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Prahran Arcade @ Open House Melbourne
Director, Roger Beeston is proudly presenting the award winning Prahran Arcade restoration works at Open House Melbourne 2024, below is a summary of the project.
History
Prahran Arcade is a substantial building designed in an ornately classicising manner typical of the late 19th century. It has a three storey front wing, however most of the building is two storey. It is included on the Victorian Heritage Register as H1960.
The arcade was designed by local architect, George McMullen and constructed by James McMullen. But what’s unusual for the time is that it was commissioned by a woman, Elizabeth Delaney. It opened in July 1890, with 29 ground floor shops including a tailor, café, watchmaker, florist, confectioner, fruit shop, frame maker, oyster saloon and dressmaker; additional uses included a hotel, café and baths. From 1920s the building was known as the Centreway and from 1960s to the turn of the century the whole building was used by wine merchant Dan Murphy.
Historical photos, research and site investigations have uncovered these layers of occupants and change. The original mansard roof was removed some time between the late 1950s and 1963. Internally, although the building now houses JB Hi-Fi, the repetitive side bays with arched openings originally contained individual shops, and later wine storage.
Before Conservation Works
The physical condition of the building had deteriorated over recent decades. RBA carried out a condition survey of the façade in late 2018, which involved a physical inspection at street level and those areas accessible from the two balcony levels, as well as sections of the upper façade which could be accessed from a boom.
The façade was in very poor condition, with multiple layers of coatings flaking and peeling off and a remarkable amount of plant growth, particularly on inaccessible areas. There was substantial cracking and spalling to the rendered masonry. Where render was missing it was apparent that embedded was corroding, expanding and causing damage to the surrounding brickwork and render. Review of larger cracks to the arches of the balcony by a structural engineer concluded that the façade was in fact gradually detaching from the body of the building.
During Works
To establish the scope of a wholesale series of conservation works, it was decided to sensitively strip the accumulated layers of non-original acrylic paint and underlying sections of damaged render. Adobe Restoration undertook this endeavour in 2021. At this time, Landmark Heritage was also commissioned to analyse a sample of the render to establish the composition of its various finishes.
During these interactions, long-lost aspects of the Prahran Arcade were revealed. A key moment was discovering the faint imprint of the facade’s name as the paint was stripped back. Utilising photogrammetry and digital technology, RBA was able to faithfully restore the render relief lettering (‘PRAHRAN ARCADE’), which now embellishes the frieze.
Challenges abounded. A fundamental latent issue was the extreme corrosion of the original iron in the second-floor balcony. Reinforcement proved impossible within the available depth and like-for-like replacement unviable due to structural stipulations. Engaging closely with Adobe and engineers at DSP, a discrete solution of replacing the deteriorated iron elements with a composite concrete slab comparable in depth to the original was established. This allowed faithful reinstatement of the timber ceiling and balcony floor level. Importantly, it also rectified the progressive detachment of the arcade’s face, ruling out the need for more visible interventions.
The damaged and detached decorative render and pressed cement elements were carefully reconstructed by specialist tradespeople using traditional techniques, and the painted signage adjacent to the ground floor entry was protected.
Project Completion
Following meticulous research and repairs to the façade, a new skim coat rendered finish was selected for the facade. This traditional render mix included sand and oxide pigments selected to match the softer, almost sandstone tones of the original finish.
The outcome is a revitalised Prahran Arcade, once again demonstrating the optimism of ‘Marvelous Melbourne’ and lifting the condition of Chapel Street. Discrete external lighting allows the building to be seen by the varied passers by, and highlights elements which may otherwise be missed.
The repair and reconstruction of Prahran Arcade’s landmark facade exemplifies the value RBA attaches to forensic, evidence-based conservation practice, in which material analysis and respect for multilayered stories guide the approach.
The project won the 2023 Victorian Architecture Award for Heritage. The jury was impressed with the specially developed render, the craft of hand-pulled plasterwork, and the creative use of a balcony floor to structurally pin the facade back to the building. They noted that “We often bemoan that quality of buildings lost to spreadsheets – the “they don’t make them like they used to” sentiment. This owner believes the numbers say otherwise. Investing in the restoration of this grand dame is good for business. We can’t wait to see what he does next.”
Connecting People to Place
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2023 AIA Victorian Architecture Awards
The 2023 Awards ceremony for the Victorian Australian Institute of Architects was held on Friday the 16th June.
Several representatives from RBA Architects and Conservation Consultants attended the event, where we were proud to receive an Award for Heritage Conservation for the Prahran Arcade Façade Conservation and a Commendation for Heritage – Conservation for the restoration of Doherty House in Tarneit.
Additionally, we were pleased to see Searle x Waldron receive an Award for Architecture for the Joyce Chapel Bridge and Wardle receive The William Wardell Award for Public Architecture for the Bendigo Law Courts – both projects that RBA have been involved in.
Learn more about the Prahran Arcade Facade Conservation here.
Learn more about the Doherty House Restoration here.
Doherty House, Tarneit (Image: Thurston Empson)
Bendigo Law Courts, Wardle (Image: Tim Griffith)
Prahran Arcade (Image: Thurston Empson)
Joyce Chapel Bridge, Searle x Waldron (Image: Peter Bennetts)
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