Address : 42 Keam Street Ivanhoe

Awards :

Comments : The Stephenson House, Ivanhoe (1956) was one of a number of residential experiments with modular steel-framed construction. The Stephenson House, sited alonside the Snelleman House, the formal potential of triangulated lightweight steel construction was thoroughly explored. The triangle was expressed both in elevation with steel tension rods and a tie ring, and plan with the pergola grid. Built on an 11-foot grid of steel frame with masonry veneer infill panels and Stramit board internal partitions, the house's simple parti was enlivened by the diagonal bracing and the pergolas which projected like weightless wings. The internal triangular expression of the pergola was reflected in the break-up of the living room window wall which was divided into four triangular panels. According to Goad - " The house, like Beulah Hospital, resembled an elaborate kite but was softened at the edges to provide specific areas for shade and allow creepers to feather the edges of the cubic mass. The house could be extended at will, according to the module. The present owners have done this and, over twenty years of habitation, the integrity of structural expression of the house has not suffered." Goad, P., 'Optimism and Experiment in Melbourne: The early works of Peter McIntyre 1950-1961'.

image courtesy of peter willé slide collection stste library of victoria

image courtesy of peter willé slide collection stste library of victoria

image courtesy of peter willé slide collection stste library of victoria

image courtesy of peter willé slide collection stste library of victoria

 

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