Sydney (7 november 2010)

Zondag 7 november 2010

Vandaag hebben we een architectuurdagje gedaan. We hebben kaartjes gekocht voor Sydney Open. Dit is een soort open monumentendag. Voor 40 AUD (circa 30 euro) krijg je een polsbandje waarmee je bij zo’n 70 gebouwen naar binnen mag. Veel te veel voor 1 dag dus! Bij het afhalen van de polsbandjes afgelopen vrijdag kregen we ook een boekje met daarin een beschrijving van alle gebouwen. Daaruit hebben we een keuze gemaakt.

State theatre (49 markt street): dit is een erg overdadig en nogal fout theater uit de jaren 20. Blijkbaar zijn er niet veel meer van over.

This glorious palace of dreams, a rare example of Revivalist architecture, opened in 1929 to screen ‘talking pictures’. The lavish red and gold foyers blend the Deco, Baroque and Rococo, with plaster figurines, marble statuary and extravagant light fixtures. Sweeping staircases lead up to the Juliet balcony and art gallery displaying original Australian artworks. In the magnificent auditorium is the unique Koh-i-nor (Mountain of Light) chandelier and crowned proscenium arch. Designed by Sydney’s Henry White in collaboration with US architect John Eberson, the State Theatre was one of four ‘million-dollar theatres’ built in Australia in the late 1920s (the Capitol, Sydney, is another). Today the theatre hosts live entertainment and events.

Culwulla Chambers (67 Castlereagh street): Een art-decogebouw. We hebben eerst een verdieping gezien die nog was zoals vroeger, met kleine ruimten en veel hout. Hier waren zelfs mensen aan het werk. Een andere verdieping was volledig gemoderniseerd en was licht en ruimtelijk. Het verschil is levensgroot! Eigenlijk is de modernisering zonde, want het past niet bij het gebouw. Maar het werkt natuurlijk wel praktischer.

Culwulla Chambers, a prime example of Federation Free Style architecture and the tallest building in Sydney when it was completed in 1912, was designed by architects Spain, Cosh & Minnett. At the time, its height of 170 feet (almost 52 metres) provoked a public reaction that resulted in legislation to limit future building height to 150 feet (about 46 metres). It was not until 1962, when the AMP tower was built, that the Culwulla Chambers lost its status as the tallest building in the city. During the 1980s, architects Kann Finch and Partners upgraded the services, reconfigured the ground-floor lift lobby and created new floor space at roof level. In 2002 the ground-floor foyer was reconstructed to a design informed by Spain, Cosh & Minnett’s original drawings, photographic evidence and surviving remnants of the original decorative scheme that survived above the 1980s ceiling. The arrangement of the lift lobby was impossible to reconstruct because of new fire regulations; however, there was sufficient evidence for a partial reconstruction following Spain, Cosh & Minnett’s design.

New South Wales Masonic Club (169 Castlereagh street, nu The Castlereagh Boutique Hotel): Dit is een herenclub van de vrijmetselaars en tegenwoordig deels een hotel. Een van de leden (man van 70-80 jaar) vertelde wat over de club. Tegenwoordig is maar een deel van de leden van de masonic club daadwerkelijk vrijmetselaar.

The NSW Masonic Club was built in 1927 in the Inter-war Commercial Palazzo style. It has a distinguished sandstone façade and parts of the original chequered marble floor are still visible in the bar. The dining room, Cello’s, has been restored to its 1920s splendour, as have other parts of the interiors. The upper floors are now four-star hotel accommodation, with 83 rooms.

City of Sydney Fire station (211-217 Castlereagh street): een grappige mengeling van oud en nieuw. Leuk om een echte brandweerpaal te zien!

The original building of the Sydney Fire Station, completed in 1888, is a rare example of Victorian Free Classical architecture. (Its design was influenced by the experiences of the London Metropolitan Fire Brigade.) In 1912 the NSW fire brigade built the new administration building on Castlereagh Street to the north, and in 1927 it converted the ground floor for two engine bays. In 1923 it purchased the Boot Factory next door and converted it into a gymnasium, workshops and a dormitory. The need for new, larger premises was voiced as early as 1934 but decades passed and these did not eventuate. In 2003 work commenced to refurbish and adaptively reuse the old building, and to construct new accommodation on the Boot Factory site. The administration building and its façade, engine bays, front rooms and main staircase were retained and refurbished, and a new building incorporating purpose-built engine bays and state-of-the-art facilities constructed next door.

Sydney Masonic Centre (279 Castlereagh street): dit is een modern gebouw van beton. Fascinerend om een vrijmetselaarsloge van binnen te zien. We beseffen dat we erg weinig van vrijmetselaars afweten.

Completed in 1979, the Sydney Masonic Centre is a prime example of the 1970s Brutalist style of architecture distinguished by off-form concrete in a range of finishes. It was designed by Joseland Gilling as the headquarters of the United Grand Lodge of NSW and the ACT of Ancient, Free and Accepted Freemasons. The Civic Tower, 24 levels of office space with a retail area below, was added in 2004. It has an Australian building greenhouse rating of 4.5 stars.

The great synagogue (187a Elizabeth street): Christof moest een keppeltje op. Er waren veel groepen mensen en onze gids was slecht te verstaan. Mooi gebouw, helaas mochten we geen foto’s maken

The Great Synagogue is the earliest surviving synagogue in Sydney and has been the focus of Jewish worship and culture in central Sydney since the 1870s. It is also socially and historically significant as the mother congregation of Australian Jewry. Built of Pyrmont sandstone and considered one of the finest works of architect Thomas Rowe, the synagogue is also one of the most elaborately decorated Victorian buildings in Sydney. It displays remarkably rich surviving decoration in sandstone, carved timber, moulded plaster, metalwork and tiling, all with a high level of craftsmanship. Many of the leading decorative firms of the High Victorian period from Australia, Britain and the USA were employed on the site. The style of the building is a composite of Romanesque and Byzantine influences, with Gothic detailing such as in the pointed arch over the rose window. The interior seats a total of 1200 people on the ground floor and in the gallery above.

Deutsche Bank Place (126 Philip street): modern gebouw, glazen liften, veel liften, helaas geen foto’s mogen maken, uitzicht super, heel veel moderne kunst

Standing at the highest point of Sydney’s CBD, Deutsche Bank Place, with its dramatic roof line, has reshaped the Sydney skyline. The building has a rectangular floor plate of approximately 1400 square metres, uninterrupted by service risers or columns. A glazed atrium some 140 metres high offers views across Phillip Street and the city skyline. Within the open steel framework of the atrium, lift cars are visible ascending and descending. Allens Arthur Robinson relocated to the building in 2006 and the company’s office interior was designed by Alexander Tzannes Associates. The fit-out is stylish and sophisticated, an elegant tribute to the law firm’s extensive collection of modern art.

BMA House (135-137 Macquarie street)

BMA (British Medical Association) House is an exuberant and idiosyncratic Art Deco style early Sydney ‘skyscraper’ embellished with medieval and Gothic decoration. It is one of only two office buildings designed by prominent inter-war architects Fowell and McConnel. Its most striking external feature is its richly ornamented glazed cladding, with Skyscraper Gothic motifs including gargoyles and heraldic shields. BMA House provides important evidence of the strong American influence on Sydney’s inter-war commercial buildings, and is notable for its use of both local materials and technologies and its flamboyant incorporation of Australian iconography. The quality of both external and internal finishes and detailing, and the fact that the original fabric of the building is largely intact, enhance its architectural significance. Until 1979 Todd Hall was the meeting place and lecture theatre of the British Medical Association. Beautifully panelled in Queensland maple, which is used for joinery throughout the building, it has been sympathetically refurbished as office space and most of the Queensland maple has been retained.

History House (133 Macquarie street): mooi en victoriaans van buiten, van binnen saai

Renamed History House in 1970 when the Royal Australian Historical Society moved into the building, 133 Macquarie Street was the last in a row of typical quality town houses built in 1872 for the Victorian upper-middle class on the west side of the street. On the ground floor of No 133 were a drawing room and dining rooms and, on the first and second floors, a study, bedrooms and dressing rooms. A back wing at right angles to the main house contained the service areas and servants’ quarters. Since its acquisition by the Royal Australian Historical Society much work has been carried out to maintain and enhance this important and now rare example of the town houses that once graced much of Macquarie Street.

Sydney Harbour YHA & The Big Dig Archaeology Education Centre (110 Cumberland street, The rocks): jeugdherberg boven op overblijfselen van huizen v.d. kolonisten (convicts), leuke rondleiding, geweldig uitzicht vanaf dakterras

The 106-room Sydney Harbour YHA and education centre was officially opened in April 2010 and is the largest archaeological urban development ever completed in Australia. The hostel is built above ‘The Big Dig’, an archaeological excavation that first captured public attention in 1994. The footings of some 44 buildings and over a million artefacts have been uncovered, some dating to the earliest years of the colony. Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority decided to preserve and protect the archaeology by allowing a state-of-the-art, energy-efficient hostel to be built on the site. The buildings are supported by structural-steel trusses spanning the archaeological remains, allowing over 85% of the site to be visible at ground level. This project demonstrates that the conservation of in-situ remains as part of a modern building can both enhance the visitor experience and preserve fragile archaeological remains in an accessible and meaningful way.

We moesten drie kwartier wachten voor de rondleiding van 16 uur bij de jeugdherberg. Vlakbij zat een pub waar we wat hebben gedronken. Christof nam een biertje (Little creatures) en ik een witte wijn (Blue tongue). We zijn aan de praat geraakt met wat Australiërs en dat was erg gezellig.

Na de rondleiding zijn we teruggegaan naar deze pub. Bij het bier en de wijn hebben we twee pizza’s genomen (1 met verschillende kazen, 1 met pompoen en feta). Heerlijk einde van de dag!