Category Archives: Comment

How a Rainbow Arch Declares the Death of Art History

Posted on October 25, 2022 by Montacute Pavilion

Recently it was announced that Daylesford would get the Big Rainbow Arch. Hepburn Shire Council opened a survey asking for opinions on options for siting.[1] Several current councillors make a lot of noise about consultation, and on issues like The … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Architecture, Art, Comment, Daylesford, Town and Village | Leave a comment

The Gardens in Hamilton New Zealand: Part 1. Introduction

Posted on June 9, 2022 by Montacute Pavilion

Part 2. The Picturesque Garden The Enclosed Gardens in Hamilton, New Zealand, are one of the most exciting creations I have seen in Australia and New Zealand. There seems to be nothing quite like it anywhere else. Unlike the Chaumont … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Architecture, Art, Baroque Gardens, Chinoiserie, Comment, Design, Elizabethan Architecture, English Gardens, Fabriques, Garden History, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

New Traditional Architecture 1: A Frankfurt Reconstruction

Posted on April 28, 2022 by Montacute Pavilion

The New Traditional Architecture Facebook site is interesting, not least because of its European (often Central European) focus. While Putin seems to be revisiting WW2, as Hitler needing Lebensraum rather than Stalin resisting an invader, this site often engages with … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Architecture, Baroque architecture, Comment, Country Houses, New Traditional architecture, Restoration and Conservation, Town and Village, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

New Traditional Architecture 3: On Vernacular Architecture

Posted on April 23, 2022 by Montacute Pavilion

In one posting on the New Traditional Architecture Facebook page is illustrated the ‘Villa Tällberg’, completed in 2019 in the Swedish vernacular manner. It is by a Swedish architectural firm Byggnadswerk, led by Tommy Janssen, who does some rather beautiful … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Architecture, Arts and Crafts Movement, Baroque architecture, Comment, Construction, Country Houses, Design, Fabriques, New Traditional architecture, Town and Village, Uncategorized, Villas | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

New Traditional Architecture 2: Right Wing Conspiracies and Leftist Divisiveness

Posted on April 22, 2022 by Montacute Pavilion

An article in the Art Newspaper by Robert Bevan on 7 January 2022 (‘The ugly pursuit of beauty: how traditional architecture has become a battleground for right-wing politicians’) comes out firing on all barrels against New Traditional Architecture as a … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Architecture, Art, Baroque architecture, Climate, Comment, Main, New Traditional architecture, Reviews, Town and Village, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Sky Barrels: Lake Daylesford, Neighbourhood Character, and Imagistic Architecture

Posted on April 8, 2022 by Montacute Pavilion

In Daylesford there has been a recent planning application for ‘Sky Barrels’ on Cornish Hill (Fig. 1).[1] These are five one-bedroom holiday cottages in the shape of compressed (elliptical) barrels on metal stands. The ends of the barrels are windowed, … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Architectural paintings, Architecture, Comment, Daylesford, Design, Fabriques, Town and Village, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Montsalvat Part 1: Less an Artist’s Colony than an Ideal Burgundian Village, an Australian Portmeirion

Posted on April 2, 2022 by Montacute Pavilion

While Montsalvat was an artist’s colony, it was also a Portmeirion: one man’s dream of building a village that romantically alluded to old Europe. Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Architecture, Comment, Country Houses, Design, Fabriques, Garden History, Restoration and Conservation, Town and Village, Uncategorized, Villas | Leave a comment

The New National Gallery of Victoria Contemporary Design and New Traditional Architecture

Posted on March 25, 2022 by Montacute Pavilion

The design of the new National Gallery of Victoria Contemporary art gallery has just been announced (Fig. 1). The architects are Angelo Candalepas and Associates. The new building is in addition to the building build by Roy Grounds in 1968, … Continue reading →

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On Recent Proposals for Rebuilding the Roof and Spire of Notre Dame

Posted on May 12, 2019 by Montacute Pavilion

Within a month of the destruction by fire of the roof and flèche (crossing spire) of Notre Dame in Paris, proposals by architects for their replacement abound. Why are these designs so awful? The answer is simple: they lack respect. … Continue reading →

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On Gentlemen and William Morris

Posted on December 6, 2017 by Montacute Pavilion

Some of William Morris’s bon mots have not worn well. In the local gift shop they have chalked up the phrase ‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful’. But … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Arts and Crafts Movement, Book Commentaries, Comment, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment