Beverley Hills Flats, circa 1935-1936 by the architect and developer Howard Lawson, are a much loved example of community housing, which incorporate recycled elements in their architectural language.
I discuss what inspired Lawson to design and build them in my video presented on behalf of PROV, as part of Melbourne Design Week. 
A Cinematic vision:
the architecture of Howard Lawson.
The enigmatic architecture of Howard R Lawson was discussed in context of care, community and climate, as part of NGV’s DesignWeek 2021. Talk presented by Public Records Office Victoria and Virginia Blue.
Heritage architecture research:
Blue Fruit’s
published articles and video
about the early 20th century Melbourne architect, Howard R Lawson.
An exploration & understanding of past architecture can hold many clues for today’s architectural challenges.
The published articles and video below were inspired by my Master’s research thesis on the life and architecture of Howard R Lawson, a very unconventional architect who was truly ahead of his time, and yet has faded from history’s page.
Until now.
I am currently researching and writing a book on his life, architecture and approach to urban planning.
If you have a Howard Lawson designed property, or would like to know more about him, get in touch so I can let you know when my biographical book is published.
See the video exploring the original architecture of Howard Lawson, architect and builder, and his unconventional ideas.
Presented as part of Melbourne Design Week.
Howard Lawson rose to fame in 1912, during the building of the Britannia Theatre in Bourke Street, Melbourne.Heritage architecture article in
Architecture AU:
HOWARD LAWSON: THE ‘FORGOTTEN ARCHITECT’ AHEAD OF HIS TIME.
“The early 20th-century Victorian architect, Howard R Lawson is known today as the eclectic architect who designed the highly dramatic Beverley Hills flats at South Yarra (c. 1935–1936). His reputation has suffered over the decades due to misinformation and a misunderstanding of events.
He was, in fact, a very progressive architect, with a keen interest in bettering lives through considered town planning and thoughtful design. Lawson utilised recycled materials well before it was considered to be fashionable or desirable, and was an early pioneer of building conversions in 1912, many decades ahead of his time.”
Beverley Hills by Howard R LawsonHeritage architecture article in
Provenance journal:
HOWARD R LAWSON: THE ARCHITECT WHO BUILT. HOW RUMOURS ALMOST BECAME ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY.
“Early twentieth-century Melbourne architect Howard Ratcliff Lawson was larger than life—a prolific designer with over 200 buildings to his name who held court with judges and ministers, discussing his progressive ideas for urban planning and social housing.
But Lawson has gently slipped through the cracks of architectural history. He is largely a forgotten architect, apart from being known as the genius mind behind South Yarra’s astonishing Beverley Hills flats complex. And, in that genre of forgotten Australian architectural history, in the murky depths of vaguely remembered detail, his story has become muddied. Rumours and myths about him circulated for decades after his death, intensifying and becoming more fantastical with each retelling.
Though held in high regard during his lifetime, his architecture was posthumously devalued, partly through the prism of stories that had become ‘facts’ in populist culture, and partly through a lack of either alternate information or extensive academic study to explain his design intent. ”