Princes Gate Towers
Princes Gate Towers | |
---|---|
Alternative names | Gas & Fuel Towers |
General information | |
Status | Demolished |
Type | Office building |
Address | 171 Flinders Street, Melbourne |
Opened | 1966 |
Demolished | 1997 |
Height | 70 m (230 ft) |
Design and construction | |
Architecture firm | Leslie M Perrott & Partners |
Developer | Lend Lease Oddenino's Property & Investment Co |
Other information | |
Parking | 186 |
The Princes Gate Towers were a set of twin office tower blocks that were located at the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Streets in the Melbourne central business district, Australia. They were designed by architects Leslie M. Perrott and Partners and completed in 1967.[1] They were partly occupied by the Gas and Fuel Corporation of Victoria, leading to the buildings also being known as "the Gas & Fuel Buildings". They were demolished in 1997 to make way for Federation Square, the mixed-use development and public space that now occupies the site.
Background
The
Leslie Perrot and Partners were chosen as project architects and the development was funded by Princes Gate Pty Ltd, jointly owned by Lend Lease and Oddenino's Property and Investment Co of London.[1] Construction was completed in 1967. The Victorian Employees Federation leased 12 floors in the East tower, while the Gas and Fuel Corporation leased 10 floors in the West tower.[1][2] The buildings housed a total of 25,000 m2 (270,000 sq ft) of office space, split level parking for 186 cars, and 1,700 m2 (18,000 sq ft) of retail space on the ground level.[3]
Architecture
The towers were designed in the postwar corporate
The towers were 17 storeys high and reached 70 m (230 ft). They were constructed with brown bricks from the East Burwood brickworks, and featured vertical strips of aluminium-framed windows. The office floors were punctuated by a regular grid of structural columns spaced 10 m (33 ft) apart. The ground floor retail spaces development housed a supermarket,
The buildings were constructed over the still-functioning
Public reception
The towers elicited mixed reactions from the general public when first unveiled. They were appreciated by some as modernist architectural icons, but many regarded the towers as eyesores, and criticised their size and placement. The towers were considered to have cut the city off from the river and also detracted from St Paul's Cathedral and the heritage facades along Flinders Street.[6] The towers were much larger than any of the surrounding buildings and were criticised for dominating the area.[citation needed]
An
- "Once the graceful spires of St. Paul's Cathedral dominated the southern entry to Melbourne. In 1967, the ultra modern twin towers of the princes gate complex raised their lean, unornamented 17 storeys to rob strollers on the banks of the Yarra of their traditional view." [7]
Demolition
Following the
References
- ^ a b c d e Brown-May, A. and Day, N. (2003). Federation Square, South Yarra, Vic: Hardie Grant Books, pp 20
- ^ Princes Gate Towers Railway Transportation August 1966 page 8
- ^ Princes Gate Development, Leslie Perrott and Partners, Original design proposal document, pp 5
- ^ a b Telephone interview with David Simpson by Rohan Storey, 9 January 2020
- ^ Woodhead, B. (1964). Lower Yarra Concept Plan, Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works, pp 16
- The Herald Sun, Melbourne, 10 July 2014. Retrieved on 26 July 2022.
- Australian Women's Weekly, p.8
- ^ "City Towers Eyesore Will Go In Two Years". The Age. 20 January 1994.
- ^ Whitlock, F. (9 December 1996) "Demolition Days". The Age, pp 3