Mar 13, 20232 min read

Challenge #4 : “45 Grenfell St; Mid-century modern”

Finished quilt “45 Grenfell St; Mid-century modern”

24" x 24" [61 x 61 cm]

Julie Haddrick 2023

In 1971 my father visited Japan to experience first-hand ‘The New Japan Style of architecture’ as a his architectural firm were developing specialist skills in in the field of off-form and precast concrete building techniques. This earthquake resistant Japanese concrete building techniques using pre cast concrete panels. combined with their innovative contemporary commercial designing, influenced my father greatly and he thus introduced and popularised this building method in contemporary Adelaide and Sydney. Approaching the ‘Edges’ aspect of this Architecture theme, it seemed that the pre-fabricated wall panels or modules like windows that are made offsite and then the edges joined, was much like a gingerbread house construction. The challenge for me was how to construct in fabric, the soaring skyline structure of my favourite 45 Grenfell St that had reminded me of mid-century television screen. Considering the challenging 3 point perspective, repeated angles and repetition of shadows, corners and angles, I drew up complex templates to try to construct this image. Eventually I had drawn plans for a foundation paper pieced pattern. With much frustration, I stitched many grey fabrics to capture the tonal variations of pieced concrete shadows and forms. The construction time involved took me way way too long but I had to complete that task, despite my looming due dates. I hand stitched an overlay drawing from Dad’s hand drawn site plans to simulate the specifications of this build. For a decade or two, my father’s architecture firm changed the skyline and incorporated some New Japan Styles into contemporary architecture.