Wolfgang Sievers photography exhibition

Browse a gallery of images captured by photographer Wolfgang Sievers.

Wolfgang Sievers Lens on Postwar Melbourne photography exhibition

Wolfgang Sievers was commissioned by architectural firms from the 1950s to 1970s to capture many of the modernist buildings identified for protection within the Hoddle Grid Heritage Review. Sievers photos celebrate the skyscraper as the physical embodiment of modernity. His bold compositions feature vivid tonal contrasts and remarkable depth of field, exploiting the new-found scale of Melbourne’s changing mid-century skyline to theatrical effect.

Sievers photos use these dramatic sculptural forms to communicate the evolution of modern Melbourne in the postwar era. The purity of design of these modernist buildings was consistent with the German émigré photographer’s training in the Bauhaus tradition. Being part Jewish, Sievers narrowly escaped Nazism in Germany, settling in Melbourne in 1938. He is regarded as a principal figure in the development and promotion of Australian modernism through his exquisite photography featured in this exhibition.

Exhibition

The photos featured in this exhibition are provided chronologically to show the evolution of the Post-War Modernist Style. It begins with the first glass curtain walled buildings of the 1950s and 1960s, through to the expressed structure of buildings constructed in the 1960s and 1970s.

These photos are exhibited with the copyright permission of the National Library of Australia. Full details about each image are provided beneath the gallery.

Gilbert Court, early modern high-rise building at 100 Collins Street, Melbourne, architect J. La Gerche, 1954

BP House on Queen Street, Melbourne, 1958

AMP Building, Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 1958

Union House and Norwich Union, west side Queen Street near Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 1970

Atlas Building, headquarters of Alliance Assurance, Collins Street, Melbourne, June 1959

Coates Building, 20 Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 1960

View of R.A.C.V. [ie. Royal Automobile Club of Victoria] building, Queen St. West corner of Little Collins St., Melbourne, 1961

London Assurance House, Melbourne, June 1959

Front view of the Guardian Assurance Company building, corner of Collins and William streets, Melbourne, Victoria, 1961

South British Insurance building, corner of Bourke and Queen Streets, Melbourne, Victoria, 1961

Royal Mail House, corner of Bourke and Swanston Streets, Melbourne, 1967

The new Colonial Mutual Life Building, corner of Collins and Elizabeth Streets, Melbourne, 1965

View from top of building of the H.C. Sleigh building, 1964

Wales corner [at the intersection of] Collins and Swanston Streets, Melbourne, 1967

Reserve Bank of Australia building, corner of Collins and Exhibition streets, Melbourne, 1973

Courtyard of AMP offices, Melbourne, Victoria, 1970

[View of the entrance to the] Royal Insurance Group building, Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 1965

Dalgety House, south side, Bourke Street near Queen Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 1968

Building at 350 Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 1968

[View from the roof of the BHP Building of] central Melbourne, corner of Collins and Queen Streets, 1973

Employee of Richard Ellis, Sallman & Seward in front of Australia Netherlands House, Melbourne, 1973

Cowan House, south side, Little Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 1970

[State Savings Bank at] 55 Swanston Street, corner Flinders Lane, Melbourne, 1975

Dillingham, Estates House, 1976

1. Gilbert Court, early modern high-rise building at 100 Collins Street, Melbourne, architect J. La Gerche

Date of photo: 1954
Address: Gilbert Court (100 Collins Street, Melbourne)
Architect: John A. La Gerche
Date constructed: 1954-1955

(National Library of Australia copyright PIC/7623/713b LOC PIC Album 1032/100)

2. BP House on Queen Street, Melbourne

Date of photo: 1958
Address: Former Victoria Club Building (later BP House) (131-141 Queen Street, Melbourne)
Architect: Plottell, Ernest Bunett & George Alsop
Date constructed: 1927 (original 3 storeys) 1956 (7 storey addition)

(National Library of Australia copyright PIC/7623/259a LOC Album 1032/13)

3. AMP Building, Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, Victoria

Date of photo: 1958
Address: Former AMP Building (402-408 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne)
Architect: Bates Smart & McCutcheon
Date constructed: 1956-1958

(National Library of Australia copyright PIC WS 2508F LOC PIC Album 1032/108)

4. Union House and Norwich Union, west side Queen Street near Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria

Date of photo: 1970
Address: Former Union House (43-51 Queen Street, Melbourne)
Architect: Bates Smart & McCutcheon
Date constructed: 1957

(National Library of Australia copyright PIC WS 4172C LOC PIC Album 1032/181)

5. Atlas Building, headquarters of Alliance Assurance, Collins Street, Melbourne

Date of photo: June 1959
Address: Atlas Assurance Building (404-406 Collins Street, Melbourne)
Architect: H Garnet Alsop & Partners
Date constructed: 1958-1961

(National Library of Australia copyright PIC WS 2723F LOC Cold store PIC Siev B&WN-F)

6. Coates Building, 20 Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria

Date of photo: 1960
Address: Coates Building (18-22 Collins Street, Melbourne)
Architect: John A. La Gerche
Date constructed: 1958-1959

(National Library of Australia copyright PIC WS 2830-Aa LOC PIC Album 1032/106)

7. View of R.A.C.V. [ie. Royal Automobile Club of Victoria] building, Queen St. West corner of Little Collins St., Melbourne

Date of photo: 1961
Former Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (111-129 Queen Street, Melbourne)
Architect: Bates Smart & McCutcheon
Date constructed: 1959-1961

(National Library of Australia copyright PIC WS 3000 BW LOC PIC Album 1032/16)

8. London Assurance House, Melbourne

Date of photo: June 1959
Address: London Assurance House (Part 468-470 Bourke Street, Melbourne)
Architect: Bernard Evans
Date constructed: 1960

(National Library of Australia copyright PIC WS 2723E LOC Cold store PIC Siev B&WN-F)

9. Front view of the Guardian Assurance Company building, corner of Collins and William streets, Melbourne, Victoria

Date of photo: 1961
Address: Former Guardian Building (454-456 Collins Street, Melbourne)
Architect: Bates Smart & McCutcheon
Date constructed: 1960-1961

(National Library of Australia copyright PIC WS 3093Ca LOC PIC Album 1032/16)

10. South British Insurance building, corner of Bourke and Queen Streets, Melbourne, Victoria

Date of photo: 1961
Address: Former South British Insurance Company Ltd Building (155-161 Queen Street, Melbourne)
Architect: Bates Smart & McCutcheon
Date constructed: 1961-1962

(National Library of Australia copyright PIC WS 3116AKa LOC PIC Album 1032/16)

11. Royal Mail House, corner of Bourke and Swanston Streets, Melbourne

Date of photo: 1967
Address: Royal Mail House (253-267 Bourke Street, Melbourne)
Architect: D Graeme Lumsden
Date constructed: 1961-63

(National Library of Australia copyright PIC WS 3884-Va LOC PIC Album 1032/105)

12. The new Colonial Mutual Life Building, corner of Collins and Elizabeth Streets, Melbourne

Date of photo: 1965
Address: Former Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Building & ‘Children’s Tree’ Sculpture (308-336 Collins Street Melbourne)
Architect/artist: Stephenson & Turner (building) Tom Bass (sculpture)
Date constructed: 1963

(National Library of Australia copyright PIC WS 3669 Ha LOC PIC Album 1032/36)

13. View from top of building of the H.C. Sleigh building

Date of photo: 1964
Address: Former Sleigh Buildings (H C Sleigh Building & former Sleigh Corner) (158-172 Queen Street, Melbourne)
Architect: Bates Smart & McCutcheon
Date constructed: 1953-1955 & 1964

(National Library of Australia copyright PIC WS 3550CG LOC Cold store PIC Siev B&WN-F)

14. Wales corner [at the intersection of] Collins and Swanston Streets, Melbourne

Date of photo: 1967
Address: Wales Corner (221-231 Collins Street, Melbourne)
Architect: Stephenson & Turner
Date constructed: 1964-1966

(National Library of Australia copyright PIC WS3892 R LOC PIC Album 1032/107)

15. Reserve Bank of Australia building, corner of Collins and Exhibition streets, Melbourne

Date of photo: 1973
Address: Former Reserve Bank of Australia (56-64 Collins Street, Melbourne)
Architect: B Lewis, C. McGrouther, C. D. Osborne, R. M. Ure, and F. C. Crocker
Date constructed: 1964-1966

(National Library of Australia copyright PIC WS 4281-ER LOC PIC Album 1032/108)

16. Courtyard of AMP offices, Melbourne, Victoria

Date of photo: 1970
Address: AMP Tower and St James Building Complex (527-555 Bourke Street, Melbourne)
Architect: Skidmore Owings & Merrill in association with Bates Smart & McCutcheon
Date constructed: 1965-1969

(National Library of Australia copyright PIC WS 4146CC LOC PIC Album 1032/16)

17. [View of the entrance to the] Royal Insurance Group building, Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria

Date of photo: 1965
Address: Royal Insurance Group building (430-442 Collins Street, Melbourne)
Architect: Yuncken Freeman
Date constructed: 1966

(National Library of Australia copyright PIC WS 3670 BBa LOC PIC Album 1032/181)

18. Dalgety House, south side, Bourke Street near Queen Street, Melbourne, Victoria

Date of photo: 1968
Address: Former Dalgety House (457-471 Bourke Street)
Architect: Peddle, Thorp & Walker in association Meldrum & Partners
Date constructed: 1966-1968

(National Library of Australia copyright PIC WS 4035C LOC PIC Album 1032/122)

19. Building at 350 Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria

Date of photo: 1968
Address: Former AMP Building (344-350 Collins Street, Melbourne)
Architect: Godfrey & Spowers, Hughes, Mewton and Lobb
Date constructed: 1966-1968

(National Library of Australia copyright PIC WS 4033D LOC PIC Album 1032/106)

20. [View from the roof of the BHP Building of] central Melbourne, corner of Collins and Queen Streets

Date of photo: 1973
Address: Former Commonwealth Banking Corporation Building (359-373 Collins Street, Melbourne)
Date constructed: c1972-1975
Architect: Bates Smart & McCutcheon
Address: Former Legal & General House (375-383 Collins Street Melbourne)
Date constructed: 1967
Architect: Bernard Evans, Murphy, Berg & Hocking

(National Library of Australia copyright PIC WS 4174K LOC Album 1032/43)

21. Employee of Richard Ellis, Sallman & Seward in front of Australia Netherlands House, Melbourne

Date of photo: 1973
Address: Former Australia-Netherlands House (468-478 Collins Street)
Architect: Peddle Thorp & Walker in association with Meldrum & Partners
Date constructed: c1968-1970

(National Library of Australia copyright PIC WS 4281-A LOC PIC Album 1032/131)

22. Cowan House, south side, Little Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria

Date of photo: 1970
Address: Cowan House (457-469 Little Collins Street, Melbourne)
Architect: E and G Kolle & Associates
Date constructed: 1969