Item MM 98593 Photograph - Kodak Australasia Pty Ltd, Reception Area in Building 8, Head Office & Sales & Marketing at the Kodak Factory, Coburg, 1964

Summary

Black and white silver gelatin photograph taken by Wolfgang Sievers features a ground floor reception area in the newly constructed Kodak Australasia Pty Ltd factory complex in Coburg, 1964.

The reception area is located in building 8 which housed the Kodak Australasia Pty Ltd Head Offices and Sales and Marketing Division. Architect Harry Norris of H A & F L Norris & Associates, created the design for the new factory and individual buildings, while the building contract was awarded to Lewis Constructions Pty Ltd. Building 8 was a steel and concrete framed brick infill structure featuring large areas of window glass and a unique air conditioning system to deal with the high solar loads. It consisted of four sections: the main office building of five floors plus services basement and under car parking area; the services block that consisted of five floors plus basement and additional sixth floor and elevator room; the reception area which was a single floor at ground level with under-floor amenities area (later filled in as a marketing theatre and entertaining area) and the computing centre block which was a single floor at ground level with under floor access for computer services.

The still uncompleted Coburg factory complex was officially opened on 14 April 1961 by the Prime Minister, Robert G. Menzies with Dr. A Chapman, President of Eastman Kodak Company, in attendance. The complex was the national headquarters of Kodak Australasia Pty Ltd and its manufacture of silver halide photographic products. It replaced the Abbotsford factory where Kodak had been operating since 1908. The Abbotsford premises eventually closed in 1966.

Wolfgang Sievers is widely recognised as one of Australia's most significant architectural and industrial photographers. He pioneered a modernist photographic style influenced by the Bauhaus, and his work celebrates industry and the worker. Sievers was commissioned to document the newly constructed Kodak Coburg plant. He subsequently took several hundred black & white and colour images that highlighted the modern architectural and industrial design features of the complex.

Kodak manufactured and distributed a wide range of photographic products to Australasia, such as film, paper, chemicals, cameras and miscellaneous equipment. Its client base included amateur and professional photographers, as well as specialist medical and graphic art professionals who used photography, x-ray and other imaging techniques.

This photograph is part of the Kodak collection of products, promotional materials, photographs and working life artefacts collected from Kodak Australasia in 2005, when the Melbourne manufacturing plant at Coburg closed down.

Description of Content

Photograph of a ground floor reception area of an office building. To the left and running diagonally across the image is a wall of curtained windows and double glass doors. The back wall features a marble patterning. Inset in the roof is a series of fluorescent strip lights. The main floor is linoleum and there is a carpeted area with a desk facing the doors and an office chair. In the foreground is a coffee table with armchairs positioned around it. The furniture is streamlined, simple and modern.

Physical Description

Black and white, silver gelatin photograph printed on light weight paper, landscape format.