The Mediterranean style arrived in Sydney in 1918 with Professor Leslie Wilkinson, who was to take up the first post of chair of architecture at an Australian University. He decided a style appropriate to Sydney’s climate was one that encompassed simple shapes, light and shade, bleached pastel tones and accents of classical detail. The style eventually spread across Australia to Perth.
Its features were often borrowed from the Spanish Mission style, although less decorative. Walls were rendered and then painted in muted tones of cream, pink or apricot, and tiled roofs were generally medium pitched, hipped or gabled. The façade often featured a porch or balcony and contained double-hung windows with louvred timber shutters.
Related styles: Georgian and Colonial Revival, Academic Classical, Free Classical, Beaux-Arts, Stripped Classical, Commercial Palazzo, Spanish Mission
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