Supremo Tribunal Federal, Brasilia

The Supremo Tribunal Federal (Supreme Court) is one of the powers that flank the Praça dos Três Poderes (Square of Three Powers) in Brasilia.

Designed by Oscar Niemeyer in 1958 is it one of the fabulous Modernist buildings that make Brasilia such an interesting city.

The statue, a Justiça (Justice), in front of the court dates from 1961 and was sculpted by Alfredo Ceschiatti.

References:
Fundação Oscar Niemeyer, www.niemeyer.org.br
Enciclopédia Itaú Cultural de Artes Visuais, Ceschiatti, Alfredo (1918 - 1989)

Clock Restaurant, Griffith

A former bank, now Clock restaurant, in Griffith.

2340 Pacific Avenue, Pacific Heights

2340 Pacific Avenue, Pacific Heights

Police Building, Montevideo

This massive building belongs to the Police force in Montevideo.

Huge columns and that wide expanse of concrete around the roofline. Everything about this building is so enormous, except the windows. There are several small porthole windows above the doorways and the regular rectangular windows are very small in contrast to the overall bulk of the building.

And then you notice something delicate and beautiful with no definite purpose. Decoration, pure and simply, as decoration.

Two lines, liked piped icing, tracing the line of the steps leading to the main entrance.

Apartments, Buenos Aires

A lovely asymmetrical apartment block in Buenos Aires.

former Crítica Newspaper Building, Buenos Aires

This is one of the best Art Deco buildings in Buenos Aires. It is the former offices of the Crítica daily newspaper. It was designed by Hungarian architects Andrés & Jorge Kálnay.

Reference:
Av. de Mayo 1333 / Ex Edificio Crítica (JORGE KALNAY), Homenaje a los Arq. Andrés y Jorge Kálnay Blog by Alejandro Machado

Community Restorative Centre, Chippendale

The Community Restorative Centre (CRC) provide a range of support services to prisoners, ex-prisoners, and their families and friends.

They also live in this former bank, dating from 1933, on the corner of Broadway & Shephard Street, Chippendale in Sydney, NSW.

Apartments / Greengrocer

Apartment block in Montevideo with its own corner greengrocer.

Police and Fire Station No 10, Montreal

I was interested to learn of the practice in Montreal, and perhaps elsewhere in Canada, of combining police stations and fire stations in a single building.

This is former Police and Firs Station No 10, now just Fire Station No 25. It was designed by Harold Edgar Shorey and Samuel Douglas Richie.

The doors to the separate police & fire sections of the building are marked with simple block letters. Police on one side of the building with the bays for the fire engines around the corner.

A frieze above the Police Station door depicts city buildings in one section and shipping activity it two others.


The building was constructed in 1931 and won first prize in the public building category from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada the same year.



Reference:
Centre-Ville tour booklet, 10th World Congress on Art Deco, Montreal

Hotel Broadway, Chippendale

Thankfully when they converted part of this Art Deco pub in Sydney into apartments (and added some more onto the roof) they kept the old Hotel Broadway sign.

It is still a pub, well there is a cafe/bar on the ground floor and the building is in a prime location on Broadway in Chippendale.

I didn't have time even to pop across and look inside but I imagine anything deco would have been stripped from the public areas.

former Cine Trocadero, Montevideo

Rafael Ruano designed this former cinema in Montevideo's Avenida 18 de Julio. It was known as the Cine Trocadero but now houses the Iglesia Universal del Reino de Dios (Universal Church of the Kingdom of God).

The figure on the façade does seem to have a religious theme but closer examination proves her to to be purely theatrical.

Inside, the foyer is quite sparse but does have a very stylish staircase off to one side and just inside the front doors, a vent on the floor bears the Trocadero name.

Reference:
Cine Trocadero, Montevideo, cinematreasures.org

JK Memorial, Brasilia

This amazing scene is in Brasilia (where else?).

It is the JK Memorial designed by Oscar Niemeyer in 1980 (yes the nineteen-eighties!!!) for the former Brazilian President and founder of Brasilia, Juscelino Kubitschek.

Assembly Hall, Footscray

No doubt there is quite a history to this little deco Assembly Hall in the back streets of Footscray.

Who assembled here? Who uses it now and why have the windows been bricked up with such unsympathetic bricks?

I first glimpsed this building several years ago from Footscray Road, just before it takes a dog-leg and ducks under the Geelong Road overpass. Since then I have always looked for it when passing but never ventured down for a closer look and to take a few photos ... until now.

141-143 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

An Art Deco building at 141-143 Flinders Lane in Melbourne adapted for a variety of uses including a gallery and a restaurant.

Chapman Tomb, Recoleta Cemetery

I presume that this tomb in Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires was originally built for Elisa Chapman since her name appears so promenently above the door.

The Art Deco plaque above Elisa's name, however, relates to Lieutenant Jorge Chapman who was associated with the Military Aviation School but unfortunately died in a plane crash fulfilling his duties on 19 March 1925.

(click on the image to see a larger version)

Police Kiosks, Montevideo

The seafront and beaches of Montevideo have several of these Police kiosks.

This one is in Pocitos while the one below, obviously no longer used by the Police, is in the Ciudad Vieja (Old City).

Escola de Educação Física do Exército, Urca

Forte São João (St John Fort) sits in the shadow Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf) in the Rio de Janeiro suburb of Urca.

That's where you'll find the Army's Escola de Educação Física do Exército (Physical Education School) with it's central entrance marked by a series of four white stepped fins.

Instituto Art Déco Brasil, Rio de Janeiro

This is the headquarters of the Instituto Art Déco Brasil near the Jardim Botânico in Rio de Janeiro.

Windows, Footscray Town Hall

Early this year I wrote about the former City of Footscray Town Hall designed by architect Joseph Plottel and opened in 1936. I'd never been inside and I got the chance to have a quick look the other day. Unfortunately I didn't get to see any of the grander rooms and I imagine there are some in this fine building. No I got to duck up some side stairs to have a look at an exhibition. On the way I snapped these leadlight windows.

Apartments, Montevideo

These apartments in the Ciudad Vieja in Montevideo are right opposite the dock area along the River Plate.

A sports area that several soccer pitches fills the space between the street where the apartment block is and the main road carrying traffic to the ferry terminal and the eastern suburbs of Montevideo.

Obelisco de Buenos Aires

The large obelisk at the intersection of Avenida Corrientes & Avenida 9 de Julio is in many ways the symbol of Buenos Aires.

It was designed by architect Alberto Prebisch and constructed in quicktime between March 20 and May 23 1936. It was built to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the foundation of Buenos Aires using concrete and Olaen white stone from Córdoba.

Reference:
Wikipedia: Obelisk of Buenos Aires