A mid-century home designed by renowned architect Robin Boyd has gone under the hammer in Melbourne, bringing to an end a decades-long battle between its owners and Heritage Victoria.
The property at 664-666 Riversdale Road, Camberwell, in the city's east sold for $2.06 million — beyond the range of $1.8 to $2 million indicated by agents ahead of the auction.
The three-bedroom home on a 2,000-square-metre block is one of the earliest known modernist houses in Victoria, and was designed and built just after World War II, before a second stage was added in 1951.
At the time of his death in 1971, Boyd was considered one of the most well-known architects in Australian history.
A prominent critic of Australian design, Boyd designed around 100 houses across the country and was appointed a Commander of the British Empire in recognition of his service to architecture.
The Riversdale Road house, built in 1947, was the first house Boyd designed to live in personally with his family.
Tony Isaacson, chair of the Robin Boyd Foundation, had said he would be watching the outcome of today's auction keenly.
"It represented a sort of low-cost, limited-budget, experimental exploration of the ideas that [Boyd] was considering in in the late 40s," Mr Isaacson said.
Woodards real estate agent David Gillham said he had fielded "a huge amount" of inquiries on the property.
The property was placed on the Heritage Victoria register in the 1990s.
Any changes to the house require a permit or permit exemption from Heritage Victoria, and buyers would be legally required to not let it fall into disrepair.
There are also restrictions over developing the property because of an easement running through it.
Mr Gillham said many "excited young couples" were interested in picking up a house of its significance, on a property of its size, knowing renovations would be needed.
The successful bidders at today's auction were tight-lipped about their plans for the property.
Decades-long battle between owners and Heritage Victoria
Maria Rajendran bought the property in 1973, before it was added to the Victorian Heritage Register in 1991.
The move led to conflict over the years, with court battles over changes the family wanted to make to the home, and repairs to maintain its heritage status.
The owners have unsuccessfully tried several times to remove the house from the register, the last request was refused by the Heritage Council of Victoria in May last year.
In 2002, Ms Rajendran was quoted as saying the long battle with authorities had "wrecked" her family.
"I'm not prepared to make a museum of this house and that is what they want me to do. If the building is of such state and national importance then the state should own it," she said.
Maria Rajendran died a few years ago. Her family has declined to comment to the ABC on the sale.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Heritage Victoria said the house was "unique among Boyd-designed buildings in that it was a house Boyd designed for his personal use and occupied and extended over a period of 12 years."
"The house through its alteration demonstrates the architectural development of Robin Boyd and is regarded as the prototype of the post-war modern Victorian house."
Mr Isaacson said unique features of this house made it significant even though it was "not an elaborate house".
"It's a composition of forms and low-pitched roofs, wide eaves, quite expressive use of quite simple materials. Bag brickwork, simple timber, glazed windows. The windows are cranked down like eyebrows, which was an unusual sort of experiment … it sort drew you down to the garden and helped connect the garden with the house."
Future buyers face heavy restrictions on new development
No-one has lived at the property for several years, so would-be buyers have not been able to walk inside the house because of insurance issues, although there is public liability insurance on the land.
Mr Isaacson has seen the house recently and said a clean-up would be needed before it could be determined how much work needed to be done on the property.
"I'm fairly confident that someone will buy it that understands its significance and its value to the community and to the state as a heritage place," he said.
"I'm confident that Heritage Victoria will support sensible improvements and work on the house and [understands] the house has to be liveable … I don't think the journey is any harder than [with] any other house in Camberwell or city of Boroondara with a heritage overlay over it."
The Robin Boyd Foundation owns and operates from the iconic Boyd house in Walsh Street, South Yarra, the architect's second home he built for his family.
Mr Isaacson said while the Foundation considered bidding today, "we're not in the business of collecting properties" and that the Camberwell site was not as well suited to being a house museum as Walsh St.
He said the sale would "represent a milestone in the journey of this house, and also, potentially, the end of a notorious saga".
