Burvale Hotel
Burvale in 1969
Alternative names	"The Burv'
General information
Architectural style	Organic architecture
Location	385-395 Burwood Highway, Vermont South, Victoria, Australia
Opened	21 October 1969
Cost	$1.2m (1969)
Owner	ALH Group (since 2010) Jacobson family (1966–1979)
Design and construction
Architects	Peter Jorgensen Alan Hough
Developer	Samuel Jacobson Maurice Jacobson Harold Jacobson
Other information
Number of bars	2
Website
burvalehotel.com.au

The Burvale Hotel (often called “The Burvale” or "The Burv") is a hotel–motel complex at the corner of Burwood Highway and Springvale Road in Vermont South, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. It was developed in the late 1960s by a Melbourne property-development family as part of a broader project to turn former orchard land in the area into residential and commercial subdivisions. The hotel opened in 1969, during a period when new liquor licensing laws encouraged modern, car-oriented pubs.

The Burvale was developed by brothers Harold, Maurice and Sam Jacobson as a sideline interest to their main business of real estate. They'd begun a speculative spending spree in the early 1960s, buying up vast tracts of orchards just outside of suburban Melbourne for housing estates like "Sunrise Hill" at the west end of Weeden Drive, Vermont South (1970).^{[Note 1]} It was designed by architects Peter Jorgensen and Alan Hough, whose firm was noted for innovative Australian hotel design in the 1960s. The building exemplifies an organic/regionalist style influenced by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

It has a deliberately low, long profile with broad, deep eaves, intended to make the structure “nestle into the site” amidst extensive native landscaping. Wide overhanging roofs and timber-lined ceilings reinforce the connection to the natural environment. In keeping with this aesthetic, the architects used locally made materials wherever possible. The Daniel Robertson brickworks at nearby Nunawading produced a rustic clay brick for the project.

The design also features extensive use of timber joinery and other natural materials to create an impression of the building “growing” from its surroundings. The low-pitched roof is built-up with a pebble-gravel finish. Internally, the original layout was unusual for the time. It included four interconnected bars, each uniquely decorated originally with salvaged railway sleepers and large textured tiles and a spacious lounge area. A bandstand and stage, fitted with early disco-style lighting, hosted live music.

Its floor plan and amenities were a direct response to the Liquor Control Act of 1968, which relaxed pub closing times and encouraged larger, family-friendly venues. The hotel offered extended evening hours and a drive-through bottle shop on site. Notably, it included a family dining area, motel accommodation, and a very large public lounge designed to entertain up to 450 people. A huge private car park was also provided, reflecting the era’s emphasis on car access.

Developer Samuel Jacobson commissioned Melbourne artist Brian St Alban Smith to produce over 70 oil paintings to adorn the public rooms. Concealed vented skylights could be opened via a control panel behind the main bar to clear cigarette smoke. The architects also collaborated with furniture makers to furnish the lounge with over 1,300 custom wooden chairs. Many of these original internal fixtures have since been altered in later renovations, replaced by modern chandeliers and fittings.

The Burvale Hotel was officially opened on 21 October 1969 by the Brian Breheny, the managing director of Carlton United Breweries. The hotel’s original in-house band was called “The Statesmen”. During the early 1970s, the Burvale became a well known live-music spot. A notable perfomance was that of rock band AC/DC in January 1975. It also featured prominently in as a filming location for the soap opera Neighbours decades later.

Despite its relatively recent age, the Burvale Hotel has attracted heritage interest. In 2012 the City of Whitehorse identified it as having local aesthetic and historical significance, noting that it is “one of the best and most intact examples” of Jorgensen and Hough’s work and a key example of the organic, late-modernist style introduced from the United States. Council reports emphasize the building’s cohesive design – long low form, native plantings, and bespoke brickwork – as evidence of its importance. In 2015 there was a proposal to place the Burvale under a heritage overlay, but this was narrowly defeated by council vote. Advocates argued the building was worthy of protection, while opponents felt it was outdated and needed redevelopment.

The Burvale was developed by brothers Harold, Maurice and Sam Jacobson as something of a sideline to their main business of large-scale housing estates. They began a speculative land buying spree in the early 1960s, buying up several hundred hectares in the Blackburn and Burwood areas.

The Burvale site had been acquired as part of a 27-hectare land deal with orchardists along the north side of Springvale Road, in the present-day suburb Vermont South. New zoning laws designated these properties for development, greenlighting the brothers' proposal to build a highly contemporary hotel alongside hundreds of residential blocks.

The Burvale Hotel was designed by architects Peter Jorgensen and Alan Hough, and is widely regarded as their most celebrated work. The building's emphasis on natural materials was influenced by the organic style, reflecting the philosophy of architecture physically "growing" from its environment.

Burvale's architects selected locally-produced rustic Daniel Robertson bricks to be used extensively throughout: designed to blend in with the more than 2,600 native trees and shrubs incorporated in the landscaping. A specialised low-pitched roof with a unique gravel finish was incorporated.^[1]

There building's original four bars were decorated by repurposed railway sleepers and large textured tiles in shades of blue. These bars and the rest of the hotel were eliminated by modernist chandeliers comprising unique perspex drops in vivid shades.

Artist Brian St. Alban Smith produced 70 oil paintings depicting landscapes, nudes, portraits and studies for use around the complex. A band stage for the in-house group, "the Statesmen" featured early examples of disco lighting and speakers playing live music to other rooms.

A control panel behind the bar allowed for concealed windows in the ceiling to open, allowing the release of excess cigarette smoke. The architects collaborated with several furniture designers to specially manufacture over 1300 wooden chairs for the lounge areas.

The Burvale Hotel was officially opened on 21 October 1969 by Brian Breheny, general manager of Carlton United Breweries. As part of the opening celebrations, chef Angelo Taranto organised a world-class "royal spread" for the over 700 guests.

The establishment was an instant success among locals, reportedling attracting about 300 couples every weekend in its initial years.

• AC/DC – December 1975 (T.N.T. Tour)

• 19 July 1974 – An attempted armed robbery sparked a major police response when a youth offender threatened staff with a loaded rifle.^[2]
• 15 November 1974 – Former State and National boxing champion Leo Young Sr. punched and kicked a man unconscious in the hotel lounge.^[3]
• 22 May 1989 – A suspicious fire was lit at 1am, causing about $10,000 of damages to the reception area and office.

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