Iwan Iwanoff ( bg, Иван Иванов; 2 July 1919 – 7 October 1986) also known as Iwan Nickolow ( bg, Иван Николов) and Iwan Nickoloff Iwanoff ( bg, Иван Николов Иванов), born in

Kyustendil Kyustendil ( bg, Кюстендил ) is a town in the far west of Bulgaria, the capital of the Kyustendil Province, a former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see. The town is situated in the southern part of the Kyustendil Vall ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

and died in

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, was an architect known for working in the

Brutalist Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the ...

style.Duncan, R (2006). "Iwanoff, Iwan (1919 - 1986)", ''Australian Dictionary of Biography Online Edition'', (ISSN 1833-7538, published online by Australian National University). Iwan Iwanoff studied

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

before arriving in Perth to work as an architect. He became renowned for his design characteristic which is mainly working with

concrete block A concrete masonry unit (CMU) is a standard-size rectangular block used in building construction. CMUs are some of the most versatile building products available because of the wide variety of appearances that can be achieved using them. Tho ...

Biography

Early years and education

Iwan Iwanoff was born in Bulgaria into an artistic family, with his father, Nickolai Iwanow, a

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and a

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wr ...

, and his mother, Maria, née Schopowa. Originally named Iwan Nickolow Iwanow, he changed it to Iwan Nickoloff Iwanoff during his

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. ...

al years, and shortened it later to Iwan Iwanoff. After enduring a period of training in the military, Iwan Iwanoff studied fine arts under a famous Bulgarian Watercolourist and was himself a fine

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

. As a result of his talents, he was offered a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

to study Fine Arts . In 1941, thanks to his father's advice, he made a decision to study architecture at the

Technische Hochschule of Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; german: Technische Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Establis ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. He designed an outstanding chapel for the final project which brought him high praise when graduating with a Diploma of Engineering and Architecture in 1946. With his remarkable abilities in

drawing Drawing is a visual art that uses an instrument to mark paper or another two-dimensional surface. The instruments used to make a drawing are pencils, crayons, pens with inks, brushes with paints, or combinations of these, and in more mod ...

s and innovation in expressing his design, Iwan Iwanoff soon became a well known architect and his concept was that "architecture was an art". He married Dietlinde Hildegunde Zenns on 25 October 1947 in

Laufen, Germany Laufen (Central Bavarian: ''Laffa an da Soizach'') is a town in Berchtesgadener Land district in Bavaria at the Austria–Germany border. History It was first mentioned in a deed of 748. The rapids that gave the town the name (Laufen = rapid ru ...

Working life

Iwan Iwanoff worked in Laufen as a

caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...

painter in the immediate post-war period before working with Emil Freymuth, a

modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

architect in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, Germany. Leaving Germany with the help of the

International Refugee Organization The International Refugee Organization (IRO) was an intergovernmental organization founded on 20 April 1946 to deal with the massive refugee problem created by World War II. A Preparatory Commission began operations fourteen months previously. ...

, Iwan Iwanoff and his wife left Europe on the SS Fairsea which left

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

on the 7th of February 1950, and settled in

Fremantle, Western Australia Fremantle () () is a port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can als ...

on 2 March 1950. His Munich qualifications were not recognised in Australia. But shortly after, he gained employment under Krantz and Sheldon as a draftsperson. Krantz and Sheldon were a large commercial architectural company which had a major focus on designing flats in Perth. Iwanoff did some private architectural projects during this time. He became a citizen of Australia in 1956. He obtained a transfer to the

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

architectural firm of Yuncken, Freeman Bros, Griffiths & Simpson in 1960. He transferred to Melbourne with the help of an old friend from Bulgaria, who himself had studied with Iwan and had emigrated to Australia. The reason for his brief stay in Melbourne, was to obtain registration, after several unsuccessful attempts in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

. After visiting Western Germany, he briefly joined Bund Deutscher Architekten Organization (Federation of German Architects) before returning to Perth, to work with Krantz & Sheldon, in December 1961. In 1963, he started his own business which was known as The Studio of Iwanoff. He had become a member of the

Royal Australian Institute of Architects (United we advance architecture) , predecessor = , merged = , successor = , formation = , extinction = , status = Professional body; members association , headquarters = L1/41 Exhibition St, Melbourne , leader_title = CEO , leader_ ...

in 1963 and soon became a fellow in 1972. He was interested in exploring concrete blocks in various ways which allowed him to create high quality designs, especially in houses. Although he has been described as working in the Brutalist style, this only reflects the sui generis nature of his work and the difficulty of fitting him into recognised architectural genres. While he favoured the aesthetic effect of unadorned concrete blocks, giving his buildings a superficial resemblance to concrete brutalist works, he had nothing to do with the brutalist ethic of prioritising and emphasizing the structural and functional aspects of architecture over its aesthetic side. Rather than eschewing art and aesthetics as the brutalists at least claimed to, Iwanoff remained an artist throughout his life, and took great care in deciding just how far individual blocks should protrude or recede, sometimes arranging them with his own hands on site during construction. His intention was not to push a theory or reject tradition but to embody what he saw as the timeless traditions of art in contemporary form. Indeed, his emphasis on ornamentation and his playfulness with texture, light and shade place him, if anything, in the Rococo tradition, one at polar opposites to the spare modernism of his time and place. Iwan Iwanoff died in Perth on 7 October 1986. His body was buried in

Karrakatta Cemetery Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...

. An exhibition of most of his works was presented at the

State Archives of Western Australia The State Records Office of Western Australia (SRO) is the Western Australian government authority with responsibility for identifying, managing, preserving and providing access to the state's archives. The SRO also delivers best-practice records ...

in 1991.

Notable projects

* 1958: Schmidt-Lademann House, 22 Lifford Road,

Floreat, Western Australia Floreat is a residential suburb west-northwest of the central business district of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. It is bordered on Underwood Avenue, Selby Street, Cromarty Road and Durston Road. It is the head of the Town of Cambr ...

* 1959: Toschkoff House, 32 Donegal Road, Floreat * 1959: Golowin House, 47 Woodroyd Street,

Mount Lawley Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, Co ...

* 1965: Paganin House, The Boulevard, Floreat * 1966: Iwanoff House, 16 Lifford Road, Floreat * 1967: Roberts House, 12 Yanagin Crescent, City Beach * 1968: Piccini House, 59 Guelfi Road, Balcatta * 1968: Feldman House, 81 Cornwall Street,

Dianella Dianella may refer to: * ''Dianella'' (beetle), a species and genus of beetle in the family Carabidae now known as ''Diamella'' * ''Dianella'' (gastropod), a genus of freshwater snails in the family Hydrobiidae * ''Dianella'' (plant), a genus of ...

* 1968: Shops/Medical Centre, Onslow Road,

Shenton Park Shenton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Sutton Cheney, in the Hinckley and Bosworth district, in the county of Leicestershire, England, situated south-west of Market Bosworth. Shenton was formerly a chapelry and ...

* 1968: Bursztyn House, 29 Booker Street, Dianella * 1969: Madaschi Residence, 53 Shannon Road, Dianella * 1970: Featherby House, 41 Summerhayes Drive, Karrinyup * 1970: Murphy House, 14 Tranmore Way, City Beach * 1970: Booth House, 59 Oban Road, City Beach * 1971: Northam Town Council Library,

Northam, Western Australia Northam () is a town in the Australian state of Western Australia, situated at the confluence of the Avon and Mortlock Rivers, about east-northeast of Perth in the Avon Valley. At the 2016 census, Northam had a population of 6,548. Northam i ...

* 1971: Tomich House, 7 Dorking Road, City Beach * 1972: Tombidis House, 10 Craig St, Wembley Downs * 1974: Northam Town Council Offices * 1976:

Marsala House Marsala House is a residential home in Dianella, in suburban Perth, Western Australia, designed by architect Iwan Iwanoff. It is the youngest heritage-listed residence in Western Australia. The brutalist concrete block home is considered "one o ...

, 38 Sycamore Rise, Dianella * 1977: Kessell House, 4 Briald Place, Dianella * 1978: Hi-Fidelity Recording Studio, 63 Thompson Road,

North Fremantle North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

* 1983: Gelencser House, 7-9 Curtin Av, Cottesloe

References

External links