THE ARCHITECTURE OF STEPHENSON & TURNER
For Health & Prosperity
Birth of a Practice
A Revolution for Health
Simplicity & Scale
Promise & Prosperity
On the World Stage
Australian Colossus
A Spirit of Progress
The Getting of Wisdom
Keith Murdoch Gallery
Friday 12 March -
Sunday 6 June 2004
Exhibition details
Book details
SIMPLICITY AND SCALE
The 1930s was a halcyon period for the firm, especially in the field of hospital architecture. This period culminated in what is widely regarded as the pinnacle of Stephenson & Turner's work in terms of both scale and the disciplined simplicity of design: the Royal Melbourne Hospital (completed in 1942).
The finished design of this hospital was informed by the unadorned 'International Style' that would dominate post-World War II architecture. What Moderne adornment that survived in this design was stripped back to a minimum. The old low-level pavilion type of design was abandoned in favour of a strongly vertical arrangement with central services.
This new model proved eminently successful, and formed the template for Stephenson & Turner's major subsequent hospital work of the 1950s and 1960s, such as the Royal Children's Hospital, Royal Park (1958-63), Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woodville, South Australia (1959), and the Alfred Hospital (1967).
