Historical information

Robin Boyd’s unbuilt scheme for two residential towers for Carnich Pty Ltd in East Melbourne is one of his most striking late projects – remarkable for its daring scale, its indebtedness to the megastructural polemics of Paul Rudolph and Japanese Metabolism, and its prescience – a high-rise apartment building now sits on the same site. The drawing is spectacular: trays of space are held aloft on angled concrete props that branch off trunk-like vertical slabs. With balconies and spandrels highlighted in white, the scheme’s dynamism echoes El Lissitzky’s mad Wolkenbugel (‘Skyhooks’) while also signalling a tragic last hurrah before Boyd’s
1971 death.

Philip Goad

Physical description

Includes sketch of two structures and surrounding flora.

Inscriptions & markings

Inscribed upper left of recto, "ROBIN BOYD'S SKETCH FOR / COMBINED PROJECT 60-64 / CLARENDON ST. + CORNER SITE"