"Despite their intellectual rigour, there's something joyous about Boyd's houses. The volumes sweep and soar, living spaces are majestic. They are places for entertaining as much as for retreat. His home, on Walsh Street in Melbourne's South Yarra, is a fine example of mid-century modernism; at once cerebral in its planning and emotional in its execution - especially in the way it sits within its surroundings." - Todd (2017, p.1)
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Todd, S. 2017, Feel-good furniture: DESIGN - INTERIORS, Melbourne.
A residence of narrative and history
The Walsh Street House at 290 Walsh Street, South Yarra became my case study to test my ideas of the limitations of 'comfort' against. My visit to this site has resonated with me as the former home was left almost exactly as lived in by the Boyd Family. There is a sense of walking through a house that does not belong to you but being allowed to roam it freely as a guest which brought feelings of discomfort as if trespassing. The architect of the house is Robin Boyd (1919-1971) a great Australian icon of Architecture. He designed the family home in 1957 to be lived in by himself and his family. The iconic house was purchased by The Robin Boyd Foundation in 2004. The home has now transformed into a living museum of the great work of Robin Boyd as well as still leaving clues to the domesticity of Robin and Patricia Boyd and their two children. The house was designed with entertaining guests in mind which is evident through the original program of the house. Furthermore the site now houses a similar notion through a program of this site gathering people for events.
The site was important to gain context in my thinking about 'comfort' as I started to think of 'comfort' as not only a feeling but also a physical set of spatial arrangements that evoke emotional response. The space houses moments of intimacy.
The Program of Walsh Street House
The house as a former residency of the Boyd Family still encapsulates their interests, hobbies and narrative through the house remaining as it was when the Boyd Family lived there. There is evidence of their residency present in the site. These two maps present show the program of the site past and present. Through creating these maps I started to realise how 'comfort' can inform a way of supporting the museum/gallery context of Walsh Street House.
This mapping unpacks the former program of the house.
This mapping unpacks the new program of the house.
Context of the Site
The house starts to merge into these two contexts through the house being a living museum as well as a domestic site.
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