MacFarland Library, Ormond College

MacFarland Library, Ormond College
General information
Type	Library
Architectural style	Gothic Revival
Location	Melbourne, Australia
Completed	1962 - 1965, 2011 (redesigned)
Design and construction
Architect	Frederick Romberg, Romberg and Boyd Architects and McGlashan Everist

The MacFarland Library at Ormond College, the University of Melbourne, completed in 1965, was Frederick Romberg’s (Romberg and Boyd Architects) second building for Ormond College. The initial scheme for the building in 1962 was a largely classical building that drew on elements from many of Romberg’s buildings from the previous decade. The subsequent revised scheme better complemented the rest of Reed and Barnes’ Gothic Revival Ormond college. The central plan of the library is a tribute to long tradition of library building including the Melbourne Public Library’s domed reading room, which involved Joseph Reed, Selwyn Bates, Norman Peebles and Charles Smart.

The MacFarland Library at Ormond College was named after Sir John MacFarland, who was the Vice Chancellor from 1910 to 1918 and Chancellor from 1918 to 1935 and established the position of salaried Vice-Chancellor in the 1930s.

The building is two stories high with an octagonal plan and a central spiral staircase. The interior volume is divided into smaller rooms by brick walls and timber or glass partitions. The octagonal form and thick exterior columns at the corners formed by interlocking brickwork gives the building sturdy appearance. The general library is found on the ground level while the second floor houses the theological library.

The library is a Victorian Heritage listed building as part of Ormond College, which includes the original Ormond College building, completed in 1881 and designed by Reed and Barnes.

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