Apartments, Miami

A great apartment block in Miami South Beach.

I especially like the window that cut into the corner of the recessed central section of the building and thin concrete eyebrow that sits above the second storey windows. There also a similar eyebrow over the windows on the ground floor.

I looks like the building has a flat roof with the railing around the front section.

Above the central recessed section of the building, there is a panel with three raised vertical lines. Above that there are two arrangements of three discs incorporated into the metalwork of the roof top railings.

The pinks of the building certainly convey the Miami Deco style.

Queenstown Gardens, Queenstown

Queenstown Gardens sit on a peninsula jutting into Lake Wakatipu overlooking the city of Queenstown itself.

The gardens were gifted to the public in 1866 by local businessman Bendix Hallenstein.

This entrance certainly has a deco look to me. The sign is stepped along the top and the posts are stepped on top as well.

The squares on the sign and the decorative elements on the outside of the posts perhaps point to a slightly earlier period but I haven't found a date to confirm it one way or the other.

Reynold's Reserve Drinking Fountain, Carlton

Yesterday I wrote about a drinking fountain in Hardy Reserve, Carlton. Today I've got another drinking fountain in Carlton but with a different design.

This one is on the other side of Princes Park near Royal Parade. It is constructed from thin red brick with a, perhaps, granite top inscribed with the legend "Reynold's Reserve".

The cavity for the fountain is a beautiful stepped semi-dome. I couldn't see any details of who Reynolds was and why the reserve was named in their honour.

Hardy Reserve Drinking Fountain, Carlton

Previously I've written about a pair of drinking fountains in Yarra Park at either end of Brunton Avenue (see thumbnail images, right). Recently I found another one in Carlton and, as you can see, the design of all three fountains is identical.

This one is in Hardy Reserve, directly behind the Melbourne General Cemetery.

It bears a plaque explaining the reserve is named after Cr Robert John Hardy who was a local representative for Victoria Ward on Melbourne City Council from 17 May 1915 to 23 May 1937.

Brunton Avenue Drinking Fountain
Another Brunton Avenue Drinking Fountain

Eritrean Electricity Authority, Asmara

This is one of my favourite photos from Asmara.

I like the juxtaposition of the horse-drawn cart, complete with car wheels, passing the Eritrean Electricity Authority building.

As for the building itself, I find the triple column arrangement at the apex of the gable fascinating. I'm not sure if it is the shape of the actual structures or the negative space around them that makes it most interesting for more. It is probably the combination of both.

Then to top it off, the logo of the Eritrean Electricity Authority, a light bulb inside a electricity bolt with a transmission pylon in the background.

Taurea, South Yarra

Taurea is an interesting block of flats in South Yarra.

The entrance is flanked by large circular planters which sit just below the level of the ground floor balconies.

The cantilevered porch is rounded.

As are the balconies on the upper storeys.

At the roofline three horizontal lines wrap around the corner while a vertical band of geometric shapes reached almsot to the ground. It reminded me of the work of Burley-Griffin.

Herman Ridder JHS, Bronx

Herman Ridder Junior High School in the Bronx was being renovated when I visited as part of the the 8th World Congress on Art Deco in 2005 so I had to be a bit creative to avoid the hoardings and scaffolding.

This photo shows the top of the multi-stepped tower including the Mayan style decorative friezes around the circular crown, the panels above the windows and the large urns on top of the square columns.

Notice also the subtle use of colour in the small marbled pink panels.

One of the main features of the tower are the stylised figures flanking the windows. I presume they represent students as they could be wearing school robes and seem to be holding open books.

The school was designed by Walter C Martin and dates from 1929-31.

I remember there were some deco features inside the school building but the tiles on walls at the stairways really stood out for me.

Angel Cottage, Portmeirion

I don't think anyone would describe Angel Cottage in Portmeirion as Art Deco and I am certainly not going to try.

Portmeirion, however, is a very interesting place.

Sir Clough Williams-Ellis purchased the site in the mid-1920s and proceeded to build his concept of a coastal village over the following fifty years.

Angel Cottage was the first new building built by Williams-Ellis in 1926.

My favourite part of the building is the Angel relief.

In the 1960s, Portmeirion was used as the set for the cult TV series The Prisoner. A modern reinterpretation Series 2, sadly not filmed in Portmeirion, is due to be screened in Britain during 2009.