The Site
The 1880 and 1888 Melbourne international exhibition site is a rectangular block of 26 hectares (64 acres) bounded by four city streets. The site comprises three zones of roughly equal size. The permanent exhibition building of the 1880 Exhibition is positioned on the high open ground of the central zone. The formally laid out ‘palace’ garden forms the forecourt to the building and is contained in the southern zone. The northern zone is part of the Carlton Gardens, which, for the most part, was formally laid out with paths and avenues after the closing of the 1888 Exhibition (Meredith Gould Architects 1997: 32-33). The edge of the site is marked by the bluestone perimeter plinth of the cast iron palisade fence that defined the 1880s exhibition grounds.
The Exhibition Building in its current form (the ‘Great Hall’) is only a portion of the substantial complex of structures erected for the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition (Allom Lovell and Associates 1999: 39). Unlike many international exhibitions, part of the Exhibition Building was conceived as a permanent structure that, although purpose-built for a one-off event, would have a future role in the cultural activities of the burgeoning city (Meredith Gould Architects 1997: 49-50). The original structure comprised a ‘temporary’ component, demolished after the 1880 Exhibition, and a ‘permanent’ component. The permanent component consisted of the Great Hall, cruciform in plan, flanked by two smaller wings, known as the western and eastern annexes, which were demolished in 1961 and 1979 respectively (Whitehead 1997:137; Allom Lovell and Associates 1999:39).
The Exhibition Building is constructed from traditional nineteenth century materials. The walls of the building are constructed of cement rendered brickwork, originally an unpainted finish, but subsequently painted. The roof is timber framed and covered with a combination of corrugated galvanised steel and slate. All windows and doors are timber framed and painted (Meredith Gould Architects 1997: 32-33).
The building and grounds were designed by Joseph Reed of the architectural partnership Reed and Barnes. Reed won the design competition for the Exhibition Building with an entry representing the site in a Beaux-Arts axial scheme with the building as a palace, primarily in the Italian Renaissance style (Meredith Gould Architects 1997: 32-33). Reed’s design combined Gothic and classical elements in a manner consistent with creating a building that was at once useful and ceremonial, secular and sacred (Dunstan 1996:14). Reed and Barnes adopted the little-known German Rundbogenstil mode, and other more familiar stylistic motifs from earlier international exhibition buildings in Britain and Europe, to great eclectic effect. Rundbogenstil was essentially a ‘round arched’ style, made popular in northern Germany in the early nineteenth century by architects exploiting the tensions between Greek Classicism and Gothic. It combined elements from Byzantine, Romanesque, Lombardic and early Italian Renaissance buildings (Willingham, in Dunstan 1996: 52-53).
In adopting ecclesiastical principles of design, the Exhibition Building was like many British and Australian exhibition buildings. It was designed to clearly express the ideals developed at the Crystal Palace and its cruciform plan, nave, transepts and fanlight windows reflected the design of that building (Meredith Gould Architects 1997: 49-50; Dunstan 1996:14). The 1880 Exhibition Building combined the ecclesiastic and secular traditions of the cathedral or temple with the banqueting hall, the Renaissance palace, gallery and library. In its cruciform plan, with nave, aisles, transepts, dome, and clerestory lighting, it was more a temple to industry than a palace (Meredith Gould Architects 1997: 49-50).
Reed and Barnes’ building was planned with long central naves and stunted transepts, wide side aisles at ground floor level and continuous galleries at first floor level, and triumphal entrance porticoes at the four extremities of the cross and corner pavilions. A soaring octagonal dome was placed centrally over the arched brick crossing of the Exhibition Building. Access to the roof below the dome was provided via a staircase in the south portal, allowing for spectacular views of the city. The principal entrance to the building faced south towards the city, with a massive portico functioning both as a triumphal arch and temple front (Dunstan 1996: 53).
The main building, as it currently exists, is cruciform in plan, comprising a pair of elongated rectangular wings, extending east and west, with a transept to the north and a truncated transept to the south (Allom Lovell and Associates 1999: 39).
The Southern Elevation The southern elevation consists of a large and prominent central porch, flanked by elongated nave wings that each extend to form tower-like square pavilions. The central porch consists of a large round-arched opening that extends back into the building to reveal a large portal. The portal consists of a semicircular fanlight, with peacock-like pattern of radiating ellipses and circles, detail that derives originally from the Crystal Palace of London in 1851. Below the fanlight, the wall is divided by piers to form three wide rectangular doorways, each of which contains a pair of six-panel timber doors. The bays on either side of the portal arch rise over three levels. At the ground level, each has a large arched opening, flanked by piers, with a bipartite window and a glazed fanlight above. The second level has a pair of Corinthian pilasters flanking a smaller arched window, which is surrounded by an ornate aedicule composed of a moulded and bracketed sill, a second pair of Corinthian pilasters, and a cornice surmounted by a scrolled disc. The third level of each bay projects above the parapet line to form a small belvedere, containing a pair of narrow windows with round arched heads and a continuous archivolt (Allom Lovell and Associates 1999: 39-42).
The projecting pavilions that terminate the south elevation have rounded corners. At the ground level, the pavilions have the same tripartite window and blind fanlight detail that is repeated throughout the building. At the attic storey, the pavilions have three round-arched windows with a continuous archivolt. At each side of the attic storey is a pair of narrow piers with reversed volutes at their bases. This supports a heavy dentillated cornice, above which is a low parapet wall with a row of urns. The pavilions have broad mansard roofs, clad in corrugated galvanised iron and surmounted by a flagpole (Allom Lovell and Associates 1999: 39-42).
The Northern Elevation The north elevation is largely identical to the south. The main differences are the presence of the projecting northern transept and a porch on either side forming a doorway. The transept porch is similar, although smaller and less ornate, than the corresponding porch on the southern elevation. On the north porch, the parapet belvederes are smaller, with only one window rather than a pair, the stairwell bays have plain piers instead of Corinthian pilasters, and the windows lack the highly ornamented aedicule (Allom Lovell and Associates 1999: 42).
The East and West Sides The east and west sides of the Exhibition Building are similar to the north and south sides in that they are symmetrical and have the same overall composition, although horizontally smaller in scale, of a central porch, flanked by bays and terminated by square corner pavilions. There are three bays between the corner pavilions and the central porches, detailed in a similar manner as the ground floor bays elsewhere on the building. The east and west porches have round-arched portals that, unlike their north and south counterparts, are smaller in scale and devoid of decoration (Allom Lovell and Associates 1999: 43).
The Dome The octagonal drum of the dome rises 68 metres (223 feet) above the floor of the nave and is 18.3 metres (60 feet) in diameter. The dome rises up from an octagonal drum that is placed on a square base at the crossing point of the naves and transepts. The base has eight faces, each containing two bays, that each contain a pair of narrow round-arched windows. The dome is timber-framed and double-shelled, with an octagonal timber cupola at the apex. It was formed using cast iron and rendered masonry, with the cupola finished in gold leaf (Allom Lovell and Associates 1999: 45).
At the crossing are four round arches and arched pendentives from which the octagonal dome rises. Lunettes mark each of the four spokes of the structure. Their round arches, dropped below the dome arches, combine with the massive portal fanlights and the decorated timber roof trusses, to produce the effect of a four barrel vaulted ceilings, on what is in fact a simple gable roof (Meredith Gould Architects 1997: 40).
The Interior-The Naves and Transepts The existing Exhibition Building includes a pair of elongated projecting wings extending to the east and west (the eastern and western naves), and a pair of shorter projecting wings (the northern and southern transepts). Although these wings vary in length and width, they are largely identical in form, structure and detailing. In section, the composition of these spaces is similar to a traditional Roman basilica or Gothic cathedral form: a tall central space with an exposed raked ceiling that is flanked by a pair of lower aisles. These aisles comprise a wide passage at ground level, with a mezzanine gallery above. The height difference between the ceiling of the central space and the ceiling of the aisles is infilled with a continuous clerestory (Allom Lovell and Associates 1999: 47).
The flanking aisles are three bays wide in the eastern and western naves. In the smaller northern and southern transepts the galleries are only one bay wide. The bays are marked by rows of square timber posts with moulded capitals and plinths, and stop-chamfered shafts. At the upper (gallery) level, there is a secondary clerestory in the external wall, comprised of a continuous row of narrow windows along the ceiling line. On the opposite side of the gallery, overlooking the nave proper, an open timber-framed balustrade runs between the timber posts. Directly above the gallery is the main clerestory, which corresponds to the bays formed by the rows of timber posts. Each clerestory bay contains two pairs of rectangular timber-framed windows. Beyond the clerestory windows and the ceiling line of the gallery below is a rectangular spandrel lined with horizontal beaded timber boards (Allom Lovell and Associates 1999: 47).
The roof framing of the central nave, which springs from the clerestory, also corresponds to the repetitive bays marked by the timber posts. Each bay has a pair of deep rafters with a collar-beam that straddles the apex, and a pair of collar-braces at the lower ends that, in turn, are connected by a horizontal metal tie rod. This creates a roof truss of a distinctive canted profile that is further embellished by ornamental timber fretwork in imitation of four-centred arches and pendants. Running perpendicular across the top of the trusses is a row of narrow timber purlins that support a band of secondary rafters. Beyond these rafters is the exposed roof sarking, in the form of narrow timber lining boards (Allom Lovell and Associates 1999: 47).
At the extreme end wall of each nave and transept, there is a large and slightly recessed archway that contains the distinctive semicircular fanlight, with its peacock-like pattern of radiating ellipses, circles and tear-shaped elements. The fanlight in the northern transept is proportionally smaller than those in the corresponding three wings. Underneath each of these fanlights is an area of blank wall, along which runs an uncovered walkway that connects the covered mezzanine galleries on each side. In the southern transept, western and eastern naves, the principal entrances to the building are located immediately below these walkways. Each of these entrances consists of three wide rectangular doorways, each of which, contain a pair of timber six-panel doors (Allom Lovell and Associates 1999: 47).
The Carlton Gardens The Carlton Gardens, the setting for the Royal Exhibition Building, are significant for their nineteenth century 'Gardenesque' style featuring specimen trees, parterre garden beds, in a symmetrical design with the use of axial views and foci. 'Gardenesque' is a term applied to a garden design style that became popular in England in the 1840s. It developed from the intense interest in botany, horticulture, floristry and floriculture, with garden designs reflecting scientific interest rather than mythical concepts (Heritage Victoria, Carlton Gardens File).
The landscape features outstanding tree avenues, rows and specimen trees on the lawns, two lakes with islands, shrubberies and elaborate annual bedding displays along the southern promenade. It consists of two main sections to the north and south of the Royal Exhibition Building. Each of the north and south gardens has a formal layout of paths, including a wide avenue walk, lined with plane trees on the main north-south axis, forming the main entrance to the building from Victoria Street (Heritage Victoria, Carlton Gardens File).
The gardens also consist of a number of fountains and other architectural and landscape features, including the Hochgurtel Fountain (1880), the remnant cast iron perimeter fence and remaining bluestone plinth (1880), the French Fountain (1880), the Woods Freestone Exhibit (1881), the rediscovered Westgarth Memorial Drinking Fountain (1888), the Curator’s Lodge (c.1890), two lakes with islands and numerous shrub beds, all linked by a series of geometric and linear paths (Heritage Victoria, Carlton Gardens File; Carlton Gardens Conservation Management Plan: 2002: 3).
The nineteenth century path layout is enhanced by magnificent avenues of trees, including the grand avenue of twenty-six plane trees that frames the Exhibition Building dome, elms, cedar, white poplar, English oak and an uncommon avenue of thirty five Turkey oaks. Carlton Gardens is a notable creative achievement, demonstrating skilful garden design and a landscape character that features plantings of pines, cedar, Araucaria, cypress, gums, figs, pepper trees, elms, planes, oaks, poplars, Canary Island date palms and Washington palms, that display contrasting colours and forms that enhances the Gardens (Heritage Victoria, Carlton Gardens File).
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