Architecture
From Our Early Colonial Influences to a Uniquely Contemporary Style, Australian Architecture Expresses a Strong Sense of Place.
The Library's architectural collection is unsurpassed. Focussing on our built environment, it ranges from the dwellings of indigenous Australians and the first European buildings recorded, through to early architects of the 19th century and internationally recognised architects of the 20th century.
With over 100,000 plans, and associated archives, the collection is one of the most significant in Australia. It represents the work of more than 140 private architects and firms: from suburban practices to internationally recognised architects, ranging across domestic, heritage, interior, commercial, ecclesiastical and industrial genres.
Government House, Sydney, 1836, by Charles Rodius
Watercolour, SV*/Sp Coll/Rodius/5
This vast collection is supported with oral histories, photographs of buildings and streetscapes, site plans, maps, topographical paintings and drawings as well as books and journals.
Arrival of Modernism
Architectural Modernism was a revolutionary rejection of past styles and the use of architectural ornament. It embraced boldness and simplicity in design.
Temples of Commerce
The energy and vitality that surrounds commercial life in Sydney inspired early architects and continues to inspire those of today.
Sydney fashionable villas, 1830s
The increasing wealth of the colony in the 1830s was reflected in the construction of Regency style villas, built for well-to-do pastoralists, civil servants and merchants.
Creating Sydney's public buildings
Edmund Thomas Blacket (1817-1883), who arrived in Sydney in 1842, was regarded as the pre-eminent architect of mid-19th century New South Wales.
Rural and vernacular architecture
The Library holds an internationally significant collection of 19th century photographs showcasing rural gold mining towns and the simple buildings which gave them their character.
