Launceston Bowls Club - A Post War delight

There's something about bowls clubs that are quite impressive on many levels. The well maintained lawns, gardens and green space that often border the bowling green and the little huts such as this one featured that evoke a time gone by.

The well maintained building and landscape remind me of post war homes where not a thing was out of place in the front yard, and grass was cut away in a perfect line away from the edges of the concrete driveway.

The small meeting place buildings are so typical of post war design, and remind me of shacks down on the beach or the shed down the back that the 1950s man would have once called his second home. The flat angled roof is a give-away of it's modernist credentials, as is the old fencing in the background, likely to be the original from when the complex was built.

1960s Residential Flats - Lessons from the past

There is something very interesting and captivating about post war design and 20th century Modernity in cities.

This photograph highlights a typical 1960s design style, with symmetry at play through the staircase, balustrades, windows and doors, and the mail boxes to the far left.

I like the "gritty" feel of the scene, it looks in some ways like an abandoned site, with what looks like a spill of paint or plaster behind the stairs and the rubbish bins randomly placed.

There are people who dismiss post war 20th century architecture as one big mistake, and sure there have been lessons learnt. But isn't that true of all periods? These flats pictured, and many others like them, are examples of how Architects were well aware of issues that effect cities today, such as population booms and urban sprawl.

A lot of nostalgia for the past (or the good old times - pick a date before 1930) is reflected in the awful urban sprawl in our cities, compounded by many wonderful examples of awful pastiche Victorian and Federation homes. I can see in years to come that people will be seeing the real big mistake of urban sprawl and a tacky excuses for pastiche buildings that don't stand for one thing or another - only a fantasy of what has come before.

Death of the Modernist Service Station - Launceston

One clear difference compared to just a decade ago, is the lack of independent family run Service Stations. Regular viewers of my blog would have seen many posts now from Tasmania that document abandoned Service Stations. There is a loss on 2 levels going on here, a loss of consumer diversity and a loss of Modernist designed stations. The irony is that to many they are so common as we go about filling our cars up and buying the local paper, but as the days, months and year's go by the sight of the Service Station fades.

Winnaleah Memorial Hall

This Modernist Memorial Hall is typical of many built around Australia, in the Art Deco or Modernist style. This one stands out in the rural township of Winnaleah on Tasmania's North East. The square detailing on the upper part of the building contrasts well with the main entrance and the vertical detailing of the lower section of the building.

Ocean Child Hotel - Hobart Art Deco

The Ocean Child Hotel is a wonderful streamline hotel still in operation. This detail shot highlights the original period font used. Font's played a major part in Modernist design and an entire publication could be done on Art Deco & Modern fonts!

To view more Art Deco & Modernist Tasmanian Architecture click here