POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Notes

Florence Taylor (1879-1969) was born Florence Mary Parsons at Bristol, England. She came to Sydney as a child but was orphaned during her teens. She took a clerical job at an architect's office and began night classes at Sydney Technical College, graduating in architecture in 1905. Her application for membership of the NSW Institute of Architects was rejected in 1907 although by then she was working as chief draftsman for John Burcham Clamp, one of Sydney's most prominent architects. Her design oeuvre includes several suburban cottages and villas, plus elements of some larger structures including Farmers (now Myer) department store. In 1907 Florence married George Taylor, an artist, publisher and pioneer aviator. Together they launched the Building Publishing Company and began writing and publishing several industry journals, the most influential and long-lived of which was Building, a unique record and commentary on Sydney's architectural and building industry scene. The couple were also founding members of the Town Planning Association. In 1920 Florence accepted an offer of membership from the NSW Institute of Architects. After George Taylor's accidental death in 1928, Florence took sole ownership and management of the publishing business and its several publications until the 1950s when the company was sold, although she remained in charge until her retirement in 1961.Taylor's political and social attitudes were generally conservative, as were her architectural opinions. There were exceptions: After initially denouncing apartment living for its supposed encouragement of female selfishness and childlessness, she became during the 1920s a flat-dweller and enthusiastic supporter of this dwelling type. She was a prominent supporter and leader of women's organisations and causes, although her public feminism was perhaps less influential than her own life and career. Taylor's approach to urban planning is best described as technocratic, as an enthusiastic supporter of city parking stations and freeways she envisaged modern transport infrastructure as the primary factor in urban planning. Her many urban proposals for Sydney were more aligned with contemporary modernism than most of her architectural writing. For example she was an early and frequent critic of suburban sprawl and a proponent of high-density city living. Some of her planning campaigns eventually bore fruit, including Circular Quay railway and elevated freeway. Taylor's social prominence and opinionated journalism was the catalyst for many feuds, most famously with Walter and Marion Griffin who were initially championed by the Taylors. Her publications were primarily supported by and aimed at the construction and building industries, a significant factor in her sometimes difficult relationships with architects and the architectural profession. However she promoted the work of several architects, notably John R Brogan and William Watson Sharp whose collections of house designs were among several published by Taylor.