It’s unnerving coming face-to-face with a house that’s almost the same age as you are, especially when you are there to review its longevity as a significant piece of Modernism. I can’t help comparing how it and I have stood the test of time. Radical changes in domestic life have taken place since it was completed more than fifty years ago, and yet some things remain constants. This house was designed for the Ghillanyi family of four in 1957 and is the only extant Seidler house in Adelaide. Visiting the house is an undeniably nostalgic experience – not just for this woman of a certain parallel age, but also probably for the many architects who viewed it during recent open inspections while it was listed on the real estate market.
There is something poignant about looking at what was a brave new work in its time, a design full of optimism and challenge to the conventions of Australian architecture and suburban residential models. Set in the leafy suburb of Beaumont, this house was in the vanguard of contemporary projects built across the foothills in the late 1950s and early 60s by small-l liberals. These modest cultural mavericks were drawn to the native landscape of the comparatively undeveloped area and the chance to develop a more regional and relaxed way of life.
via. ArchitectureAU Latest