DOVERS BUILDING
5-7 DREWERY LANE MELBOURNE, MELBOURNE CITY
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Statement of Significance
What is significant?
Dovers Building, was constructed in 1909-10 to the design of the engineer/architect Hugh Ralston Crawford. The building was erected as a warehouse and factory for the firm Sniders and Abrahams, Manufacturing Tobacconists. It was originally a five storey structure, utilising the Turner mushroom reinforced concrete system, and an extra two storeys were added in 1938 also designed by Crawford. The facade features a five storey giant order arcade with segmental arches and ornamental capitals.
How is it significant?
Dovers Building is of scientific (technical) and historical significance to the State of Victoria.
Why is it significant?
Dovers Building is of scientific (technical) significance as the first Australian building to employ the Turner Mushroom System of flat-slabs. This system was first described in the U.S.A. in Engineering News in 1905 by C.A.P. Turner and his first flat-slab building was the Johnson-Bovey building of 1906. Between 1906 and 1909, at least eighteen other buildings were built in the U.S.A. using the Turner Mushroom System of flat-slabs. This system was so called due to the peculiar formation of rods around the column head and the rapidity with which they could be erected. The Turner system, as used by Crawford at the Dovers Building, employed thin concrete floor slabs, which were reinforced in four directions and supported by octagonal columns. The Dovers building remains as one of the still surviving examples in the world using the innovative Turner mushroom system of reinforced concrete.
Dovers building is of historical significance as an indicator of the size and importance of the tobacco industry in Melbourne at the turn of the century and a reminder of the industrial character of this part of Melbourne until the latter part of the 20th century. The firm of Snider and Abrahams was founded in Melbourne in 1870 and by the turn of the century was a highly successful cigarette manufacturing enterprise. The northern part of Melbourne, around Little Lonsdale and La Trobe Streets, where this building is located, was home to a number of industrial establishments, before changing transport requirements, rising land prices and the outward spread of the metropolis pushed them to more practical locations from the 1960s on. This building, although now transformed into apartments (in itself illustrative of the process of urban change), is a reminder of the diverse industrial processes that once occurred within the CBD.
[Online Data Upgrade Project 2004]
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DOVERS BUILDING - History
Contextual History:History of Place:
HR Crawford designed the building in 1908, planning to employ some form of reinforced concrete. Apparently after construction had started, he decided to adopt the Turner system of flat plate reinforced concrete. Crawford, who had previously been an engineer with the Queensland Railways, was Turner's local agent, but was an innovative designer in his own right. He built a number of silos and other structures and other Turner system buildings, including the Herald building in Flinders Street.
Associated People: Assoc.People LOUIS ABRAHAMSAmendments were made to the Statement of Significance on 19/5/04 based on information supplied by David Beauchamp.
DOVERS BUILDING - Permit Exemptions
General Exemptions:General exemptions apply to all places and objects included in the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR). General exemptions have been designed to allow everyday activities, maintenance and changes to your property, which don’t harm its cultural heritage significance, to proceed without the need to obtain approvals under the Heritage Act 2017.Places of worship: In some circumstances, you can alter a place of worship to accommodate religious practices without a permit, but you must notify the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria before you start the works or activities at least 20 business days before the works or activities are to commence.Subdivision/consolidation: Permit exemptions exist for some subdivisions and consolidations. If the subdivision or consolidation is in accordance with a planning permit granted under Part 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the application for the planning permit was referred to the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria as a determining referral authority, a permit is not required.Specific exemptions may also apply to your registered place or object. If applicable, these are listed below. Specific exemptions are tailored to the conservation and management needs of an individual registered place or object and set out works and activities that are exempt from the requirements of a permit. Specific exemptions prevail if they conflict with general exemptions. Find out more about heritage permit exemptions here.Specific Exemptions:General Conditions: 1. All exempted alterations are to be planned and carried out in a manner which prevents damage to the fabric of the registered place or object. General Conditions: 2. Should it become apparent during further inspection or the carrying out of works that original or previously hidden or inaccessible details of the place or object are revealed which relate to the significance of the place or object, then the exemption covering such works shall cease and Heritage Victoria shall be notified as soon as possible. Note: All archaeological places have the potential to contain significant sub-surface artefacts and other remains. In most cases it will be necessary to obtain approval from the Executive Director, Heritage Victoria before the undertaking any works that have a significant sub-surface component.General Conditions: 3. If there is a conservation policy and planall works shall be in accordance with it. Note:A Conservation Management Plan or a Heritage Action Plan provides guidance for the management of the heritage values associated with the site. It may not be necessary to obtain a heritage permit for certain works specified in the management plan.
General Conditions: 4. Nothing in this determination prevents the Executive Director from amending or rescinding all or any of the permit exemptions. General Conditions: 5. Nothing in this determination exempts owners or their agents from the responsibility to seek relevant planning or building permits from the responsible authorities where applicable. Minor Works : Note: Any Minor Works that in the opinion of the Executive Director will not adversely affect the heritage significance of the place may be exempt from the permit requirements of the Heritage Act. A person proposing to undertake minor works must submit a proposal to the Executive Director. If the Executive Director is satisfied that the proposed works will not adversely affect the heritage values of the site, the applicant may be exempted from the requirement to obtain a heritage permit. If an applicant is uncertain whether a heritage permit is required, it is recommended that the permits co-ordinator be contacted.
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