Long Library, Trinity
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Whilst in the Long Library in Trinity the other day I noticed at the end that is closest to the Berkeley and Museum Building there is a staircase which seems to have been built in a ‘brutalist’ fashion, if it can be called that. It looks like it was built at the same time as the either the Berkeley or the Arts Block. It is an interesting addition to such an historic building and goes to show, in my opinion, that 20th century additions, although grately contrasting to older styles can add to the interest of a building.
At present there seems to be a great will to ‘restore’ buildings to their original ‘character’. I think this is fair enough in many cases, but sometimes I think it is interesting to see how a building changes with different additions being added on over time.
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speaking of trinity. the college did a great job cleaning most of the old buildings on campus. How come when they did this they never did the Museum building and the GMB? These are probably the 2 nicest buildings on campus and I think deserve to be restored.
Possibly the student residences in Botany Bay could do with a scrub also(outside, as the interiors have recently been renovated and are fantastic) -
Not too sure about the GMB, but I think in the case of the Museum Building they were worried about damaging some of the intricate detailing around the windows etc. As far as I know the building would just become filthy really quickly again even if it was cleaned. The small circular designs on the outside contain some of the same coloured Marble/polished stone as the columns inside but they were discoloured within a few years of the buildings completion.
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good point Notjim.
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I think the real gem to emerge from the soot was the Long Library Building – I know the Victorians are criticised for replacing the original redish sandstone with dull granite, but they had little option given the dubious track record of sandstone in general.
Does anyone know if the limestone arcading of the ground floor is the original?The building looks fantastic, esp emerging from the ‘tunnel’ from Nassau St, with the hundreds of panes of glass catching the light.
The sheer scale of the building is breathtaking.
If the Victorians had refaced the building 10/15 years later we would have ended up with plain single pane sashes of plate/cylinder glass, which would have been a great shame.
I agree about the Museum Bldg, it’s such a pity the foliage etc is so obscured. -
Does anyone have any thoughts on the stairwell which I was talking about when I started this thread?
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