vitrolite panels, is given added dynamism by the arrow-like diagonal bracing (originally finished in gold) that were used to lead the eye to supergraphic signage. The carpark / entry canopy is daringly wide, supported by an innovative cable structure tied back into the building and the ground of the courtyard. Other structural innovations include the tubular steel roof trusses designed by Engineer John Connell. The ETA factory had some international prominence. It was the only Australian design included in the 1962 publication Industriebau, a seminal international text on industrial design, published by the German Academy's Institute for Industrial Construction. In the 1960s, the factory produced a unique Christmas illumination with a diorama of north pole scenery above the cantilevered veranda facing the side street, and Father Christmas appearing on his sled. Conservation While it is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register the building has been allowed to fall into disrepair and been vandalised, including the removal of all the glass panes in about 2008. The site had been bought by car dealer Binks Ford in the late-1990s and intended to convert it into a showroom, but put the property on the market in 2008. The site was then sold to a property developer in 2011, who was required to restore a remnant of the original buildings. References Manufacturing plants in Melbourne Heritage-listed buildings in Melbourne Buildings and structures in the City of Maribyrnong 1957 establishments in Australia Modernist architecture in Australia Industrial buildings completed in 1957