Item MM 98629 Photograph - Kodak Australasia Pty Ltd, Exterior View of Building 8, Head Office & Sales & Marketing at the Kodak Factory, Coburg, circa 1965

Summary

Colour photograph taken by Wolfgang Sievers of an exterior view of Building 8 in the newly constructed Kodak Australasia Pty Ltd factory complex in Coburg, circa 1965.

Building 8 housed the Kodak Head Offices and Sales and Marketing Division. This is a view from the east-north-east of Building 8 and emphasises the north and east faces of the main office block, the east face of the services block and the ground floor reception block showing the basement areas and the pedestrian access from the gardens.

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. The Coburg factory 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

The photograph is a view of the exterior of a multi-storey building. The image is taken to show the building at an angle, with two sections of the building converging in an 'L' shape. The image emphasises the grid structure of windows on the left section of the building and the vertical length of windows on the right section which is taller than the left. At ground level to the right are stairs and in the foreground is a circular path and grassed area.

Physical Description

Colour photograph printed on medium weight paper, landscape format with a white border.