GROUNDS HOUSE
24 HILL STREET TOORAK, STONNINGTON CITY
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Statement of Significance
STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
What is significant?
The Roy Grounds house and flats at 24 Hill Street, Toorak consists of a residence with a string of four investment units behind. Noted architect Roy Grounds (later Sir Roy) designed the front house as a home for himself and his wife Betty. The plan of the house, a perfect square with a circular courtyard at its centre, is a striking essay in pure geometry, a hallmark of Ground's work during the 1950s. With only highlight windows on the external walls, all of the rooms focus on the internal courtyard, creating an inward looking, almost eastern character. This oriental influence continues to the external design, with strong solid walls, topped by projecting eaves floating above the highlight windows, and a single central large door with oversized knocker. The original planting of the courtyard with persimmon and bamboo also displays an eastern influence.
The three flats to the rear sequentially step back from the main house to allow undercover carparking. While they do not have the geometry or oriental repose of the main house, they include distinctive features such as the angled carpark walls, small slatted balconies, and a double height main space, with a tall window wall facing the side courtyard gardens.
The Grounds house was one of a number of experiments in developing architecture from pure geometry designed by Roy Grounds, an approach he began in the late 1930s. His other most famous remaining examples are the circular Henty House in Frankston, and the domed Academy of Sciences in Canberra. He was the foremost exponent of the approach in the post war period in Victoria, but it was also adopted by some of his contemporaries. The house in Toorak was widely praised at the time, and won the Victorian Architecture Medal of 1954.
In the 1950s Roy Grounds was a member of the Grounds Romberg and Boyd partnership. The partnership broke up partly in response to Ground's appointment as sole architect for the National Gallery, considered his master work, and a building that employed many of the themes in his own house at 24 Hill Street built 10 years earlier.
How is it significant?
The Roy Grounds house and flats at 24 Hill Street are of architectural significance to the State of Victoria.
Why is it significant?
The Grounds house is of architectural significance as one of the most celebrated works of modernist domestic architecture of the mid 20th century in Victoria. The perfectly square plan, with a circular courtyard at its centre, is a striking essay in pure geometry, a hallmark of Ground's work, and one of the best examples of experimentation with geometry in the work of post war avant-garde architects in Victoria.
The Grounds house is of architectural significance as one of the best designs by the noted architect Roy Grounds. Roy Grounds is considered to be one of the most important architects of his generation and certainly one of Victoria's most well known and influential modern architects. He was one of the few architects to work in the modernist idiom before WWII, and in the 1950s was a member of the Grounds Romberg and Boyd partnership, undoubtedly the most important architectural firm of its time.
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GROUNDS HOUSE - Permit Exemptions
General Exemptions:General exemptions apply to all places and objects included in the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR). General exemptions have been designed to allow everyday activities, maintenance and changes to your property, which don’t harm its cultural heritage significance, to proceed without the need to obtain approvals under the Heritage Act 2017.Places of worship: In some circumstances, you can alter a place of worship to accommodate religious practices without a permit, but you must notify the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria before you start the works or activities at least 20 business days before the works or activities are to commence.Subdivision/consolidation: Permit exemptions exist for some subdivisions and consolidations. If the subdivision or consolidation is in accordance with a planning permit granted under Part 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the application for the planning permit was referred to the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria as a determining referral authority, a permit is not required.Specific exemptions may also apply to your registered place or object. If applicable, these are listed below. Specific exemptions are tailored to the conservation and management needs of an individual registered place or object and set out works and activities that are exempt from the requirements of a permit. Specific exemptions prevail if they conflict with general exemptions. Find out more about heritage permit exemptions here.Specific Exemptions:General Conditions: 1. All exempted alterations are to be planned and carried out in a manner which prevents damage to the fabric of the registered place or object. General Conditions: 2. Should it become apparent during further inspection or the carrying out of alterations that original or previously hidden or inaccessible details of the place or object are revealed which relate to the significance of the place or object, then the exemption covering such alteration shall cease and the Executive Director shall be notified as soon as possible. General Conditions: 3. If there is a conservation policy and plan approved by the Executive Director, all works shall be in accordance with it. General Conditions: 4. Nothing in this declaration prevents the Executive Director from amending or rescinding all or any of the permit exemptions. Nothing in this declaration exempts owners or their agents from the responsibility to seek relevant planning or building permits from the responsible authority where applicable.Gardens and driveway area generally:
* Regular garden maintenance
* Installation, removal or replacement of garden watering systemsUnit 1 – B1
* Maintenance and repairs which replace like with like
* Repainting in existing or original colours
* Installation, removal or replacement of carpets and/or flexible floor coverings.
* Installation, removal or replacement of hooks, nails and other devices for the hanging of mirrors, paintings and other wall mounted artworks.
* Replacement in bathrooms and toilets of sanitary fixtures and associated piping, mirrors, wall and floor coverings.
* Replacement of kitchen benches and fixtures including sinks, stoves, ovens, refrigerators, dishwashers etc and associated plumbing and wiring.
* Installation, removal or replacement of hydronic or radiant type heating provided that the installation does not damage existing skirtings and architraves.
* Installation, removal or replacement of electrical wiring provided that all new wiring is fully concealed.
* Installation of smoke detectors and emergency exit signs
* Installation, removal or replace of bulk insulation in the roof space
* Removal of extraneous items such as, pipe work, ducting, wiring, antennae, aerials etc, and making good.Unit 2 – B2
* Any non-structural internal alterations which do not impact on the external appearance of the unit.
* External maintenance and repairs which replace like with likeUnits 3,4 & 5 – B3, B4, B5
* Maintenance and repairs which replace like with like
* Repainting in existing or original colours
* Maintenance and repairs which replace like with like
* Repainting in existing or original colours
* Installation, removal or replacement of carpets and/or flexible floor coverings.
* Installation, removal or replacement of curtain track, rods, blinds and other window dressings.
* Installation, removal or replacement of hooks, nails and other devices for the hanging of mirrors, paintings and other wall mounted artworks.
* Refurbishment of bathrooms, toilets and or en suites including removal, installation or replacement of sanitary fixtures and associated piping, mirrors, wall and floor coverings.
* Installation, removal or replacement of kitchen benches and fixtures including sinks, stoves, ovens, refrigerators, dishwashers etc and associated plumbing and wiring.
* Installation, removal or replacement of hydronic or radiant type heating provided that the installation does not damage existing skirtings and architraves.
* Installation, removal or replacement of electrical wiring provided that all new wiring is fully concealed.
* Installation of smoke detectors and emergency exit signs
* Installation, removal or replace of bulk insulation in the roof space
* Removal of extraneous items such as, pipe work, ducting, wiring, antennae, aerials etc, and making good.GROUNDS HOUSE - Permit Exemption Policy
Unit 1 – B1 - Former Grounds Residence
This unit is the most architecturally significant of the five. It remains in good condition with a high degree of intactness and integrity. A range of typical domestic exemptions are given for repairs and maintenance to building fabric, paintwork and services, as well as for renewal of kitchen appliances, sanitary fixtures and flexible floor coverings. Approaches to permit assessment for important aspects of the unit and associated open spaces are listed below:
* The building envelope should be maintained free of additions.
* The continuity of the external masonry and of the external highlight windows above should be maintained.
* The continuity of open internal space around the courtyard windows should be maintained.
* Remaining original finishes, such as the timber ceiling lining, vertical timber batten wall linings and slate courtyard paving, should be retained.Unit 2 – B2
This unit has been internally reorganised to a considerable degree. Its main significance lies in its scale and external appearance on the driveway side, which is part of the setting for the other units. A general exemption is in place for remodelling of the interior. Approaches to permit assessment for important aspects of the unit and associated open space which contribute to significance of the site as a whole are listed below:
* The existing open space on the courtyard/pool side should maintained as a setting for the rear of Unit 1.
* The existing wall and door to the driveway should be maintained in its present form.Units 3, 4 and 5 – B2, B3, B4
These units have architectural significance in their own right as well as being an important part of the setting for Unit 1. While each of the three units has been altered to some extent, the exterior envelopes and the internal spatial arrangement are basically intact. The maintenance of the external envelopes has added importance because of the role of these units as a setting for Unit 1. A range of typical domestic exemptions are in place. Approaches to permit assessment for important aspects of the unit and associated open space are listed below:
* The original overall scale and massing of the Units should be maintained.
* The walls of the driveway elevations of the three units, which are generally continuous at first floor level, with only high windows or vents on the first floor, should be maintained generally in their current form.
* The original external materials, finishes, design elements and detailing should be maintained. This includes those which are the same as on Unit 1, such as the painted masonry (originally a uniform bluestone blue/grey over all the units), the pierced brickwork screens, the white painted timber window frames and sashes and fascias, and the natural finish timber eaves lining on the courtyard side. The contrasting exposed rafters on the driveway side eaves should also be maintained.
* The original roof line of the units as visible from vantage points from the front of the site and from the driveway, should be maintained.
* The original spatial qualities of the double height spaces of the units should be maintained. Future proposals for changes to these spaces units should be assessed under the permit process.
* The original aluminium, timber and steel two-storey window wall should be maintained on each of the units.
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