There are wonderful illustrations in the historic Argus newspaper of women with bustles and men in top hats promenading at the top of Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building.
The pleasure of promenading at this now UNESCO World Heritage-listed site started in 1880, when the broadly Italianate building was completed by eminent architect Joseph Reed (now morphed into the practice, Bates Smart).
The Royal Exhibition Building’s new rooftop boardwalk.
One can only imagine the delight of visitors taking one of the first lifts introduced to a Melbourne building and surveying the formal gardens designed by Edward Latrobe Bateman from the building’s rooftop.
Lovell Chen, one of Melbourne’s leading conservation architects, has strong ties to the Royal Exhibition Building, having worked on it for the past 40 years.
“The vista over Carlton and beyond hasn’t changed significantly, unless you focus on the high-rises in the CBD,” says Peter Lovell, founding director of Lovell Chen, who worked closely with architect Kai Chen, founding director and principal of the practice, on a recent major upgrade of a new boardwalk on the building’s roof.
Creating “palaces for industry” did not start in Melbourne. The seed was laid by Queen Victoria – and in particular her husband Albert – keen to civilise the world with the latest inventions.
“When it came to designing the Royal Exhibition Building, architect Reid was thinking of Brunelleschi’s dome in Florence.”
The Crystal Palace, circa 1851, which later morphed into London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, was a spearhead for other great buildings worldwide – including the Eiffel Tower and monumental buildings created for the Chicago World Fair.
However, when it came to designing the Royal Exhibition Building, architect Reid was thinking of Brunelleschi’s dome in Florence, harking from the Renaissance period.
Lovell Chen has the exact dates and the names of the key players responsible for bringing this impressive building to Melbourne. “It was David Mitchell, father of legendary opera singer Dame Nellie Melba,” says Lovell, who also points out the three significant times when major changes were made – 1888 and also in 1900, where different decorative treatments can be traced.
Lovell Chen was responsible for removing the 1980s additions to the north of the building in the 1990s, and was also given the task of creating the new boardwalk for visitors today.
Since the early 20th century, the rooftop was accessible for maintenance only and not available to the public. However, that’s now all changed.
Given the significance of the Royal Exhibition Building, creating new steel stairs and a lift well to regain roof viewing access was never going to be easy.
Lovell shows a video of how a new circulation spine was inserted – with one of the eight pavilions crowning the building, two framing the entrance on each side, being removed to allow for the construction of these contemporary structures.
Now, instead of climbing awkwardly placed stairs to reach the top promenade of the two-level terrace, the ride is effortless.
While the views over Melbourne are impressive, so is the work of Scottish artist J Ross Anderson, who worked on the interior scheme in 1900 and can be seen more closely from the gallery level on the way to the promenade.
As with the treatment of the new lift and staircase on the south-west corner, the balustrades framing the promenade are contemporary – taking the form of steel blades loosely evocative of a Victorian picket fence.
The timber decking rooftop prevents slippage and allows visitors to enjoy the view, rather than have feelings of trepidation while promenading.
For Lovell and his team, working on such an important building over such a long period has always come with its challenges.
“There’s an extreme amount of caution when you’re working on buildings of this nature,” he says.
“It’s the only one in Melbourne that has such heritage status and every move is witnessed, not just by the heritage authorities, but rightly so, by the public at large.”
Melbourne, along with its environs, has certainly changed since the Royal Exhibition Building was completed, designed unlike many of the Victorian structures worldwide as a permanent building, rather than being transitory for the occasion of a major fair.
Given the challenges faced by Lovell Chen for its latest reincarnation, the practice deserved its architectural award from the Australian Institute of Architects (Victorian Chapter).
As mentioned by the jury: “It is a great responsibility to work on a UNESCO World Heritage Building, but Lovell Chen’s skill and deep understanding of the [Royal Exhibition] building has led to a thoughtful response that will no doubt be enjoyed by many future visitors”.
