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The realisation of the Sydney Technical College and Technological Museum, 1878-92: aspects of their cultural significance
Citation
Orr, K, The realisation of the Sydney Technical College and Technological Museum, 1878-92: aspects of their cultural significance, Fabrications, 17, (1) pp. 46-67. ISSN 1033-1867 (2007) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2007 Fabrications
DOI: doi:10.1080/10331867.2007.10539599
Abstract
The surviving nineteenth-century buildings in Sydney’s central business district
are important tangible expressions of local identity and experience; culturally
significant because they embody the aesthetic, scientific and social values of a
particular period in Australian history. Despite this, the heritage value of the
Sydney Technical College (1891) and Technological Museum (1892) has been
narrowly defined in terms of the architectural style of their polychrome brick
facades: the pair is notable for representing one of the most significant breaks
with the classical sandstone traditions that then existed for public buildings.
The cultural significance that derives from the social, political and economic
circumstances of their conception and realisation has not been fully explored,
particularly aspects relating to their siting and exterior architecture. This paper
investigates the fourteen-year period from 1878, when the New South Wales
Government voted £2,000 to establish a Technical or Workingman’s College,
to 1892, when the Sydney Technical College and Technological Museum were
completed. In this reading of the social history of their creation, particular
references are made to the role of the 1879 Sydney International Exhibition
and the changing ethos to which it contributed. It was a time when the urban
bourgeoisie were moving from a value system based upon British tradition and
classicism in education and architecture, to a more utilitarian, technological
and democratic outlook inspired by a belief in progress. The exhibition had
stimulated debate on the subject of technical education, exposed the people
of Sydney to some of the best artistic and technologically advanced products
of their age and transmitted aesthetic ideas that encouraged more confident
architectural and artistic practice.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
---|---|
Keywords: | Sydney Technical College and Technological Museum, 19th century buildings |
Research Division: | Built Environment and Design |
Research Group: | Architecture |
Research Field: | Architectural history, theory and criticism |
Objective Division: | Culture and Society |
Objective Group: | Understanding past societies |
Objective Field: | Understanding Australia's past |
UTAS Author: | Orr, K (Professor Kirsten Orr) |
ID Code: | 107515 |
Year Published: | 2007 |
Deposited By: | Architecture |
Deposited On: | 2016-03-17 |
Last Modified: | 2016-09-20 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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