A set of Streamline Modern Flats - Elwood
This two storey complex of flats in the Melbourne suburb of Elwood captures the spirit of the Art Deco and Streamline Moderne style of architecture. The building features panels of red and yellow clinker brick creating geometric patterns above the round bay window and between the windows to the immediate right of the bay. A fin in picked out brick runs from the middle of the central stuccoed brick panel to the large windows below. Speed lines in brick and recessed into the stuccoed brick wall appear between the upper and lower storey windows. The windows themselves are simple and without ornamentation. All of these are typical design elements of the Art Deco and Streamline Moderne architectural movements.
After the Great War (1914 - 1918), higher costs of living and the "servant problem" made living in the grand mansions and villas built in the Victorian and Edwardian eras a far less practical and attractive option for both those looking for new housing, and those who lived in big houses. It was around this time, in answer to these problems, that flats and apartments began to replace some larger houses, and became fashionable to live in.
Flats like these would have suited those of comfortable means who could afford to live in Elwood, and dispense with the difficulties of keeping a large retinue of staff. With clean lines and large windows, it mirrored the prevailing uncluttered lines of architecture that came out of England after the war.
A set of Streamline Modern Flats - Elwood
This two storey complex of flats in the Melbourne suburb of Elwood captures the spirit of the Art Deco and Streamline Moderne style of architecture. The building features panels of red and yellow clinker brick creating geometric patterns above the round bay window and between the windows to the immediate right of the bay. A fin in picked out brick runs from the middle of the central stuccoed brick panel to the large windows below. Speed lines in brick and recessed into the stuccoed brick wall appear between the upper and lower storey windows. The windows themselves are simple and without ornamentation. All of these are typical design elements of the Art Deco and Streamline Moderne architectural movements.
After the Great War (1914 - 1918), higher costs of living and the "servant problem" made living in the grand mansions and villas built in the Victorian and Edwardian eras a far less practical and attractive option for both those looking for new housing, and those who lived in big houses. It was around this time, in answer to these problems, that flats and apartments began to replace some larger houses, and became fashionable to live in.
Flats like these would have suited those of comfortable means who could afford to live in Elwood, and dispense with the difficulties of keeping a large retinue of staff. With clean lines and large windows, it mirrored the prevailing uncluttered lines of architecture that came out of England after the war.