Deepacres Apartments in Melbourne Street, North Adelaide, bring pure modernism of J.H. McConnell to Adelaide
Architect J.H. McConnell's modernist design for the Deepacres Apartments, in Melbourne Street, North Adelaide, displayed a high degree of careful and thoughtful detail within what appeared to be a simple composition.
Deepacres Apartments, completed in 1942 in Melbourne Street, North Adelaide, were state heritage listed in 1986 for their architectural significance “as arguably the finest example of pure modernism design to be found in Adelaide”.
The flats were designed for Jennifer Jolly by architect Jack Hobbs McConnell, pioneer of the modern movement in Adelaide. Deepacres Apartments were perhaps the earliest and most integrated residential example of this style in South Australia. Modernism was expressed in Deepacres by the relative austerity of external planar surfaces, the flat roof, metal windows, terrazzo elements and exposed brick and concrete structure, asymmetrical planning and integrating external and internal spaces.
McConnell came from Victoria to Adelaide in 1937 to work for architect Philip Claridge to assist in the design of the Bank of New South Wales premises on the southeast corner of King William Street and North Terrace, Adelaide city. Deepacres Apartments was McConnell's second South Australian design and independent of the Claridge partnership.
The apartments design displayed a high degree of careful and thoughtful detail within what appeared to be a simple composition. The interiors of the 15 apartments continued the modernist aesthetic, with uncluttered internal layouts, quality finishes, and the inclusion of efficient and functional features suited to changing lifestyles in the mid-20th Century. Deepacres was also a notable example of the work of Fricker Brothers, who over many years constructed many of important buildings in South Australia.
Shortly after Deepacres Apartments, McConnell designed his own home at the Adelaide eastern suburb of Springfield in a similar fashion and it was featured in South Australian Homes and Gardens in 1946. From McConnell's partnership with Colin Hassell came designs in the 1960s for the Adelaide Festival Theatre and the north and south precincts of Flinders University at Bedford Park.
