{"id":908207,"date":"2026-09-28T05:36:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T05:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/908207\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T05:36:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T05:36:17","slug":"academics-heritage-victoria-at-odds-over-university-of-melbourne-building-by-ngv-architect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/908207\/","title":{"rendered":"Academics, Heritage Victoria at odds over University of Melbourne building by NGV architect"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jackson<\/p>\n

September 28, 2026 \u2014 1:01pm<\/p>\n

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A university building by the modernist architect who designed the National Gallery of Victoria is a step closer to the wrecking ball, after Heritage Victoria decided not to back it for protection.<\/p>\n

The University of Melbourne plans to replace the twin brick John Medley Building, which faces Grattan Street and forms a gateway to the Parkville campus, with a new central education building envisioned as a \u201cwelcoming front door\u201d and \u201ccentral hub for teaching, learning and campus life\u201d.<\/p>\n

Academics have been pushing<\/a> for the building to be on the Victorian Heritage Register, arguing it is a significant work by architect Sir Roy Grounds<\/a>, who was a student at the university before building city landmarks such as the NGV and Arts Centre Melbourne.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe John Medley Building was designed by Australian modernist architect Sir Roy Grounds and opened in 1971. Paul Jeffers<\/p>\n

However, Heritage Victoria executive director Steven Avery has recommended the site not be included on the register, and said the 1971 structure was \u201cnot a pivotal example of the class\u201d of modernist postwar university buildings.<\/p>\n

Avery said buildings such as the university\u2019s Beaurepaire Centre and Wilson Hall, opened in the 1950s, were examples that defined the state\u2019s modernist campus architecture and were on the register.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the John Medley Building is a refined and attractive example of a postwar university building, it could not be considered architecturally notable when compared to examples already included in the [register],\u201d Avery wrote.<\/p>\n

\"GroundsGrounds also designed iconic Melbourne landmarks including the Arts Centre Melbourne and the NGV. Mark Gambino<\/p>\n

The Heritage Council of Victoria, which has the final say, is yet to decide whether to grant the building protection and is currently assessing submissions, with the likelihood of a hearing that will delay an outcome until next year.<\/p>\n

Tony Lee, an expert on Australian modernist architects such as Robin Boyd<\/a>, said Grounds knew the campus, where he had studied, lectured and served on the building committee, and the university handpicked him to design the building.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been very deliberately tying the building in with the university context, not just creating a building that is philosophically driven,\u201d Lee said.<\/p>\n

Still, Lee said a key issue was a lack of documentation of Grounds\u2019 work outside his designs in Melbourne\u2019s arts precinct. \u201cNo one has put it in the context of his whole career. And I think it\u2019s a very special building because, being a later building, it really shows the development of a mature architect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe gateway created by the John Medley Building at the University of Melbourne.Paul Jeffers<\/p>\n

The John Medley Building, Lee said, incorporates medieval and Renaissance influences such as a walkway bridge that serves as a \u201cgateway to the university\u201d and thin windows that reference arrow slits. The slits lean into an Italian movement known as neo-liberty that borrowed from the past and foreshadowed postmodernism.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of pure examples of all sorts of styles, but it\u2019s these transition buildings that help tell the story to connect these periods,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably the best building in Victoria and maybe even more widely in Australia of neo-liberty.\u201d<\/p>\n

The National Trust is opposed to the demolition of the building on environmental grounds. Samantha Westbrooke, the organisation\u2019s executive manager of advocacy and conservation, said the university should be doing more to consider the impact of tearing the building down.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need people to be calculating the embodied energy that we lose when we demolish these types of buildings, and it should be factored into the demolition and rebuilding,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s more expensive from an environmental perspective, regardless of what you get at the other end.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AnAn artist\u2019s impression of the University of Melbourne\u2019s entrance without the John Medley Building.<\/p>\n

The University of Melbourne<\/a> spent $4.5 million refurbishing the building a decade ago. However, the plans to demolish the building were unveiled as part of a masterplan in 2023<\/a> that aims to \u201cunite the campus with the city\u201d.<\/p>\n

The university\u2019s chief operating officer, Katerina Kapobassis, said campuses needed plans for the long term \u201cto meet the changing needs of research, teaching and students\u201d while also \u201cretaining their significance, layered history and connection to community\u201d.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Matthew<\/a><\/p>\n

More than 58 per cent of the university\u2019s infrastructure comes under various heritage protection, and Melbourne University said it prioritised the conservation, adaptation and refurbishment of existing buildings.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, where new development is necessary to meet functional and performance requirements, sustainability is embedded through integrated design, low-carbon outcomes, and a whole-of-lifecycle approach to materials, resources and environmental performance,\u201d a university spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cRedevelopment of the John Medley Building site will deliver a purpose-built teaching building that will become a focal point for student learning and community engagement at Parkville.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Heritage Council Victoria spokesperson said submissions were being considered on the building\u2019s heritage status, and parties would be notified of any hearing scheduled.<\/p>\n

Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"JacksonJackson Graham<\/a> is an education reporter at The Age. He was previously an explainer reporter.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"September 28, 2026 \u2014 1:01pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":908208,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[449,458,459,64,63,460,134],"class_list":["post-908207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-design","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=908207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908207\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/908208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=908207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=908207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=908207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}