This is Adelaide… Magnifying modernism
As modernist buildings earn state heritage status, photographer Alex Frayne captures Franklin Street’s Faraway House.
Two modernist buildings are the latest additions to the state’s heritage register, though the state’s Art Deco and Modernism Society says the 20th-century architecture was still underrepresented.
The Society believed Australia’s response to the technological revolution through design, between World War I and the 1970s, was “extraordinary” and led to some of Adelaide’s “terrific architecture today”.
The modernist movement showcased design principles that rejected historic ornaments and instead prioritised functional, minimalist designs with new construction materials like reinforced concrete, steel and glass.
One example of modernism is Faraway House on Franklin Street, which began as a store in the 1880s and was converted into modern commercial offices in the 1950s.
Adelaide architects Tectvs designed a new interior and third storey, revitalising the building.
Its namesake, Faraway House, pays homage to pastoralists AJ & PA McBride’s Faraway Hill Station, given that the McBride offices were once located at the site.
Subscribe for updates
Photographer Alex Frayne captured the building using a standard 50mm Nikon series E.
“The choice of lens was important here,” Frayne said.
“I wanted neither to magnify the surrounding buildings nor diminish the modernist building so I used the lens that would accomplish this, giving the proper, most accurate perspective from street level.”
Alex Frayne is an Adelaide-based photographic artist and regular contributor to InDaily.
Want to see more stories from InDaily SA in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily SA as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily SA". That's it.
