Perth CBD Waterfront Redevelopment - 10 Reasons I Don't Give a Shit, and Nor Should You

The Perth CBD Waterfront Development. Hate it or hate it, it's coming. Maybe. Chalk-lines are on the ground. AM radio talk-back switchboards are running hot. It's time you, as a proud citizen of Perth, took a personal stand to not give a shit. Presenting : Perth Waterfront - 10 Reasons I Don't Give a Shit, and Nor Should You.

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Perth : Graffiti, Modernist Architecture, Abandoned Buildings

Graffiti, Modernist Architecture, Abandoned Building. Brisbane Street, Perth. This is the first photo in an untitled series of photos taken around the scenic Northbridge area of Perth, Western Australia. Volume one, of at least a guaranteed two parts. Then, well, lets just take it one step at a time. Cola, I thank you on behalf of the city of Perth. Enjoy.

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Perth, Australia : Best House in the Universe as We Know It

Man. Where to start. Last blog post, I was forty stories up, in an abandoned skyscraper, looking down on a peoples takeover of Bangkok. Rocket launchers, tanks, death, destruction, and Pad Thai with spicy Papaya Salad. Yes, it was heaven. Unfortunately, as with all anarchic movements, eventually, they are beaten into submission by the man. So, I packed up, said goodbye to my new friend Sui Min, and left the land of smiles. This year, so far, I have visited more than twenty countries. Deep in the heart of Bulgaria, I couldn't but think of my favourite architect, Iwan Iwanoff. For those of you who need to get up to speed, Iwan Iwanoff, born in Bulgaria, built some of the best houses on earth, right here in Perth, between the 50's and 70's. Unique, ahead of their time, mesmerising, both timeless and un-date-able. First thing I wanted to do on my return to Perth was further research into this Honorary Herculoidian's body of work.

The Schmidt-Lademann House, in Floreat, is quite simply one of the best houses I have ever laid my eyes upon. Built in 1959, this is, as my architect associates would say "fuck off awesome". What can I tell you about? The elegant formalism, the modernist function, or the usonion simplicity and economy of locally sourced stone walls? Fuck it, I would rather just put it out there - this is Perth's best house. I haven't even seen the interior. I'm pretty sure if I did, I would simultaneously weep, quiver, and shit my pants. Perth's best house. Not to mention, it has held this title for over four decades. The Aldrich residence, currently under construction, will be the next contender for the title. More on this unbelievably complex project, another day.

Below the Schmidt-Lademannt pics, are photos of some other Iwanoff's not previously featured on 6000times. The brutal letterbox and wall detail were taken at the Feldman House, 1969, Dianella. Finally, the Frank House, also of 1969, Coolbinia wraps up a long overdue Iwanoff update. My thanks goes to the neighbour, who gave me a tour around the Frank property. The Frank House elevation is clearly not as impressive as Schmidt-Lademann, however, a quick walk around demonstrated the genius of Iwanoff.  Features such as central courtyard walled on three sides, and wooden louvres providing airflow built into many of the windows, quickly dispelled any doubts that this house is indeed special.

So, yep, back in Perth. There are a few things planned for this blog, all of which involve architecture, abandoned structures, art, and often, asians. A.A.A.A. Stay tuned, subscribe, bookmark. It's good to be back. Click Read More to see the photos. Enjoy.

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Old Swanbourne Hospital - Abandoned Mental Crazy People's Hospital : Photo Tour

Swanbourne Abandoned Hospital, 1904. Formerly, Claremont Mental Hospital. Since 1987, abandoned. This is an amazing collection of buildings, another vivid example of Perth's urban decay. Montgomery Hall is the most impressive structure of the group, a classically proportioned space, akin to the internal courtyard at the abandoned Treasury Building on St Georges Terrace. But this abandoned building, is hidden in the burbs. Heavy ceiling detailing is balanced perfectly with high windows on the east and west sides of the hall, natural light bathing the interior. After the Menora based abandoned Jewish Hospital (Oy Vey!) featured here, I was surprised to find Perth had another abandoned hospital. Read on, for a photo-tour of one of Perth's little known heritage gems.

Hey, can I just mention one thing? If you are interested in improving your skills with the camera, I should point out that I have a secret weapon. I talk all about it here. Cheers.

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Perth : Abandoned Old Treasury Building, St Georges Terrace - Photo Tour

Old Treasury Building, Perth. Built 1874. Abandoned, finally, in 1996. Perth's first ever Government office complex. Victorian Second Empire and Federation Free Classical style, designed by state governement architects GT Poole and RR Jewell. Over the last decade or so, the building has been left derelict. Amazing design, ground zero location. When distances are measured from Perth to anywhere, this is the starting point they are measured from. Perth to Hong Kong - 6012 km's (the official Hong Kong marker being Larry Wong's Chinese Laundry and Dry Cleaning, on Wan Chai Road).  At this time, it is looking likely that the old treasury building will be transformed into a new five star hotel. For now, it remains empty. Enjoy the (extensive) set of photos of perhaps Perth's finest abandoned building - Ye Remarkable Old Abandoned Perth Treasury Building.

Also, this is important. Cocktails and Mexican food are at stake. If you are interested in improving your skills with the camera, I should point out that I have a secret weapon. I talk all about it here. Cheers.

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Perth : Skyscrapers, Abandoned Railway Tunnel, Iwan Iwanoff Update

Perth remains a construction site. The view is changing every day. 140 William is looking amazing, I am looking forward to the street level connections. This city  is adding buildings at a faster rate than ever before. In the burbs, at ground level, a small Iwan Iwanoff update. Golovin House, 1959, has had a 2009 makeover, and is looking more and more like my lotto dream every day.

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Hong Kong - Food, People, Buildings, and Yellow Fever

Hong Kong Part Two - the final chapter. With a few photos left over from a recent Hong Kong trip, there is no reason not to show a few more.  I will kick off with a revelation. The guy above gave my girlfriend yellow fever. We crossed paths in Sham Shui Po, a fairly typical  Hong Kong neighbourhood. Locals know it as a cheap district to get electronic goods. To me, it's the place where I recognised that females get yellow fever, just as bad as males. Clearly, he's a movie-star. The film crew were onto it, location wise - Sham Shui Po is visually one of the most amazing city areas I have ever seen. The urban decay is well progressed. Many buildings now have illegal "shacks" built on the roofs. A prevailing sense of controlled anarchy left me with a strangely comforting feeling.

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Perth - Nasty Nas Spotted on Aberdeen St, Construction Update, more CBD Laneways

The rise of Northbridge, Perth's best suburb, continues. Not too many places in the world you can enjoy a bowl of chilli mussels, and watch american lyricist and actor, Nas. Having been a fan of Nas since his Live at the BBQ days, it was always my dream to sit in an Italian restaurant on Aberdeen Street, eat chilli mussels, and watch a delivery of raw poetry from one of the most intelligent and influential hip hop artists of all time.

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Singapore - Perth's Asian Cousin

Singapore. Imagine your straight-laced uncle. He gets married to a hooker, and has two kids. One kid is a total career minded overachiever - respectful of authority, wants to settle down and raise a family, and has been brainwashed since birth that spending 80 hours a week for 27 years just to get to assistant manager is a good thing. The other kid is a dirty, alcoholic, artist who can cook like a demon. At the moment, the nerd is getting all the attention. But, that kid, that dirty, alcoholic, artist, is the real future of the Singapore family. What makes the whole thing work, is the entire family gets along fine. Both kids wear thick glasses, take photos, enjoy chicken rice, fish head curry, and bak kwa. That, is Singapore. The whitest of all Asian cities

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Perth - Atlantis Abandoned Marine Park, and Iwan Iwanoff Again

Atlantis Marine Park. Or was it Atlantis Sun City? In any case, this was Perth 80's theme-parkery at its finest. Constructed in 1981, at Yanchep (just past the other side of Walcott Street) it has been abandoned for the last 19 years. Sadly, in 1990, the entire troupe of dolphin trainers disappeared without a trace, leading to the financial collapse of the theme park. King Neptune still keeps an eye towards the unique town centre of Two Rocks. Around the grounds you will see tunnels, bridges, exotic fauna, weathered statues, and locals taking the dogs for a walk. Big dogs.

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Iwan Iwanoff, Artist - Three More of Perths Best Houses, plus, Amok and Abandoned in Northbridge

Iwan Iwanoff was prolific. Lucky Perth. This modernist piece is located in the inner-city garden suburb of Coolbinia. Perths Best Architecture has covered this one recently, if you haven't checked the site, you should. Over there, its all about architecture. Over here, well, just look at the "labels" list for this blog. This may be the Flaumen residence, 1965. Sources sketchy on that one.

This is purely for juxtapositional purposes. Northbridge delivery truck.

Now this one, kills two birds with one stone. There's a nice flow from the last photo, and Harry Seidlers QV1 in the background will take me from this tangent, and back to another Iwanoff.

We're back. Yes. Another Iwanoff residence. I found out about this one, from an anonymous comment left here. Thanks, Anonymous person. Dalkeith Iwanoff. Year and name, unknown to me. Probably mid 60's. However, it should be said that these houses hurt me. Really, it actually hurts.

As my colleague said today "what the fuck do you think the posty said when he came across this for the first time?". The art of the letter box. Iwanoff was clearly as much artist as architect.

Back in the epicentre of Iwanoff terriory - Dianella. AKA Iwanella, home to many, many Iwanoffs, such as the utterly spectacular Masala House. The Feldman House, 1968, predated Masala by 6 years. Great detail, as usual, starting with the letter box, and finishing off with a good dash of Mike Brady. Fantastic.

Winter in Perth.

So, there we have it. Three more Iwanoff buildings, taking the total on this site, to twenty five. Very prolific! I'm sure there are more Iwanoff's to come. (wink).

In the meantime, it could have been another abandoned building post, but really, it was sunny outside, so I stopped right here. William St, Northbridge.

Just across the street was much better. Dutch artist Amok, from Amsterdam, home of, well, everything good, has been busy with the locals. His international flavor on William St, Northbridge, adds nicely to the pallet already on offer. Thanks Amok, thanks locals. Panoramic picture, click for the full version.

Perth - Abandoned Buildings Part 3 (teaser)

Perth tries to make sure it has at least one of everything. One tunnel. One stadium.  One main street. Our fast growing population is relatively small (1.6 million, of which 27 currently live in the CBD) - but we want, and normally manage to get, at least one of everything. Perth has another iconic singularity -  one abandoned educational campus, covering nearly 8 hectares, decaying in the middle of the city's northern burbs. The entire collection of buildings, camouflaged by bush-land, is barely visible from the roads surrounding it. Hello! Zombie film makers! Earmarked for demolition, this spectacular site is simply too good to be true. 

Campus in decay - part one (of one), soon.

(reminder - all photos linked to larger versions)

Perth's Abandoned Buildings - Part 1, of many more to come...

Abandoned Fremantle Power Station. Pretty hard to do this building justice with photos. The scale of the interior space is huge, open, with soaring ceilings and impeccable interior design. Formerly, there must have been 10,000 panes of glass. Now, there's about three. Despite our best efforts to remove this oversight by the designers, we couldn't throw any bricks high enough to take out the remaining eyesores. Buildings like this are an integral part to the diversity and culture of any modern city. Thankfully, the entire structure has been heritage listed, and there are plans in place to preserve the artwork and remaining fixtures, including a vintage Datsun 120Y sedan.

On this day, visitors to this abandoned building included photographers, artists, and models. Progressive parents had bought their children down to play. One young child was particularly proud of his collection of empty spray cans (thousands litter the floor), his father, not so impressed with the haul. Males, females, young and old. There were no laws, no restrictions, no rules. Smoking inside was OK. Spontaneous conversations were struck with complete strangers. A friendly vibe filled the air. A perfect juxtaposition of respect, and anarchy.

EDIT : There is now a PART TWO of this building, with other area's of magnificent decay! CLICK HERE for Part Two)

To get a sense of the scale, in the first photo, look at the man, standing in the background just above the yellow tag. At a guess, I would say an eight level apartment block could be built entirely inside this space, with room to spare.

Another of Perth's cultural and architectural highlights for sure.

Perth + Brutalism + Iwan Iwanoff + Curtin University

Yes, I know. But this really is the last of the Perth brutalism series. Nicely capped off with a tribute to Iwan Iwanoff, all of the photos today were taken at Curtin University - Perth's own little slice of brutalism in the burbs. Just around the corner from the Iwanoff sculpture, is a tribute to the other great heroes that also died in 1986 - Lionel Ritchie, Billy Ocean, and Falco.

Now, there is only one type of building that has more of an impact, and looks better, than a concrete brutalist box - a crumbling, abandoned building. Nothing beats a crumbling building. Nothing. Hands down. So, enjoy the last of Perth brutalist architecture (really!) you will see on this blog for some time (probably).

Coming soon - Perth's abandoned buildings...

Brutalism in Perth - the saga continues.

A psycho-analyst would have a field day explaining what makes people love, and hate, brutalist architecture. Suffice to say, its rough, raw, geometrical, edgy, and, well -  brutal. Perth has more than its fair share of brutalist structures, much to the pleasure of many locals. Brutalist buildings, once you see them in real life, are burnt into your mind. Not many buildings can make that claim. This will be the last part of the Perth Brutalism feature (for now).... until I win lotto, and build a house so brutal that the concrete will bleed. 

In the meantime, enjoy this Wellington Street gem. Once known as Consolidated House.

Perth - Isolated and Brutal

Perth's CBD is midway through a construction boom. City Square BHP Tower, 270 metres, expected to be completed sometime in 2012, will be the tallest office tower in Australia. Under construction on a tiger-snake infested swamp in the very heart of the CBD, the view from the top should be spectacular - a skyscraper or two, and half a million bungalows in every direction. The photo below is the rear of the construction site, at the back of St Georges Tce -  main street.

East Perth train station, East Perth. Perth's best transportation terminal interior. The exterior, is as brutal as they come. From here, you can catch trans-continental train 4352 kilometres, ending in Sydney. Yes, Perth is genuinely the most isolated mainland capital city on Earth. The nearest city is Melbourne, with Sydney being slightly further away. From there, the third closest city is not even on the same continent. 

More Perth brutalism. Perth CBD. I heard that Charles Landry was not a fan of Perth's brutalist structures. Whenever I think of Charles Landry, I always think of The Simpsons "monorail! monorail! MONORAIL!" episode. Note to Landry: you suck! 

South Bronx. No, Perth doesn't have ghettos. Perth CBD, May 2009.