Marcus Barlow (1890–1954) was a prominent Australian architect in the interwar period, who designed a number of notable central city buildings in his home-town of Melbourne.
Barlow managed to maintain a thirty-strong team during the economic turmoil of the Great Depression, no doubt largely due to the construction on the estate.
Barlow was an enthusiastic adopter of the latest overseas styles and trends, advocating for instance for car-parking structures in the 1920s, the scrapping of the 132 ft height limit to allow for skyscrapers, and installation of air-conditioning.
[2] He was innovative on a domestic level as well, as seen in his Strawbale Home Building, in which he used straw bales as a more economical alternative to brick construction.
Marcus Barlow was a skilled publicist and Colinton was featured in an extensive article in the leading magazine "Australian Home Beautiful" in May 1927 as well as in Barlow and Hawkins's showcase publication "Australian Homes" also published in 1927; the prominence given to the design of Colinton is said to have contributed to the adoption of Tudor style for residential and commercial developments into the 1930s.
Barlow himself held a deep interest in issues surrounding community health and it is thought that he completed the project with no commission.
Features include picturesque massing, half timbering, diamond pane windows, a lych gate, and a wrought iron sign.