Residence

What is Significant?
The house at 30 Albany Road, Toorak was originally constructed as stables for the Yar Orrong mansion in the early 1870s and then converted for use as his own residence by architect Rodney Alsop in an Arts and Crafts cottage style in 1921. The house was sympathetically altered and extended in 1937 by architects F L and K Klingender.

Elements that contribute to the significance of the place include (but are not limited to):
- The external form, materials and detailing of the building surviving from the original nineteenth century stables, the 1921 residential conversion by Alsop and the 1937 additions and alterations.
- The high level of external intactness to its 1937 state.
- The domestic garden setting (but not the fabric of the garden itself).

Modern fabric, including the timber front fence, is not significant.

How is it significant?
The house at 30 Albany Road, Toorak is of local architectural significance to the City of Stonnington.

Why is it significant?
Architecturally, the house is significant as an unusual example of an interwar Arts and Crafts style house derived from American Craftsman bungalow and English cottage sources (Criterion E). It is illustrative of architect Rodney Alsop's pursuit of an Australian architectural identity based on a simple, unornamented and functional approach. The 1937 extensions by Klingender are respectful of the design of his former partner and are of note for the manner in which a modest cottage character is maintained in a larger house.

Group

Residential buildings (private)

Category

House