house

Postwar Modernism (1945-1960)

Examples:

• 22 Jacksons Road (1940)
• 25 Bembridge Avenue (1949)
• 1 Gulls Way (c1954)
• 14 Gulls Way (1956)
• 6-8 Yamala Drive (1961)

Utility for purpose, stripped of all ornament and lightly constructed towards efficient material use, outdoor-indoor living areas, and more sun penetration were the philosophies of post war architects. This type of house made Frankston famous in architectural and, later, fashion circles as the pace setter for a new Modern way of living which reflected the post­war optimism of the returning troops.

Modern siting was oriented to face living rooms to the north and hence the sun also preferably to the west where the bay views were. Two storey houses often evolved where views were to be had and cars would be parked under or in 'shelters' (later carports) which were as light-weight in construction as the houses beside them. Because of the new emphasis on living rooms which communicated with terraces, the garden was also very much part of the external and internal living areas. Hence house designs such as 25 Bembridge Avenue, faced to the sun and turned its back on the street, with large glazed walls which opened up to allow free access to the paved and landscaped terrace.

29. Plan of 25 Bembridge Avenue published in. 1951: long and narrow, north facing living areas, long terrace with pergola and service rooms put on the south side [AHB 6.51 p. 51].

Cladding in the above example was typical of these houses, either stained vertical boarding with contrasting joinery around openings, or cement sheet to walls, sometimes in combination. Windows were timber framed and those in living areas, in particular, were provided as whole walls rather than apertures in a wall. Clerestory windows set as a strip at the top of the skillion form were also popular. Roof finishes were corrugated cement or iron sheet or Malthoid, a reinforced bituminous membrane, for flat roofs. In Frankston Moorooduc stone was also an option for chimneys, terrace paving and rock walling (see 22 Jacksons Road).

30. Tilba Tilba, 14 Gulls Way designed by Chancellor and Patrick for the Bond family in 1956: use of local stone, near flat roof with a deep eaves overhang, a long and narrow plan with maximum access to the terrace and view for the large living areas and an integrated 'car shelter' at one end. It was publicised in 'Architecture and the Arts' 1957 and aided in - spreading the influence of this.

31. Pavilion type extension to a Bungalow style villa which respects the original.

External colours, particularly in the 1950s, were bright and contrasting in the manner of Mondrian. Black, red, yellow and white were used side by side in the same manner as the five rings of the 1956 Olympic symbol. Internal planning was open and informal with the kitchen servery making its first inroads into the main living area of the house. There were also split-level spaces and room dividers, as bookshelves or simple timber grid screens, together with angled forms, lacquered vertical board wall linings, and Laminex are familiar friends from the era. The form was also simple, with preference for a thin rectangular plan and the skillion as the most materials-efficient roof shape (particularly if combined with a ceiling which followed the roof underside from a low height over service rooms to a 'cathedral' height over the living rooms). A variation on the skillion was two skillions, backing onto each other as a butterfly (see 1 Denistoun Avenue) or in parallel at different heights or the most popular, the gently gabled roof form used extensively by the architects Chancellor and Patrick. Roy Grounds' round house on the Nepean Highway is a variant to the norm in Frankston but showed architects' preoccupation with simple geometrical forms as the formal outward shape of their designs. This was also evident in Featherstone's 19 Gulls Way (demolished) but in a triangular rather than cylindrical form.

Similar function-oriented philosophies were extended by architects into the 1960s and 1970s, with activities which sought to extract more visual variety within the functionalist constructions and include or enclose private open space

Additions

General Principles
Additions to houses of any period should aim to be in harmony with the existing house if a total renovation of the house is not also intended. This implies matching materials, scale and
roof form to the existing dwelling and placing the addition either at the back or towards the back, allowing the original house character to be clearly appreciated.

Victorian and Edwardian Villa additions
Adding to an Italianate house or Queen Anne style villa usually implies extending the rear roof and wall lines to provide more space with the potential inclusion of light courts or roof lights to maintain natural lighting in living rooms. Similarly roof additions can be inexpensive ways to increase floor areas, utilising the high ceilings in the old sections of the house for mezzanine levels which fit into the roof space which might be lit by Velux or similar operable roof windows. Towers were also used in late 19th and early 20th century Frankston houses, capturing bay views, and the same tradition can be used for today's additions, again placed towards the rear of the existing house.

Modernist house additions
Unlike the eras which preceded, the Modernist post-war period house was designed to be seen on all, sides (not just the street elevation) hence additions to this era of house are more difficult to achieve within the spirit of the original design. The original simplicity of the form can be complicated by addition of wings, unless within the envelope of the original design. One time-honoured but expensive approach for a large addition to a Modernist house design is to provide a similarly formed and finished pavilion addition at, for example three to four metres from the house, and link it with a glazed corridor.

Commercial and Civic Buildings
(refer domestic guidelines)

Often the approach to this type of building in Frankston is the same as applied to domestic uses of each period, the difference being one of scale.

Among the earliest examples of commercial buildings to survive in Frankston are on the east side of the Nepean Highway, one, the former chemist's shop and residence1 on the corner of Playne Street and the others to the south of this building. Both examples show the typical Victorian and Edwardian commercial character; built to the building lines, with a parapeted form which conceals the roof behind and is a vehicle for Renaissance-derived ornament achieved in pressed cement or stucco. Both examples have been greatly altered at ground level. The typical shopfront of these periods had a 500mm min. plinth, an angle-recessed doorway with half-glazed panelled doors, and moulded timber shop front joinery but the corner chemist's shop differed being more like a bank with windows which resembled those on the upper level.

Edwardian shop fronts introduced moulded metal-frames of copper or brass-clad timber sections and replaced the Victorian era cement cladding with glazed tiles in the amber, green maroon and brown shades still visible today in some shopping strips.

34. Late Victorian era shopfront, typical.