WUNDERLICH
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WUNDERLICH LIMITED
HEAD OFFICE: .... Corner of Baptist and Cleveland Streets, REDFERN, SYDNEY
ARCHITECTURAL TERRA COTTA WORKS: ROSEHILL (Sydney), and SUNSHINE (Melbourne)
Showrooms:
SYDNEY STH. MELBOURNE ADELAIDE BRISBANE
Baptist Street, Redfern Hanna St. (near Sturt St.) Grote &. Morphett Streets Amelia Street, Valley
PERTH HOBART LAUNCESTON NEWCASTLE
Lord and Short Streets 139 Macquarie Street 71 St. John Street King Street
Wunderlich matt glazed Terra Cotta of a golden brown colour, shading to leather brown, with black and white spotting, is here employed in a highly effective treatment, in combination with stucco. The plastic properties of Terra Cotta assure perfect rendition of a design so essentially decorative in conception.
WUNDERLICH TERRA COTTA
WUNDERLICH TERRA COTTA is versatile in a twofold sense. It is, of course, generously versatile in its response to the demands of the modeller and ceramist, whose creations of form, texture, colour and finish provide the richest possible resources for aesthetic achievement. But it is equally as versatile in the hands of the architect, as is evidenced by the prolific employment of Terra Cotta for buildings of all styles, sizes and types, to enrich or entirely clothe the exterior, or to add decorative interest to the interior.
Effective Applications of Terra Cotta
The architect familiar with this wide-ranging versatility finds highly effective application for Wunderlich Terra Cotta. In the massive and costly city building, he employs the material for the entire facade, in this way attaining the utmost in artistic effect, and assuring a continuity of that impression of newness so vital a factor in maintaining investment values. But spectacular as is this modern use, there is equally as logical a scope for Terra Cotta in structures consisting largely of brick, stucco or cement; and it is in this traditional combination of two mediums that the architect confronted with cost restrictions finds a satisfactory compromise.
Advantages of Terra Cotta Enrichment
As examples illustrated on following pages clearly demonstrate, there are decided benefits to be gained from the introduction of Terra Cotta for the moulded or ornamental elements of a facade or an interior. Where a building is unimpressive in size, Terra Cotta compensates by adding colour and modelled enrichment. If a structure is built to rent, the outstanding appearance of Terra Cotta helps to impress tenants. In the case of a shop, even a sparing use of Terra Cotta creates an individual effect that distinguishes the premises from its neighbours. Where a gay and festive appearance is an advantage, as in the exteriors of theatres, cinemas and hotels, a brilliant decorative treatment, introducing poylchrome, can be carried out most effectively in Terra Cotta. Virtually every building of public import calls for particular impressiveness in the design of the entrance, and Terra Cotta is the material best qualified to produce a rich and distinguished effect.
Economy of Repetitive Design
Nowhere do the versatile resources of Wunderlich Terra Cotta offer greater scope for employment, than where an architect’s design admits of frequent repetition of individual elements. String courses, architraves, lintels, friezes, cornices, coping, spandrils and such units of design invariably involve considerable repetition of size and form in individual blocks, thus reducing to a minimum the number of moulds necessary for their production in Terra Cotta ; and this spells economy in cost. Keeping this factor in mind and designing accordingly, the architect handicapped by a rigid cost-schedule can employ Wunderlich Terra Cotta much more generously, and will turn as a matter of course to this material for the rendition of such recurring features as decorative panels, paterae, finials, pinnacles, balus-trading, columns and capitals, each of them excessively costly when separately hand-carved, but inexpensive of reproduction from one original model, in Terra Cotta.
To be successful in its mission of arresting the attention of passers-by, the modern showroom calls for unique and compelling interest in its exterior treatment, at once suggesting the use of Wunderlich Terra Cotta, with its rich palette of glazed colours, and its capacity for exuberance of modelled effect.
Shop premises and showrooms figure prominently in the new architecture of progressive cities, and no type of building offers greater scope for the versatility of Terra Cotta. It permits a distinguished quality in the exterior treatment and affords facilities for a marked differentiation in the appearance of neighbouring premises, especially when the element of
colour is daringly exploited.
H. A. Norris, Architect. F. E. Shillabecr and Sons, Contractors.
It is a recommendation in favour of a shopfront of Wunderlich Terra Cotta, that it need never be outdated by another erected in the vicinity. An occasional washing is all that is necessary to keep a Terra Cotta front attractive, fresh and modern in appearance.
If extensions are made, the existing facade can be cleaned to match the new.
H. A. Norris, Architect. F. E. Shillabeec and Sons, Contractors.
In Wunderlich Terra Cotta, ornamental effect achieved by frequent repetition of a single decorative feature is decidedly economical, since a great number of blocks of similar size and shape can be pressed from the one mould. Too much uniformity of repetition can be avoided by a change of colour scheme in various blocks.
H. A. Norris, Architect. F. E. Shillabeer and Sons, Contractors.
As in the above illustrated example, many buildings lack impressiveness of height, but this can be compensated for by a distinctive treatment with Terra Cotta. The design can embody the utmost in richness of ornamental effect, combined with vigour and beauty of colouring, with the assurance that the result will be more economical in Terra Cotta than in any other permanent material.
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H. A. Norris, Architect. F. E. Shillabeer and Sons, Contractors.
In this modern example of the skill of the clayworker and the ceramist, there is a reminder of the utilitarian as well as the aesthetic functions burned clay has fulfilled since the beginning of history. Measuring 3ft. 6in. high, and 1ft. 9in. in diameter, the vase is blue in colour, grading to green. It lends decorative interest to the interior treatment of the Kellow-Falkiner Showrooms.
This entrance is of Wunderlich Terra Cotta, the colour and finish being matt glazed ivory. By contrast with the severity of the brickwork, the modelled detail emphasises the plasticity of the medium employed. The versatility of the Terra Cotta palette is evidenced in the treatment of the monogram, wherein live colours have been utilised, comprising blue, black, red, brown and green.
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A variegated yellow, with a light blue spotting, is the colour chosen for the reproduction of this entrance design, in Wunderlich Terra Cotta. While the detail is appealing in its simplicity, the design attains dominance by its contrast in scale with the smaller units of brickwork. There is ample precedent for an harmonious union of Terra Cotta and brick in facade treatment.
A pleasing exploitation of the colour resources of Wunderlich Terra Cotta is an attractive feature of this treatment. The main body colour is a mottled green-grey, enlivened in the rosettes and fluting of capping and corbels by the introduction of a leaden blue. The Terra Cotta base is a dark brown granite texture, with fine black spotting.
A O U ' U
So much importance attaches to the appearance of the entrance of a building of this type, that there is an insistent call for arresting quality in the material employed to express the design. As in the case of Tattersall’s Club, the architects' final choice was glazed Terra Cotta, the matt finish being a greyish ivory, with black spotting.
Attractive surroundings help to establish that impression of comfort and hospitality so indispensable to the success of a business of this nature, and no material is better qualified than Terra Cotta tc provide the desired effect. The walls are of opaque ivory, with ornamental panels of mauve, on a buff background. The treatment to the bar front is also opaque ivory, with a base course of golden
brown.
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Garlick and Jackman, Architects.
Webber and Williams, Contractors.
For the walls of hotel bars, public offices, bankinig chambers, surgeries, and interiors of a similar type where permanent cleanliness is a paramount consideration, glazed Terra Cotta becomes the logical material, as its surface can be kept clean and new by a simple application of soap and water. If, as is usual in work of this character, the design permits of considerable repetition, the treatment with Terra Cotta can be carried out with marked economy ; and there is virtually no subsequent maintenance cost.
Where a touch of ornament is desirable, to add decorative interest to a facade, the employment of Wunderlich Terra Cotta Paterae, as illustrated above, may appeal to Architects. These Paterae can be supplied in any of the standard colours and finishes available in Wunderlich Terra Cotta. They measure five inches in depth, thus providing for a four inch bond into brickwork, and a projection of one inch from the face of the wall.
A suggestion [or patern No. 6529, in polychrome, appears on the front cover of this Bulletin.