Knitlock
Knitlock is an interlocking modular concrete construction system patented in Australia in 1917 by Walter Burley Griffin, Marion Mahony Griffin, and David Charles Jenkins. The system was developed as a means to build low-cost mass housing with infinite design flexibility. The knitlock system was tectonically based on the combination of French brick cavity walls with mild steel reinforcing and terracotta blockwork used by Griffin in the design of houses in the United States.
Description
The "knitlock" system was developed as an economical, flexible and quick do-it-yourself construction system, with machine-produced standard concrete tiles, or segments, which were fitted together on site. Machines and timber moulds were used to cast the concrete tiles, which were basically of two types; the vertebral, quadrant shaped block, that formed the framework and the distinctive vertical piers; and the tesseral block that provided the wall infill. The former blocks formed columns and corners and the latter were interlocked back to back with staggered joints, resulting in smooth surfaces both externally and internally, and the facility to incorporate steel reinforcing rods in the core between blocks.
The knitlock blocks provided an inexpensive construction system which provided unlimited exploration of design, plan and form. In America, Frank Lloyd Wright explored a concrete block system and whilst both Griffin and Wright argued originality, it would appear that an exchange of ideas occurred during the period of invention. Whilst both systems fundamentally explored the same concepts, Griffin’s blocks used a panel and pier system and were lighter-weight than those designed by Wright. Griffin declared that the concrete block construction method was cheaper than any other type of construction and believed it to provide a solution to the housing shortage after World War I. He did not believe it be a substitute for timber, brick or stone houses, however it provided a viable alternative. The knitlock system also allowed an exploration of organic architectural forms and further applications of the Prairie style first as first developed by Wright.
In October 2016, students at the Melbourne School of Design, University of Melbourne, built a full-scale plaster replica of the Pholiota house to demonstrate the contemporary use of the knitlock system.
The National Museum of Australia has within its collection a knitlock brick-making machine, used by the Griffins, and some bricks produced by the machine.
Notable buildings
Notable buildings constructed using the knitlock system include:
- Gumnuts cottage (1919), 619 Nepean Highway, Frankston South, Melbourne
- Marnham cottage (1919), Nepean Highway, Frankstown South; demolished in 1983
- David Charles Jenkins house (1919), 139 Manning Road, Malvern, Melbourne
- House (c. 1919), 39 Avenue Athol, Canterbury, Melbourne
- Jura (1919), 242-244 Mountjoy Parade, Lorne, Victoria
- Pholiota (1920), 23 Glenard Drive, Eaglemont, Melbourne
- Murray Griffin house (1922), 52 Darebin Street, Heidelberg, Melbourne
- Stokesay (1922), 288-299 Nepean Highway, Seaford, Melbourne
- Wills house, former (1923), 1–3 Dickens Street, Woodend, Melbourne
- Eastern Reserve Memorial Grandstand and Gates (1923), 70 Hopkins Street, Winchelsea, Victoria
- House (1923), 116 Knight Street, Shepparton
- Jeffries house (1924), 7 Warwick Avenue, Surrey Hills, Melbourne
- Salter house (1926), 16 Glyndebourne Avenue, Toorak, Melbourne
- Camp Manyung (c. 1932), 35 Sunnyside Road, Mount Eliza, Melbourne
- Duncan house (1934), 8 The Barbette, Castlecrag, Sydney
- Buhrich House II (1972), 375 Edinburgh Road, Castlecrag, Sydney
References
- ↑ McGregor, Alasdair (2009). Grand Obsessions: the life and work of Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin. Camberwell, Victoria: Lantern. p. 544. ISBN 9781920989385.
- 1 2 "Salter House (knitlock)". docomomoaustralia.com.au. n.d. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
- ↑ Turnbull, Jeff (2005). "Melbourne, Australia". In Sennott, R. S. (ed.). Encyclopedia of twentieth century architecture. Vol. 2 (G-O). Fitzroy Dearborn. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
- ↑ "Knitlock Bricks". National Museum of Australia. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- ↑ Griffin, Walter Burley (1917). Knitlock patent plan drawing, Figs 1-5 (blackprint of plan drawing: 33x20.7cm). Eric Milton Nicholls collection. nla.obj-150335115. Retrieved 15 September 2026 – via Trove. National Library of Australia.
- ↑ Griffin, Walter Burley (1917). Knitlock patent plan drawing, Figs 6-11 (photographic reproduction of plan drawing: image 20.2x12.3cm, on sheet 21x13.3cm). Eric Milton Nicholls collection. nla.obj-150150948. Retrieved 15 September 2026 – via Trove. National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "Knitlock" (PDF). Retrieved 9 September 2026 – via squarespace.com.
- 1 2 3 "Gumnuts Cottage, Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number H1328, Heritage Overlay HO24". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ Reilly, Graham; University of Melbourne (20 September 2016). "Pholiota: The tiny house with big ideas". Pursuit. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- ↑ Pholiota Unlocked - Installation Timelapse (streaming video). Melbourne School of Design, University of Melbourne. 6 October 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2020 – via YouTube.
- ↑ Goad, Alex (2021). "Knitlock architecture". Studio Alex Goad. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
- ↑ Goad, Alex (n.d.). "KNITLOCK BRICK MAKING MACHINE and brick" (brochure). FOLLOWING THE GRIFFIN TRAIL IN CANBERRA. Walter Burley Griffin Society Incorporated. p. 8. Retrieved 9 September 2026 – via National Trust of Australia.
- ↑ Oakman, Daniel (October 2007). "Castlecrag: a reflection on urban life in Australia". The Crag (165). Retrieved 9 September 2026 – via Castlecrag Progress Association.
- ↑ "39 Avenue Athol (local government list)". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ "Jura, Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number H0822, Heritage Overlay HO30". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ "Pholiota, Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number H0479, Heritage Overlay HO27". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ "Murray Griffin House, Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number H1324, Heritage Overlay HO24". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ "Stokesay, Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number H0814, Heritage Overlay HO45". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ "Former Wills House, Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number H1221, Heritage Overlay HO65". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ "Memorial Grandstand and Gates, Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number H1525, Heritage Overlay HO89". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ "Door closed on historical home". The Shepparton Advertiser. 3 June 2026. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
- ↑ "Jeffries House, Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number H0461, Heritage Overlay HO136". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ "Manyung Recreation Camp, Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number H1895, Heritage Overlay HO235". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
- ↑ "Duncan House". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning and Environment. H00742. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC BY 4.0 licence. - ↑ "Buhrich House II". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning and Environment. H01513. Retrieved 2 June 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC BY 4.0 licence.
External links
- Johnson, Donald Leslie (May 1970). "Notes on W. B. Griffin's "Knitlock" and His Architectural Projects for Canberra". Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. 29 (2): 188–193. doi:10.2307/988653. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
- Knitlock construction building promotion at Trade and Agricultural Show (black and white photograph). Walter Burley Griffin Society Incorporated. n.d. Retrieved 9 September 2026.