LIKE site - Post #4, history of the site

The Morell Bridge has a very well documented history and is actually quite significant.

The bridge was named after Sir Stephen Morell in 1936 in recognition of his contribution to Melbourne. Morell was a prominent Victorian businessman and Lord Mayor between 1926 and 1928 and a rowing enthusiast.


Prior to 1936 it was known as the Anderson Street Bridge and was constructed in 1899.


Its construction is significant as it was the first significant reinforced concrete bridge built using the innovative Monier construction technique in Victoria. The Monier technique was patented by Joseph Monier, a French manufacturer of garden ware, in 1867.


The bridge is often attributed (thought this is disputed) to John Monash, but was actually designed and constructed by Sydney based engineers, Carter, Gummow and Co, patentees of the Monier Construction System in Australia.


What is particularly interesting and significant is that the bridge was built on dry land and when it was completed the Yarra river was diverted to flow underneath it.


On June 7, 1998 the bridge was closed to cars as part of the CityLink project. It is currently used by cyclist and pedestrian traffic.

In 2006 the Age Newspaper reported that each weekday, VicRoads meters count about 2500 cyclists on the path at Morrell Bridge near Melbourne Park. At peak time, from 7.30am to 8.30am, about 320 cyclists ride past every hour, or one every 11 seconds.

I think it is interesting that by cosmic coincidence both my "like" and "not like" locations are sites of significant mechanical advancements for Melbourne.

NOT like site - Post #4, history of the site

Finding historical information on my "not like" site's current incarnation has proven more difficult than I would have originally thought given that public art project are usually very well documented.

I have been able to find information on prior uses of the site going back over 100 years based on information on the site provided by the local heritage council.


This information sign, part of the Richmond Heritage Walk, shows the area immediately surrounding the site in the 19th Century but not the site itself. It does however indicate that in circa 1876 the site was most likely a part of the grounds of sixteen room mansion, Yalcowinna.



Yalcowinna, was built in 1867 by business man, politician, and land speculator William Highett. The grounds of the mansion, which is now part of Epworth Hospital, comprised a four-stall stable, three looseboxes, two coachhouses, a man’s room, a hayloft and wood and coal sheds.



From a plaque I was able to learn that a building on the site had housed Melbourne's first cable tram engines had been constructed there in 1885. That the building had later been extended to house a station for the electric tramway, which replaced the pioneer cable line in 1927. The buildings were both demolished in 1991 for road intersection improvements.

With that knowledge I have been able to hunt down a photo and drawing from the Richmond Library showing the site.



The photo that has the caption 'A tramways engine for cable cars at Richmond'. The engine house for cable cars was on the corner of Bridge Rd and Hoddle Street.



From the drawing, that is presumed to be from a newspaper, I get a better idea of what the structure would have looked like and how it would have worked.


I also found another photo that shows the site in 1978 the site as the "Melbourne Forklift Company".

Contemplating the uses of the site since the 1880s to at least the late 1970s one of the common themes, which in many ways continues is the sites connection to noise and machinery. Whether it be engine houses for trams or forklifts.

I have found a couple of clues relating to how the site came to look as it currently does but I am still in the process of hunting them down.

Having found out more about the previous uses of the site I find the site itself more interesting but like the current works on the site even less because they don't in any way engage or reflect that history.

Council House Two

Council House Two (CH2) is situated on 240 Little Collins Street near the intersection of Swanston Street.

CH2 was officially opened in August 2006 as is Australia's first new 6 star greenstar rated commercial office building.

It is a 10-storey office building housing approximately 540 City of Melbourne staff, and a gross floor area of 12,536m² and cost $51.045 million to build.

The architect, Mick Pearce, gave a lecture during the intensive program. He described his architecture is greatly inspired by natural structures and bio-mimicry and light energy.

By observing structures in nature he has been able to replicate techniques that provide natural sources of heating and cooling for buildings as alternatives to high energy consumption alternatives, such as air-conditioning.


For example, located on the south façade shower towers, jokingly known as "condoms", made of five tubes of durable lightweight fabric, inside which a water shower induces air movement and cooling. The ensuing evaporative cooling process cools both air and water.




The building is actively conscious of its surrounding environments and includes other features that use the surrounding environment such as plants, wooden slats that move with the sun and so on.

The building itself and the architectural and environmental philosophy behind it are incredibly interesting but what makes it particularly relevant to an examination of public art is how the building was developed.



The building is an excellent example of using artists as part of the planning and development process for the building right from the very outset rather than using them to develop decorative elements when the building is complete.

In case of CH2 artists were included in the first brainstorming session with the architect and the engineer. The artists input was particularly valued for their ability to think outside of box creatively and beyond the "solution driven" processes of the architects and engineers.





Reference: City of Melbourne website

LIKE Site - Post #3, textures

Below are some of the textural components that make up my Like site.

The materials are way to many to mention but include both man-made such as steel, plaster, paint, concrete, iron, plastic and natural elements such as water, plant mater, ants and stone.

NOT like site - Post #3, textures

Below are some of the textural components that make up my Not Like site.

They include brick, bronze, brown paper, concrete, dead leaves, dying grass, flower petals, glass bottles, iron, newspaper and wood.