Grounds, Romberg & Boyd: Melbourne’s Midcentury Modernists

Grounds, Romberg and Boyd (1953-1962) was one of the most innovative modernist architectural firms ever to practice in Australia. Led by Roy Grounds, Frederick Romberg and Robin Boyd, it would have a role in shaping many enduringly iconic and signifi cant buildings, including Melbournes Arts Centre and Sidney Myer Music Bowl, and Canberras Shine Dome (Australian Academy of Science). After less than a decade in operation, however, this tripartite powerhouse would implode, overburdened by the weight of its directors strident personalities and striving individual ambitions.

Grounds, Romberg & Boyd is the only book ever published on the work of the practice. It is also unusual in that its focus isnt squarely on the familiar, finished buildings, but the relationship between the three directors and the goings-on behind the scenes. Written by an author with direct personal experience in the administration of some of Melbournes more noteworthy contemporary practices, the book gives a rare glimpse into the inner workings of a high profile architecture firm and how it functionsor doesnt.

Featuring correspondence between the partners, reproductions of ephemera from the period, as well as drawings and photographs of the practices iconic buildings, Grounds, Romberg & Boyd is a richly illustrated exploration of an architectural legacy that, despite its fractious genesis, endures to this day.