The Buhrich house at 375 Edinburgh Road, Castlecrag was designed and built (1968–72) by Hugh August Buhrich for himself and his wife, Eva Buhrich.[1]
The Buhrich's first bought land at 315 Edinburgh Road, Castlecrag from Marion Griffin, and designed their first house in Castlecrag some years later, in 1939–49.[1]
The Buhrich's bought the block of land at 375 Edinburgh Road in the 1950s. The site is part of the original Castlecrag Griffin subdivision. For many years Buhrich's assistant, Bill Chambers lived on the site in the remnants of a dwelling designed by Walter Burley Griffin in the 1920s. In 1961, Buhrich constructed a boatshed by the water at No. 375, where he subsequently built a 35-foot sloop.[1]
In 1968–72, the Buhrich's designed and built their house. They retained the two-storey Griffin "Knitlock" structure, demolished an adjacent lean-to, and built a new house which is attached to the Griffin building. In 1982, Buhrich's son, Clive Buhrich, also an architect, made some alterations under the house - originally intended to be a garage, terrace and tool store. The house has otherwise not been altered.[1]
Born in Hamburg in 1911, Hugh Buhrich studied architecture in Munich, Zurich, Danzig and Berlin. One of his most influential teachers was Hans Poelzig. Fleeing the Nazis by way of London, where he worked briefly, Buhrich migrated to Australia in 1938 with his wife Eva Bernhard. The Buhrich's came to Australia on a Quaker sponsored relocation to Canberra. The Quakers provided early work contacts. Buhrich practiced architecture in Sydney from 1945 to 1991, mainly in residential design. In 1945 Hugh and Eva Buhrich established an office in Pitt Street, Sydney but were not recognized as qualified architects until the 1960s. He worked with assistant, Bill Chambers. Eva Buhrich, his wife, is also an architect however worked mostly as a journalist in Australia.[1]
Major influences of Buhrich were Hans Poelzig and Alfred Roth. Buhrich also visited Le Corbusier's chapel at Ronchamp (1950–1954) in the 1960s.[1]
Description
The Buhrich House is set on the waterfront at Castlecrag and incorporates the remnant of a Walter Burley Griffin "Knitlock" structure (an interlocking concrete block designed by Griffin). In contrast to the so-called Sydney School houses with their predictable embrace of "natural materials", this building is deliberately counterbalanced against its locality, both to reduce the actual site "imprint" and accentuate by contrast the precarious topography.[1][2]
Myers describes the difficulty perceiving the building as a whole from the outside. The house is almost invisible unless you know it's there.[3] It is set high above the waters edge on a steep rocky escarpment amongst overgrown gardens and organically inspired landscaped stone steps and retaining walls, an integral part of the Griffin's organic philosophy.[1]
The exterior of the building reads as a series of reinforced concrete blade walls and sandstone walls (quarried from the site) set on a concrete platform with a combination of catalogue metal framed glazed walls and sliding doors, and sculptural feature elements. On the south elevation adjacent to the entry there is a "floating" rectangular wall - a feature of perforated timber louvres which appears to float in glazed surrounds. The wall, in fact, is supported on small diameter pipe columns. The north wall is completely glazed and provides water views though the curtain of native trees. The heavy sinusoidal roof mass passes over as a visually uninterrupted form from the interior to the exterior, and appears to float above the windows on this elevation. The roof is clad in sheet copper. The deck, with no handrail, is reached by an external spiral concrete stair which cantilevers precariously above a sheer drop to the water's edge. The house is "consciously not very carefully crafted but like a Yangtse junk is intentionally slightly rough and with a mixture of off-the-shelf components and materials".[1][3]
The interior of the building has a strong connection with the outside. The main living space contains an elevated kitchen and dining area, which look over the living space through the trees to the water. The kitchen is a well-crafted piece of timber "furniture" carefully designed as an insertion in the living space. Stone masonry forms a sculptural fireplace and an end wall, and a sinusoidal motif tapestry (also by Buhrich) located on the "floating" wall is the back drop to the cantilevered dining table. The fixed and free furniture has been designed and chosen to complement the space as sculptures within a sculpture. The bent-wood chairs covered with cowhide were designed by Buhrich and the dining room chairs are by Eames.[1]
In plan, the living areas are separated from the bedrooms/study and bathroom by a glazed corridor adjacent to a garden area to the south. The 2 bedrooms (plus study) are simple spaces, painted white with modern built-in furniture. Between these rooms is the bathroom, which is a continuous and organic form whereby the bath and basin are moulded as one with the wall. The form/finish is a luminous red moulded fibreglass. There is a stunning contrast between the bathroom and the openable glazed wall to the north, the water and the canopy of trees.[1]
The existing small two storey Griffin building adjoins the carport at the driveway (upper) level. Its construction is "knitlock" concrete blocks with a sandstone base in part. There is an external entrance to this building from inside at the junction of the modern Buhrich House.[1]
The lower level of the Buhrich House has been recently enclosed in part to create additional living areas. It is not connected internally to the main house.[1]
A timber walkway, similar to the upper level balcony/deck, provides access from the lower level of the house via a diagonal concrete stair to the boatshed at the foreshore.[1]
Condition
As at 3 January 2001, the building appears to be in excellent condition. There may be some archaeological potential (Aboriginal, Griffin).[1]
The house has a high degree of integrity, however, the addition infilling the lower level compromises the sculptural effect to some degree.[1]
Contemporaries of Buhrich are Sydney Anchor, Harry Seidler, and Arthur Baldwinson, all of whom worked in the Modern Movement Internationist style.[1]
It is worth noting that Walter Burley Griffin and Hugh Buhrich both studied architecture overseas, migrated to Australia, settled in Castlecrag and lived and worked in a similar environment. It is likely that of all the buildings built since the 1950s in Castlecrag that, Griffin would have seen this building as a most appropriate modern addition to his subdivision.[1]
Heritage listing
As at 22 March 2001, the Buhrich House is of State significance for its historic and aesthetic values. In addition, it is also of particular cultural/social importance amongst the architectural community. It is significant because:[1]
Buhrich House, is considered to be one of the finest modern houses in Australia.[4] Since its "discovery" in the 1990s, it has been published in a number of the major Architectural journals in Australia, and in the Harvard Design Magazine (1997). It is recognized for its contribution to modern architecture because of its unique combination of off-the-shelf items and materials, hand crafted features, modelling of architectural space and forms, and relationship to the site. It demonstrates a timeless merging of craft, art, architecture and relationship to site.[1]
The house was the home of European-trained migrant architects, Hugh and Eva Buhrich. Hugh was a little recognized, but highly regarded architect who worked mainly in residential design in Australia from 1945 to 1991. Eva was well-known and highly regarded for her architectural column in The Sydney Morning Herald from the mid-1950s to late 1960s. Designed for the Buhrichs' own family, this building is an uncompromising and representative example of Buhrich's architectural work in the later phase of his active professional career.[1]
The Buhrich house is of State aesthetic significance as a unique building which retains its original integrity as an architecturally sculptural element on the water front escarpment. The interior, including furniture, and the exterior have a strong sculptural relationship. The choice of materials, structural elements and furniture (both fixed and freestanding) create an architectural organic form of high integrity.[1]
The house demonstrates a particular evolution of the international influences of Modernism in Australia, which Buhrich brought to Australia as a migrant in 1938. Such influences were also brought to Australia by other more recognized contemporary emigres such as Harry Seidler. The work of Buhrich is possibly as important as the residential work of Seidler, although their interpretation of Modernism varied.[1]
The house is of historical significance at a State level for demonstrating a powerful demonstration of modernist design in the Australian / Sydney context. This style of modernism contrasts with the "Sydney School" houses being constructed contemporarily, whose architects followed a different aesthetic approach - less geometric, and more attuned to the use of natural materials (sometimes referred to as 'nuts and berries').[1]
The Buhrich House is also of historical significance as it represents an aesthetically significant modernist contribution by a second outstanding migrant architectural couple to the delightful harbourside suburb of Castlecrag, first subdivided by the American architectural couple Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin.[1]
The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales.
The building is of historic significance as it contains a number of historic layers in the context of Griffin's subdivision of Castlecrag; a remnant of a Griffin Knitlock structure (1920s), integrated with a unique twentieth century building (1972).[1]
The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.
The house itself is of historic and aesthetic significance for its bold and original sculptural qualities. It is modern without reference to typical stylistic architectural language. It demonstrates international education of the architect, combined with experimentation with construction and materials. The building represents a departure from the contemporary Sydney School architecture (rustic "nuts and berries" aesthetic).[1]
The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.
The house was constructed using a combination of proprietary items (such as aluminium framed sliding doors) in combination handmade, unique elements (such as the fibreglass bathroom and the undulating ceiling in the living area.)[1]
Awards
In 2015 the Burich House II won the New South Wales Enduring Architecture Award 43 years after construction. The award recognises architectural innovation and buildings of outstanding merit, which remain important as high quality works of architecture when considered in the contemporary context.[5]
Walter Burley Griffin was an American architect and landscape architect. He designed Canberra, Australia's capital city, the New South Wales towns of Griffith and Leeton, and the Sydney suburb of Castlecrag.
Castlecrag is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 8 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Willoughby.
Marion Mahony Griffin was an American architect and artist. She was one of the first licensed female architects in the world, and is considered an original member of the Prairie School. Her work in the United States developed and expanded the American Prairie School, and her work in India and Australia reflected Prairie School ideals of indigenous landscape and materials in the newly formed democracies. The scholar Debora Wood stated that Griffin "did the drawings people think of when they think of Frank Lloyd Wright ." According to architecture critic, Reyner Banham, Griffin was "America’s first woman architect who needed no apology in a world of men."
Architecture of Australia has generally been consistent with architectural trends in the wider Western world, with some special adaptations to compensate for distinctive Australian climatic and cultural factors. Indigenous Australians produced a wide range of structures and places prior to colonisation. Contemporary Indigenous practitioners are active in a broad range of built environment fields. During Australia's early Western history, it was a collection of British colonies in which architectural styles were strongly influenced by British designs. However, the unique climate of Australia necessitated adaptations, and 20th-century trends reflected the increasing influence of American urban designs and a diversification of the cultural tastes and requirements of an increasingly multicultural Australian society.
Professor James Weirick is an Australian academic who was the Director of the Master of Urban Development and Design (MUDD) program at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia. This program was last run in 2019.
Bill Lucas was an Australian architect known well for the houses he designed along the Bulwark in Castlecrag, Sydney. While practicing as a full-time architect, Lucas also worked as a part-time lecturer at the School of Architecture of the University of New South Wales for a decade.
Bill (1924–2001) and RuthLucas were a husband and wife duo who together were accomplished Australian architects based in Sydney, best known for designing The Glass House in Castlecrag as their own private residence. As an architect, educator, furniture designer, set designer, innovator, and utopian, Bill was involved in over 20 projects in both Castlecrag and later Paddington. Both Bill and Ruth were described as "very good architects in the modern movement in Australia" by Pritzker Architecture Prize 2002 Laureate, Glenn Murcutt.
Hugh Buhrich was a German architect who arrived in Australia as a refugee from Nazi Germany before World War II. Buhrich's practice, of 40 years, covered commercial and domestic projects. His projects were generally designed in a modernist style and often contained specific interior designs along with the buildings. His most notable and recognized project was the construction of his personal home, which is described by Peter Myers as "the finest modern house in Australia".
Centenary Pool Complex is a heritage-listed swimming pool at 400 Gregory Terrace, Spring Hill, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by architect James Birrell and built in 1959. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 5 November 1996.
Eva Buhrich (1915–1976) was a German architect and writer who fled Nazi Germany in the 1930s, emigrated to Australia and became a prominent architectural commentator.
Oribin Studio is a heritage-listed design studio at 16 Heavey Crescent, Whitfield, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 11 October 2013.
The Walter Burley Griffin Lodge is a heritage-listed former residence, holiday house and weekender and now residence located at 32 Plateau Road, Avalon Beach, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Walter Burley Griffin and built from 1933 to 1934. It is also known as Burley Griffin Lodge or Stella James House. The property is owned by the New South Wales branch of the National Trust of Australia.
Redstone is a heritage-listed private house at 34 Adderton Road, Telopea, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Walter Burley Griffin and built in 1935. It is also known as The Winter House. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 9 January 2009.
Wentworth Memorial Church is a heritage-listed former Anglican church building located at 32B Fitzwilliam Road, Vaucluse, Sydney, Australia. It was designed by Clarke Gazzard and Partners and built by Monteith Constructions, with Miller Milston and Ferris as engineers. The property is privately owned; and was formerly owned by the Anglican Diocese of Sydney. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 25 September 2012.
The Walter Burley Griffin Incinerator is a heritage-listed former incinerator and now art gallery, artists studios and public recreation area at 2 Small Street, Willoughby, City of Willoughby, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed in partnership between Walter Burley Griffin and Eric Nicholls and built from 1933 to 1934 by Reverberatory Incinerator and Engineering Company and Nisson Leonard-Kanevsky. It is also known as Willoughby Municipal Incinerator. The property is owned by the Willoughby City Council. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
Duncan House is a heritage-listed residence located at 8 The Barbette, Castlecrag, City of Willoughby, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Walter Burley Griffin. It is also known as Duncan House Number 2. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
The Fishwick House is a heritage-listed private residence located at 15 The Citadel, Castlecrag, City of Willoughby, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin and built during 1929. It is also known as The Fishwick House and Fyshwick House. The property is privately owned. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 15 December 2006.
The Glass House is a heritage-listed domestic dwelling at 80 The Bulwark, Castlecrag, City of Willoughby, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Ruth and Bill Lucas. It is also known as Glasshouse or the Lucas House. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 21 October 2016.
Kyle House is a heritage-listed commercial office at 27-31 Macquarie Place, in the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by C. Bruce Dellit and built during 1931 by Stuart Bros. The property is privately owned. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
AMA House, Sydney or the Australian Medical Association House, Sydney is a heritage-listed former medical office and library and now commercial offices located at 135–137 Macquarie Street in the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Fowell & McConnel and built from 1929 to 1930 by Messrs Hutcherson Bros. It was formerly known as BMA House or the British Medical Association House. The property is privately owned. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
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