Wychbury is an impressive block of flats in the Sydney suburb of Potts Point. It was designed by Emil Sodersen and completed in 1934.
The use of brick as a means of decoration on Wychbury is astounding. I really like the scalloped roofline and the subtle differences in scale between the two inner columns and windows the outer ones.
It must have been a bricklayers nightmare. Each time I look at the building I see another variation in the brickwork. Look as the chevron pattern below the second top row of windows and the vertical lines of recessed bricks on the outer edges of the building creating deep shadows under the Australian sunshine.
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I bet Sodersen drove the brickies nuts with his attention to detail!
ReplyDeleteAnd lots of detail to pay attention to ... but they did a great job.
ReplyDeleteWe live in "Werrington" which is the block next to Whchbury that was also designed by Emil Sodersten (note spelling - he changed it from Sodersteen) and finished 4 years earlier in 1930 (like his similar building "Cheddington" at 63 Elizabeth Bay Road).
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to compare our building, which has barley-sugar rope-work decoration on the remains of the old grand entrance (sadly converted into a shop at some point) and a few elements of Art Deco above the shop, with Whychbury finished only 4 years later, when Soderson had embraced the Deco movement so enthusiastically.
There's a good list of deco buildings and their designers here
http://www.angelfire.com/retro/artdeconsw/newresources.html
Thanks for the additional information especially from someone who lives in one of his buildings. I'm looking forward to the next time I get to Sydney to do the comparison you describe.
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