Essendon incinerator: A Modernist marvel

Embark on a journey from waste to energy to art at Incinerator Gallery in Moonee Valley. Highlighting the 1930s Essendon incinerator’s state-of-the-art design, this presentation delves into the building’s history as an innovative household waste disposal system, boasting low environmental impact and pushing Art Deco design boundaries.

At the heart of its’ industrial design concept was a system co-developed by Nisson Leonard-Kanevsky and local engineer John Boadle of RIECo (Reverberatory Incinerator and Engineering Company). This concept set new standards in effective waste disposal by the economic burning of rubbish and noxious gases produced in this process. The reverberatory process eliminated the expulsion of smoke, ash and noxious gases through the flue, with the heat from the furnaces redirected through steam propulsion for a bitumen boiler and sterilisation of reusable hospital supplies. Clinker and ash residue was minimal and recycled into road ballast and garden fertiliser.

Architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin designed the building with a dual focus on functionality and ethical integration into the residential surroundings.

This presentation by Adrian Montana as part of Melbourne Design Week 2024, will focus on the design work of Marion Mahony Griffin and Walter Burley Griffin and their enthusiastic appreciation of environmental idealism.

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