Hobsons Bay City Council Chambers

Architect: Robert Warren ARIBA 1963

City of Hobsons Bay | H08

Building Description

Designed by mid-century architect Robert Warren in 1962-63, the Council Chambers were built to symbolise the progressive and forward-thinking philosophy of the newly-incepted Council for the former City of Altona, a region under rapid development. The building has a striking modernist design with a distinctive copper-clad dome.

The strong aesthetic of modernism came to be associated with prosperity and progress and in the post war era, modernist design was heralded as the style of the century. Aesthetically the building is significant for its striking modernist design, incorporating a saucer-dome motif, which would have risen from the paddocks that surrounded the building at the time.

The design was inspired by contemporary buildings such as Romberg and Boyd’s Academy of Science in Canberra. It is technically significant for the distinctive domed form, which followed the latest trends at the time in concrete shell design (a speciality of Warren) and is now one of a small group of segment-domed public buildings in the country. The building is still in use as Council Chambers today.

What's On

The Council Chambers will be open for visitors to view. Staff will be on hand for questions and information. A small exhibition of documents and ephemera relating to the history of the building and the City of Altona will be on display.

Location