KOREAN PREHISTORY MUSEUM COMPETITION
A Prehistory Museum is to be established at the Jeongok-ri prehistoric site in South Korea. An international competition has been held for its design and our entry was one of over 300 received.
In 1978, prehistoric Acheulian handaxes were discovered at Jeongok-ri. They are quite similar to the Paleolithic handaxes of Europe and Africa and so their discovery sparked international academic interest, as it weakened Movius' hypothesis that there was a distinction between the technical capabilities of early mankind in the East and West, as previously defined by "Movius' Line".
The Jeongok-ri site was designated a 'national cultural property' in 1979 and the Korean government will be seeking its registration on the World Heritage List in the near future. The new museum is intended to provide a world class facility for the storage and exhibition of the artifacts, possibly in situ. It will bring a greater range of people to the site and provide an educational as well as recreational and cultural experience for visitors.
RESTORATION WORK AT ST MICHAEL'S
External restoration work at St Michael's Uniting Church in Collins Street, Melbourne, is now in progress, reports project architect Fraser Brown. Lovell Chen are working on a $2m project to restore the building's stonework, replace the main part of the Welsh slate roof and upgrade fire detection systems.
The pictures illustrate stages in the reconstruction of the original limestone finials. The first is an enlargement taken with a microscope of an original 1875 Charles Nettleton print of the church, and is part of our research. The second shows Oamaru limestone roughed out ready for carving. The third, the completed sample provided by the stonemason. This particular sample was generally accepted, though with a number of refinements, so will not be used and is currently on display in the south west corner lobby. It can be seen by the public most lunchtimes when the church is open.
The original finials had been replaced in the 1950s with totally different sandstone apex stones, so they could not be copied for our restoration work. However, stone bosses and other carved elements do survive and have provided a guide to the original style of carving.
St Michael's Church was designed as the Independent Church by Reed and Barnes. They used a robust Lombardic Romanesque style, constructing it in polychromatic brickwork with limestone details. It was completed in 1867.
[ photos: Fraser Brown ]
See also
Mingary, St Michael's Uniting Church
NEW APPOINTMENT: RMIT BUILDING 13
We have been appointed by RMIT to undertake the master planning and design and documentation of refurbishment works to Building 13.
Building 13, or the Emily McPherson building, is to be refurbished to house the new Graduate School of Business at RMIT. Work is due for completion by Easter 2008.
[ photos: Peter Lovell ]
FARFOR FLATS: BOYD BIOGRAPHY
As reported last month, we are working on the design and documentation of additions and alterations to Units 1 and 2 of the Robin Boyd-designed Farfor Flats at Portsea, Victoria.
Lovell Chen architectural historian, Conrad Hamann, who has written extensively on the life and work of Boyd, has prepared a
short biography for us.
Robin Boyd, son of the painters Penleigh and Edith Boyd, was born in Melbourne in 1919. After his father's early death in a car accident, he moved with his mother and brother John to Malvern, close to Boyd relatives at Murrumbeena. With other relatives, he worked in Kingsley Henderson's office, and attended night classes in architecture at Melbourne Technical College (RMIT) .....
[ photos: Milica Tumbas ]
OUR 25TH BIRTHDAY
All at Lovell Chen are eagerly preparing for the practice's latest milestone — its 25th birthday — which will be marked by various events through the year.
The practice was established in April 1981 (as Allom Lovell & Associates).