RIVER HOUSE

 

 

The River House is a modernist residence designed by Peter and Dione McIntyre as their home and constructed during 1953-54 with alterations and additions from the late 1950s and 1960s. It is located on a steeply sloping, treed site on the eastern bank of the Birrarung (Yarra River) at Kew.

The River House is of historical, architectural, aesthetic and technical significance to the State of Victoria. It satisfies the following criteria for inclusion in the Victorian Heritage Register:

Criterion A
Importance to the course, or pattern, of Victoria’s cultural history.
Criterion D
Importance in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural places and objects
Criterion E
Importance in exhibiting particular aesthetic characteristics.
Criterion F
Importance in demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical achievement at a particular period.
Criterion H
Special association with the life or works of a person, or group of persons, of importance in Victoria’s history.

 

The River House is historically significant as an early and highly inventive example of architectural modernism of the post-war period. Its innovative design response and embrace of new construction techniques are emblematic of the architectural experimentation of the era. It is one of Victoria’s and Australia’s most celebrated and highly regarded examples of 1950s residential architecture. 

 

The place is significant as a notable example of a post-war modernist residence. It is a fine and pivotal example that exhibits the principal characteristics of the class in its innovative geometric form, experimental structural approach, open plan, relationship to the outdoors, integration with the site, choice of materials and interior design. The original 1950s elements of the residence are complemented by the sympathetic 1960s addition that blends the original structure into the surrounding landscape.

 

The River House is aesthetically significant for its highly distinctive form, siting and finishes which have received critical acclaim from within the architectural profession and beyond over many decades. Its siting on a bend in the river enables dramatic views of the house from several vantage points. The structural system employed in the design gives the building the impression it floats lightly amongst the trees that surround it. Its striking use of geometry, particularly triangular forms, has been celebrated by critics and commentators. The house is also strongly identified by its interior finishes, particularly the use of colour, which are indicative of the boldness seen in 1950s interior design. Among other prizes and awards, River House won the 2014 Australian Institute of Architects Victorian Architecture Award for ‘best enduring architecture’. 

 

The River House is technically significant for its structural innovation that enabled the steep site, within a flood zone, to accommodate a home. The original residence is designed around a structural system developed by engineer Bill Irwin that uses counterbalanced forces to create a double cantilevered truss. The structural frame is visible, enabling the approach to be understood. A similar structural approach was also utilised for the Olympic Swimming Stadium, also designed by McIntyre and Irwin in conjunction with John and Phyllis Murphy and Kevin Borland.

 

The River House is synonymous with the lives and careers of Peter and Dione McIntyre, who have been highly influential within architecture in Victoria since the mid-twentieth century. The building served as both the McIntyres’ family home and then architectural office, and they have a close and enduring association with the place. Its alteration and addition over the decades of the mid-twentieth century reflects the pairs’ changing tastes, interests and priorities.