorative panels, etched ruby glass, and high-quality Victorian leadlights, featuring thick and deeply colored quarries and sparkling roundels, were incorporated into door settings, stairwells, and hallway windows. The role of the stained glass window is showcased in Labassa, an Italian-inspired villa in North Caulfield, constructed in 1890 for W. A. Robertson, a pastoralist and investor. Designed by J. A. B. Koch and again built by Italian craftsmen, the villa exhibited extensive sculptural ornamentation and extravagant use of stenciled decorations and stained glass.[6]
Demise
With the collapse of banks in 1893 and following that, the demise of numerous newly-established companies, the building industry embraced a more modest style that reflected the prevailing sobriety.
The "Queen Anne" style emerged in deliberate contrast with the Boom Style, characterised by meticulously pointed red bricks and newly-imported Marseilles-pattern roofing tiles made of terra-cotta, and abandoning the use of stucco. Grey slate was replaced with red tiles, while the folded M-shaped roof expanded to form a high, all-encompassing cap. Instead of formal symmetry, the plan and silhouette of buildings transformed into an assortment of irregular bays, dormers, porches, and spires, striving desperately to achieve a "picturesque" appearance, and a more homely 'English' quality.[4]
References
- ^ a b King, Stuart; Willis, Julie (2022-07-05). "Mining Boom Styles". In Brennan, AnnMarie; Goad, Philip (eds.). Proceedings of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand: 33, Gold. Proceedings of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand. online: SAHANZ. pp. 334–345. ISBN 978-0-646-85443-4.
- ^ a b MacMahon, Bill; Sierins, Eric (2000). The architecture of East Australia : an architectural history in 432 individual presentations. Stuttgart: Edition Axel Menges. p. 10. ISBN 9783930698905. OCLC 636811671.
- ^ Bremmer, G. A., ed. (2016). Architecture and urbanism in the British Empire. Oxford history of the British Empire (1st ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198713326. OCLC 938360468.
- ^ a b Boyd, Robyn (1987). Australia's home : its origins, builders, and occupiers (New M.U.P. ed.). Carlton, Vic.,: Melbourne University Press. pp. 25–44. ISBN 9780522843583. OCLC 18648524.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ Flower, Cedric; Smith, Robyn (1983). The heritage of Australia (2nd ed.). Ringwood, Australia: Viking O'Neil. p. 86. ISBN 9780670900060. OCLC 680053649.
- ^ Zimmer, Jenny (1984). Stained glass in Australia (1st ed.). Melbourne: Oxford University Press. p. 49. ISBN 9780195543698. OCLC 12031913.