Beaurepaire Centre

Design: Eggleston, MacDonald & Secomb
Construction: 1954-57
Location: University of Melbourne, Parkville campus, Melbourne

Professor Hannah Lewi: The Beaurepaire Pool and Gymnasium is a highly awarded example of modern architecture and art, united to create a special place in the lead up to Melbourne hosting the Olympic Games in 1956.

The pool was instigated and sponsored by the businessman, politician and swimmer Sir Frank Beaurepaire.

The architects collaborated with the engineer Bill Irwin who also worked on the Sidney Myer Music Bowl and the Melbourne Olympic Swimming Stadium to design a glazed, light-filled enclosed 25-metre pool and sporting facilities.

They also worked closely with the artist Leonard French, who created a striking mosaic-tiled frieze around the building’s exterior facades and the colourful, abstract mural Symmetry of Sport for the upstairs gym and trophy hall.

The complex was sensitively restored by Lovell Chen with an award-winning upgrade in 2003.

(extract from: Australia Modernism’s Top 10: Part One)