Manchester Unity Building

Manchester Unity Building
The building viewed from ground level looking north west.
General information
Location	Melbourne, Australia
Coordinates	37°48′55″S 144°57′59″E / 37.8154°S 144.9664°E / -37.8154; 144.9664Coordinates: 37°48′55″S 144°57′59″E / 37.8154°S 144.9664°E / -37.8154; 144.9664
Completed	1932
Opening	1932-12-13
Height
Antenna spire	64 metres (210 ft)
Roof	40.2 metres (132 ft)
Top floor	12
Technical details
Floor count	12
Elevator count	3
Design and construction
Main contractor	W E Cooper Pty Ltd
Architect	Marcus Barlow

The Manchester Unity Building is a Art Deco skyscraper in Melbourne, Australia, constructed in 1932.

History

The site, on the north-west corner of the intersection of Collins Street and Swanston Street, was purchased by the Manchester Unity of Odd Fellows in 1928,^[1] reportedly for the sum of £250,000.^[2] Architect Marcus Barlow designed the building, which was built by W E Cooper Pty Ltd, contracted for the price of £215,000.^[1][3] Construction commenced at midnight on 1 January 1932 with the demolition of the prior buildings on the site, and proceeded around the clock in eight-hour shifts.^[1][4]

For the first time in Australia a construction progress schedule was used to track and manage the construction of the building:^[1]

"Upon [the schedule graph] is shown the progress of every section of the building as it must go forward... the exact time in which the excavation must be completed, when the escalators will be completed, and when the external painting will be finished... Progress payments to the builders are made upon the architects' certificate that the work is going forward to schedule."^[5]

Such was the speed of construction that in May the basement and ground floor arcade were structurally complete and ready to be fitted out, and by the end of July the roof had been laid, floors having been added at the rate of one a week on average.^[1] The shopping areas in the ground floor arcade, the basement and on the first floor were opened on 1 September.^[3]

A dinner for several hundred guests was held on 12 December 1932 in the building's basement to celebrate its opening, with Sir Stanley Argyle, the Premier of Victoria, giving a speech.^[2] On declaring the building open, Argyle pressed a button which turned on, for the first time, the lights illuminating the tower and spire.^[2]

Design

The building is of concrete-encased steel construction, with the exterior cladding consisting of two hundred and fifty tons of terracotta faience tiles.^[1][3] Australian marbles are used extensively on interior walls throughout the building.^[6] Two escalators, the first in Melbourne, were installed to provide access to the basement arcade and first floor from the ground floor arcade (though only one now survives).^[6] Three high-speed elevators were installed, capable of speeds of 600 feet per minute (3.0 m/s).^[5]

The building's roof reaches 132 feet (40 m), which was the height limit for buildings in Melbourne at the time of its construction, but the ornamental tower and spire extends a further 78 feet (24 m), as was permitted for non-habitable portions of buildings.^[1][4]

Gallery

• 

  Upper portion of the eastern facade, including the tower and spire.

• 

  Detail of the eastern facade, showing second-floor bay windows and third-floor balconies.

• 

  Detail of the tower and spire, as pictured from the roof terrace.

• 

  One of the ground floor lift doors.

• 

  The building viewed towards the south west from the rooftop of Council House 2.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} "Manchester Unity Building". National Trust of Australia. http://www.nattrust.com.au/trust_register/search_the_register/manchester_unity_building. Retrieved 2009-07-21. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "END CROWNS THE WORK: Manchester Unity Building". The Argus: pp. 9. 1932-12-13. http://ndpbeta.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/4513849. Retrieved 2009-07-30. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} "MANCHESTER UNITY BUILDING: FIRST SHOPS OPEN TO-DAY". The Argus: pp. 13. 1932-09-01. http://ndpbeta.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/4495498. Retrieved 2009-07-30. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Architecture - Manchester Unity Building". Marvellous Melbourne. Museum Victoria. http://museumvictoria.com.au/marvellous/contrasts/manchester.asp. Retrieved 2009-07-21. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "BUILDING AGAINST TIME: MANCHESTER UNITY CORNER". The Argus: pp. 6. 1932-06-02. http://ndpbeta.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/4455320. Retrieved 2009-07-30. 
6. ^ ^{a b} "MANCHESTER UNITY BUILDING". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/places/heritage/728. Retrieved 2009-07-21.