Mansion March 2020

Mansion AUSTRALIA

INCORPORATING NEWS FROM DOW JONES’ M A NS ION GL OBA L

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-page

Interiors

section

HONORARY CONSULS Diplomatic outposts changing hands

Jamie Durie 2020 garden guide

Issue 33 H March 2020

Cooling down

Buying to beat the heat

Virus effect

Global property reaction

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Contents

Robin Hoods Well near Launceston, Tasmania. See page 24

1 3 L U X U R Y Darlinghurst penthouse, Mt Macedon history, clifftop in Brisbane 1 6 C O V E R S T O R Y Grand consular abodes are appearing on the market 2 1 J A M I E D U R I E Gardening trends in keeping with our changing times 2 2 D O L L Y L E N Z World ructions inevitably affect a globalised property market 2 4 C O O L R E T R E A T S Hitting the beach is not the only way to escape the heat 3 2 A S C O T The prestige Brisbane suburb has a rich collection of period homes 3 4 S O U T H Y A R R A Downsizers are demanding luxury boutique apartments 3 5 M A N L Y Sydney project The Bower was a high-stakes gamble that paid off 3 6 R O B M I L L S The architect has bought into his own Melbourne development 3 7 H O P E I S L A N D The prestigious Gold Coast resort is meeting the market 3 8 T O O W O O M B A Queensland’s Garden City boast some enticing properties 4 0 R E A Expensive apartment living, once a rarity in Australia, is on the increase 4 1 M A N S I O N G L O B A L Frescoed Italian, LA estate, English country house 4 4 B A C K P A G E Fancy your own chateau on Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula?

4 7 I N T E R I O R S An ingenious conversion that integrates history and modernity 5 6 P R O D U C T S Time to cosy up to autumn with warm and winning pieces 5 8 D E S I G N C L A S S I C S French designer Charlotte Perriand’s unique shelving NEXT ISSUE:

April 11, 2020

O N T H E C O V E R The grand residence of the British

consul- general in Sydney’s Vaucluse, built in 1937 across 1500sq m and currently listed for sale

Mansion AUSTRALIA

INCORPORATING NEWS FROM DOW JONES’

Editor Lisa Allen Contributing editor Jonathan Chancellor Interiors editor David Meagher Art director Samantha Yates Writers Joel Robinson Sam Duncan Rosanne Barrett Michelle Singer Chief sub editor Deirdre Blayney Picture editor Christine Westwood Advertising Michael Thompson Tel. 61 2 9288 3630 michael.thompson2@news.com.au Jasmine Reimers jasmine.reimers@news.com.au Unsolicited manuscripts will not be considered.

Printed by Ovato Print Pty Ltd, 31 Heathcote Road, Moorebank 2170, for the proprietor and publisher, Nationwide News Pty Limited (ACN 008 438 828), of 2 Holt Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010 for insertion in The Weekend Australian on March 14, 2020

Editor’s letter Now that the deadly bushfires have abated and the coronavirus has set stock markets on edge, the question on everyone’s lips is: will COVID-19 affect property prices? If so, how?

Our New York-based luxury real estate agent contributor Dolly Lenz takes a look at how external influences such as viruses, currency instability and terrorism help shape real estate markets.

This year is already shaping up as being incredibly interesting for property markets, assisted by the Reserve Bank’s recent decision to cut rates to a record low of 0.5 per cent. Mercifully, the major banks have jumped to pass on the cut. Banks are also freeing up lending policies and vendors are also putting their properties on the market, with stock levels rising.

But if you are staying put and interested in maximising the value of your property by creating a flourishing garden, take a look at Jamie Durie’s 2020 gardening trends report. Durie has developed a guide to what is hot and what is not. Turns out street and community gardens are all the rage, as are balcony and rooftop gardens given the increasing drive towards apartment living in our cities.

In our March issue, Jonathan Chancellor takes a look at our finest consular homes, which were once built in prized locations such as Canberra and the wealthy Sydney suburbs of Woollahra, Bellevue Hill and Vaucluse.

The Japanese, French and Malaysians plumped for Bellevue Hill, apparently, while the British went for Vaucluse and the Americans liked Woollahra.

However, the past few decades have seen a drop in the number and size of showcase embassies as cash-strapped governments look to sell up their farflung holdings in expensive locations.

Thanks to all the hardworking real estate agents, architects, property developers and interior designers who helped us put together this issue of Mansion Australia.

Lisa Allen Editor

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The penthouse crowning Darlinghurst’s Top of The Town apartment complex has been listed for sale. It’s being sold by the downsizing property developer Duncan Hardie. He and his late wife Lyn paid $10.9 million in 2016 when they bought the property from former media exec Cameron O’Reilly, who had paid the Sutton car dealership family $8.25 million for it in 2007. Hardie completely renovated the vast 700sq m-plus space two years ago. Entry is via a private lift.

The top level is the rooftop garden, with 360-degree views of Sydney.

Alison Coopes at Agency by Alison Coopes is asking for offers from $15 million.

EAST GIPPSLAND VICTORIA

Ocean Grange, a property in Paynesville in East Gippsland dating from the 1850s goldrush, has been listed for sale. The main homestead with commercial kitchen and a number of living zones was built in the late 1880s by the Barton family and still has its soaring clock tower. The quintessential Australian beach house sits on 9620sq m, nestled between Gippsland’s Ninety Mile Beach and the Gippsland Lakes, and is only accessible by boat. Paddle steamers carrying gold from the high country near Omeo once stopped at the front of the property. Ocean Grange Homestead has been owned by the same family for more than three decades.

Rural and lifestyle specialist John Castran, who is marketing the property with son Lachlan, says it is one of the most prestigious holdings to ever be offered in East Gippsland. They expect to sell the home, which has been a $950 a night holiday rental in recent times, for around $1.5 million.

TRAVANCORE, VICTORIA

Politician Bill Shorten and wife Chloe recently put Travancore on the map by upgrading to the north-western Melbourne suburb, paying a record $3 million for a bigger family home. Now one of Travancore’s best homes has been listed and is set to blow it out of the water. McDonald Upton Essendon agent Joe Zucco, who has a guide of $8.5 million to $9.35 million, describes the home as a once-in-a-lifetime masterpiece. The opulent Mooltan Street home, built with floor-to-ceiling glass to frame the Travancore Park views, is one of Melbourne’s only hand-built in-situ concrete homes. It was designed by CHT Architects and constructed by commercial builders Hamilton Marino after the then two-bedroom brick home sold for $1.38 million in 2013. Over three levels, the designer property has six bedrooms, five bathrooms and three living spaces. There’s a home gym, office, cinema room, bar and steam room. In the grounds is an infinity pool and spa, as well as an outdoor kitchen.

MT MACEDON, VICTORIA

PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

The historic garden estate Cathlaw in the Mount Macedon district has been listed for $4 million. The 13ha New Gisborne property was originally a farm. It was the home of Blanche Ross-Watt, the first woman to hold office in Victoria as a shire council president. She was one of 11 children of pastoralist and politician Thomas Ferrier Hamilton, and grew up on the family’s property Elderslie at New Gisborne. With her daughter Betty, Blanche planned the house at Chatlaw, which dates from 1919, and planted a garden. The three bedroom home, built by the local Cherry Bros in the Indian bungalow style, has been updated. There is also a two-bedroom cottage, as well as a lawn tennis court, veggie garden, and a stable. RT Edgar Macedon Ranges Gisborne agents Rhys Nuttall and Helen Sankey are marketing the property.

A near new home in Perth’s Dalkeith is set to sell for the first time since its construction.

The contemporary residence was designed and built by Paul Spatara and Sean Brickwood from Averna Homes, and was a finalist in the 2019 HIA Awards. The black and white home with clean, simple lines and swathes of glass has five bedrooms, several living areas, a home theatre, wine room, and a gourmet kitchen with scullery. The master retreat ensuite features an egg-shaped stone bath and a dressing room with skylight. The main living area is wrapped in floor-to-ceiling glass and opens to the gardens by Ascher Smith with multiple alfresco areas, pool, outdoor shower, gas firepit and cubby house. William Porteous International Dalkeith agent Olivia Porteous has the listing, with price hopes in the low to mid $5 millions.

CLOVELLY, NSW

Star player up for sale in Sydney’s east A Clovelly home that once appeared on ABC’s Grand Designs is back up for sale.

Phillips Pantzer Donnelley agents Alexander Phillips and Anthony Puntigam have a $6.5 million guide for its March 21 auction. It was featured in Grand Designs Australia in 2012 when built by Prebuilt in Melbourne as four modules. The pods were trucked to Sydney in an oversized convoy and lifted into position to create the ubermodern, two-storey residence. Now with a jet black exterior, the zinc and timber clad home, which has undergone a renovation in recent years, has four bedrooms, a home office, a suspended fireplace and a wine cellar. An old fibro cottage was on the 600sq m Knox Street block before architect Pleysier Perkins designed the current offering. It sold for $6 million in 2017 to art collector Steve Nasteski, who had sold his nearby Gordon’s Bay property to comedian Tim Minchin for $5.875 million a year earlier.

BELLEVUE HILL, NSW

A modern Bellevue Hill home with interiors by Sarah Jane Marriott has been listed for sale. Fronting Cooper Park, the home, completed in 2016, was designed to embrace the outdoors, with a number of alfresco living spaces. A landscaped internal courtyard is the social hub of the twolevel home. The living spaces and bedrooms are all on the same level. There are four bedrooms, each with ensuites, a home office, a kitchen, living and dining room that opens on to the courtyard, and a formal lounge. A plunge pool sits just off the courtyard. Ballard Property Group agents Paul Ephron and Clint Ballard have a March 25 auction.

COLLAROY, NSW

Eagle’s Nest, a new designer home in Collaroy, has been listed with $10 million hopes. The contemporary three-level home on Edgecliffe Boulevard with views across the beaches was built after the original 1950s residence on a private 540sq m was demolished. It had been sold for $2.2 million in 2013. Completed late last year, the five-bedroom, fourbathroom Eagle’s Nest was designed by Ian Bennett, who says the top floor plate was rotated north to allow optimum solar access and to frame the views. “Eagle’s Nest is considered, robust, bold and striking from every vantage point,” he says. A pool with outdoor shower and an alfresco area with built-in barbecue runs along the side of the house, which sits in gardens landscaped by Selena Hannan Landscape Design. Knight Frank’s head of prestige Deb Cullen is marketing the home.

KANGAROO POINT, QUEENSLAND

Brisbane’s most expensive home has resold for close to $18 million. The clifftop residence on Leopard Street, Kangaroo Point is expected to have gone backwards in price slightly from the $18,488,888 secured in 2016 by City Motor Auctions Group boss Angelo Russo and wife Sandra. The initial sale toppled the former price record, set when Gina Rinehart paid $14 million for a Hawthorne riverfront. Chinese billionaire Zijian Zheng, who bought the Kangaroo Point record holder, hasn’t touched the 1445sq m split-level home in the past three years. One of its most spectacular features is a heated pool and spa with views of the river and the city.

Cover story

BY J ONAT H A N C H A NC E L L OR

With many more diplomats trading their grand bases for city offices, some fine addresses have come up for sale

Foreign exchange

The Canberra home of the Italian ambassador

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MANSIONAUSTRALIA.COM.AU

THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| MARCH 14-15, 2020

he formal residences of foreign diplomats are often homes of enviable allure, and until recent times were frequently tightly held. The Canberra home of the Italian consul-general highlights their showcase status. The property, which is unlikely to ever be put up for sale, was the work of late architect Enrico Taglietti, who was commissioned to find a place for the Italians. Completed in 1974, the Deakin premises are still one of the finest consular homes in the country.

Taglietti, who went on to receive the RAIA Gold Medal for Architecture, endeavoured to create a historical connection to Italian architecture and culture, with a focus on the villa designs of Ancient Rome. He considered Canberra “the dream of any modern architect”, proclaiming it “A city without towers, without golden domes, without cathedrals, a city without a past.”

Designed in the late 20th-century stripped classical style, the Italian ambassador’s home (pictured left) was built in a figure-of-eight design, with two interior courtyards wrapped by wide corridors and rooms.

There was an era when owning property in proximity to residential embassies held considerable cachet. Back then, neighbouring Sydney homes were advertised as being in consular heartland with Woollahra, Bellevue Hill and Vaucluse the hotspots.

According to veteran agent Michael Dunn, foreign governments gravitated to what was always considered prime blue ribbon real estate. Vaucluse had the UK consul in residence. Bellevue Hill had the Japanese, the French and Malaysians. The US swapped Darling Point for Woollahra.

However, over the past two decades there has been a downsizing and exiting from showcase embassies. The former French abode, Le Manoir in Bellevue Hill, was sold in 2009 because the French trade commissioner, Jean Louis Latour, was departing and his replacement was to live in Canberra. The French, who had owned the six- bedroom home since 1956, were responding also to the global financial crisis.

The Bulgarian consulate departed Double Bay in 2004 but it retains the prime Carlotta Road site, which has become rundown and unused. The country now has its consulate in the ACT. Many departures left behind a litany of stories highlighting the difficulties of living in the neighbourhood. The exodus continues, in part as cash-strapped governments look to cash in their far-flung holdings and lease properties instead.

The biggest consular cluster centres on Trelawaney Street, Woollahra. The German Consulate, bought by the Federal Republic of Germany in 1974, went under offer earlier this month, four years after the consulate moved closer to the Sydney CBD, to Woolloomooloo.

The purchase was registered in 1.54 million German D-Marks when it was bought from German entrepreneur and patron Erich Glowatzky.

The full-brick, eight-bedroom residence, recently sold, was listed with $16 million hopes by Ray White Double Bay agents Craig Pontey and Elliott Placks. It is currently set up as 12 ground-floor offices, a cashier’s desk, with nine upper-level office spaces, and kitchenettes and toilets on each floor. There are private living quarters upstairs.

Pontey says the German Consulate followed the trend of consulates and embassies moving into the city. “They moved the business into office space and the consul general rented premises to live in,” he says.

MARCH 14-15, 2020

| THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

MANSIONAUSTRALIA.COM.AU

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Clockwise from left: 1930s Art Deco home for sale on Mugga Way; the Italian embassy; three views of the UK consulate

The Lebanese remain on Trelawney Street, with the recently renovated Turkish consulate around the corner on Ocean Street, Woollahra.

The Yugoslavs spent $400,000 on Trelawney Street in 1977.

The Polish have owned the corner of Trelawney and Fullerton Street since 1972, when they paid $165,000 for the property. The Russians are on Fullerton Street, having paid $314,000 in 1974 for their seven-storey office compound.

The Consulate of Finland residence in Bellevue Hill sold for $4.55 million in 2012 through Richardson & Wrench agents Michael and James Dunn. It was developed into a modern apartment block, retaining a part of its history with the name “Embassy on Redleaf”. “The grand residences had fantastic garden parties, but times are changing,” Michael Dunn says.

The Sydney consulates extend further than the consular belt, with the Indonesian Consulate General on Rose Bay’s Kent Road.

Veteran Kay & Burton agent Gerald Delany says a consular belt occurance never occurred in Melbourne, although Toorak had long been a magnet. The US and China have abodes in Toorak, with the US on Albany Road and China on Irving Road.

“Living near the American consulate provides very good security, however the Chinese consulate near the corner of Irving and Toorak Road has resulted in parking difficulties and there’s a constant presence of protestors to do with Falun Gong,” Delany notes.

He says many consular residences are unidentifiable. “I actually can’t nominate any other residences here in Melbourne. I can only assume that for security reasons they are not very visible.”

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MANSIONAUSTRALIA.COM.AU

Much of the consular administrative representation in Melbourne is in St Kilda Road.

The cocktail party traffic in the well-heeled suburbs can be an annoying issue unless you are invited but there’s always the more troubling prospect of demonstrations, depending on events back in the homeland. A boy who climbed over the wall at the Yugoslav consulate in Woollahra was shot in 1988 by a security guard standing on its balcony during an annual demonstration against the creation of the Croatian republic in 1945. In 1999, Kurdish protestors armed with firebombs descended on the Greek consulate in Sydney. However, security in the streets around consular homes is provided free of charge by patrolling Australian Federal Police.

The US embassy departed its 1930s Darling Point trophy home Craigend in 1986 when the harbourfront property was sold to developer Bernard Lewis. The official reason was that it was difficult to secure a waterfront home against terrorists. However, it was whispered in diplomatic circles that the Canberra-based US ambassador, was living in a property inferior to Craigend, which was occupied by the American consul-general.

Not that the shift to Georgian Woollahra was slumming it.

The US paid $2.175 million to buy the replacement home of consul general John Dorrance on Wallaroy Road. The 1560sq m property had plenty of pedigreed previous owners, including Australian National Industries, which owned in the 1950s.

Just as the practice of corporations owning trophy homes for their chief executives has declined, Christie’s International agent Ken Jacobs believes that foreign governments are no longer prioritising being part of a consular belt. “It appears the focus is more on Canberra than the states,” he notes.

Jacobs nearly sold one of Sydney’s best-known trophy homes to China in the mid-1990s. The Darling Point mansion Swifts had attracted the attention of the Chinese Government, before it was snapped up by the Moran healthcare family.

The Japanese are still on Bellevue Hill’s Rose Bay Avenue, having paid $627,500 in 1975 when buying from property developer Frank Theeman. Further up the hill, the Federation of Malaysia bought a property for $150,000, in 1971.

Few consulates are now on the waterfront, the exception being that of the Thai Government, which paid $3.75 million in 1999 for ad man Don Morris’s Alex Gencur-designed waterfront in Mosman.

The UK has listed its consular residence in Vaucluse through Savills. “The numbers are dropping,” Savills agent Martin Schiller says, adding that the Canadians sold on nearby Wentworth Road for $10.575 million in 2015.

“Consulate properties generally attract strong buyer interest, because they are substantial homes on large land in highly regarded streets, and have usually been well maintained,” Schiller says. “They are often architecturally significant and offered for the first time in many years.”

The last of the acquisitions, many outside the traditional consular belts, appeared in the 1970s.

The Government of Fiji opted for Frenchs Forest when it paid $91,500 for a property but sold it more than two decades ago. The Government of Papua New Guinea sold the Lindfield home of its consul for $950,000 in 2002, having bought the 1930s residence for $57,000 in 1975.

There are few sales on the Canberra diplomatic scene, and indeed there was a recent acquisition by the Vietnamese Government in O’Malley. It was a residential purchase rather than a relocation for the embassy.

Mario Sanfrancesco at Peter Blackshaw Real Estate says most diplomats have gravitated to O’Malley and Yarralumla, especially to Empire Circuit. There are also a few located on Mugga Way. “I have also found buyers that have enjoyed the multicultural aspect of living next door,” he says.

A few doors down the road from the Thai Embassy on Mugga Way is a 1930s Art Deco home for sale with prestigious possibility for embassy ownership. Belle Kingston agent Louise Harget and Dan McAlpine are marketing the gated fivebedroom 2325sq m estate.

Locals had the chance to step into the Italian Embassy in Deakin when it was open to the public as part of the Design Canberra Festival as an initiative of the Italian Ambassador, Stefano Gatti. Enrico Taglietti, who first came to Canberra in the 1950s, opted for a white palette under a flat roof. With perfect symmetry, tall, narrow windows line the facade and accentuate its grand double-storey height. Inside, there are Murano glass chandeliers, proudly displaying Italian craftsmanship, and portraits of Italian monks and aristocrats adorn the walls.

THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| MARCH 14-15, 2020

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GARDENING 2020

Feeling the earth move In challenging times we so turn to nature as a source of relaxation, healing and sustenance. And where better to get in touch with that than in our own backyards. Here are some of the trends.

COMMUNITY GARDENS Smaller residential property sizes in new estates have left us with a little less space for entertaining and growing our own produce, so the push to share garden plots and connect with community as we did in the old days is becoming greater. The move to downsizing and reducing costs means we are thinking about how we create and share the urban food bowl, reduce transit time and costs, and maintain our health through good nutrition. Looming food security issues, viruses, droughts, floods, the focus on wellbeing and the organic revolution are all factors in this process. Let’s take the power back into our own hands and grow food for the family table, show our kids where it comes from and how to be self-sufficient.

COMMUNITY-MAINTAINED STREETSCAPES The City of Sydney Council will now let you claim (but not own) the verge in front of your property and you can create almost any garden you like there. This came to my attention while I was walking through the industrial Sydney suburb of Rosebery. There, residents have quietly lined their streets with eclectic, diverse and inspirational gardens that are so captivating you almost forget where you were going. Walking along their streetscape now feels like meandering through someone’s sanctuary. Check the criteria with your local council or go to cityofsydney. nsw.gov.au/ community/participation/gardening-on-the-footpath.

RESPONSIBLE BUSHFIRE MANAGEMENT While this may not be the sexiest trend, it’s certainly a vital one.

Many of us back on to bushland or reserves, and if we have learnt anything from the events of this summer it’s about protection and preservation – about protecting our families, our homes and our natural environment. This essentially means removing all of the dry, dead matter, overgrown foliage, dry grasses or thatch, and ensuring our wildlife have corridors and safe habitats.

Clockwise from above: a rooftop garden at 9 Christie Street, South Brisbane; the kitchen garden at Chiswick restaurant, Woollahra; youngsters explore a community garden

PERMACULTURE DESIGN PRINCIPLES An awareness of the necessity to embrace more environmentally responsible gardening will become far more apparent in 2020, as a greater understanding of the drastic effects climate change is having on our planet occurs. This means ethical gardening practices are becoming far more accepted and employed. It’s important is to look to age-old practices that increase the sustainable nature of our food production. Permaculture is about working with the environment and not against it, which we seem to be have become quite good at over the past 200 years.

RESTAURANT GARDENS Commercially, restaurants are becoming more and more aware of using their own grown produce to ensure high quality, save on food and transport costs, reduce carbon emissions and offer specialised local produce menu options that provide environmentally responsible dining choices. We have become way more educated about food production and nutrition, and the right restaurants are responding to that awareness.

Cultural burning: Traditional fire management applies cool, quick burns to the landscape. These low-intensity fires are also known as cultural burning, a practice that has several benefits. Burning in this way saves flora and fauna. Animals, including insects such as bees, beetles and ant colonies, have enough time to escape. Young trees can survive, and the fire keeps grass seeds intact for regrowth. The heat, which is much cooler than a hazard reduction burn, doesn’t ignite the oil in a tree’s bark. The technique is a tool for “gardening the environment”. Such fires are also self-extinguishing – the fire dies straight after it burns the grass. You can avoid weed killers too, as introduced species such as grasses are not fire-resistant and can be removed with fire instead of chemicals. You can tell if a fire was a cool burn when the burnt grass still has its previous shape.

Source: Cool burns: Key to Aboriginal fire management – Creative Spirits, creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/land/aboriginal-fire-management

INDOOR MATERIALS MOVE OUTDOORS Innovative outdoor products are enhancing the connection between indoors and outdoors by replicating indoor materials, while still conforming to Australian standards for anything from slip ratings to waterproofing. A good example is the dramatic increase in the number of fabric options for the outdoors. This opens up the opportunity for more creative approaches to landscape design . Textiles for the outdoors have become far more sophisticated. We can choose thread that is saturation dyed, meaning its colour travels through the thread and is not just applied to the outside, only to fade within weeks. Anti-microbial additives can also be used to stop mould or fungi growing in the fabric. Open weaves allow water to flow through the material instead of being absorbed. More drainage means healthy, dry fabrics and no wet bums following a light rain.

ROOFTOP AND BALCONY GARDENS The increase in high-density apartment living has spawned a need for more creative use of space. Today, we look for indoor-outdoor flow to increase usable space and set up our private oases as a respite from the urban environment. It’s our entertaining space; it’s also a way to project our own style into the outdoors, and to display it to our friends and families through both design and function. Outdoor kitchens and outdoor dining areas have become the norm, as we all expect to be able to cook outside and to dine alfresco. Feature pots and plants are used as sculptural elements, while vertical gardening makes better use of space by allowing plants to be grown on fences and walls. Balcony vegetable gardens service the kitchen, and of course we need a barbie in the mix to grill our goodies.

PLANT SELECTION AND DROUGHT TOLERANCE The trend to using native plants in the garden to increase insect, bird life and biodiversity, and an enhanced desire to celebrate the “messy” aesthetic of Australian native flora, grows ever stronger.

It can involve dense native foliage, for example Westringia fruticosa, clipped into formal hedging to “frame” garden beds in the landscape. With increasing concerns around water conservation, the need for drought-tolerant planting is becoming more urgent. One of the most water-dependant areas of the garden is turf, and 2020 will see a movement towards smaller lawns. These lawn areas will be replaced with drought-tolerant native plants surrounded at the base with permeable ground covers to reduce water evaporation.

Dolly Lenz

Local aspect

WITH JENNY LENZ PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS, UNSW BUSINESS SCHOOL

Richard Holden

The radical interconnectedness of the global economy that has helped Australia go nearly three decades without a recession also means that negative economic shocks are quickly felt around the world. The effect of the COVID-19 virus is no exception. China, at the centre of the outbreak, is also the most economically exposed. International trade is crucial for its economy. And the very nature of COVID-19, with its long period where people show no signs of the virus but can infect others, makes it hard to contain. Short of a vaccine, it seems the only real option is to stop people congregating. That means factories shuttered, businesses closed, and economic activity grinding close to a halt. That will mean a hit to the wealthy Chinese commercial class who are significant buyers of property in Australia, particularly at the prestige end. Their depleted wealth will mean less turnover in the Australian market and lower prices at the top end. Yet Australia is still a very attractive place for wealthy Chinese to invest and when the health crisis is resolved and economies bounce back, it will be as attractive as ever. But in the short run it will be painful.

RAY WHITE GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR

Dan White

The 45-room mansion in London’s Knightsbridge GLOBAL MARKET

Ripple effect Today’s world has become a much smaller place, with the advent of 24/7 media and social platforms that seamlessly connect the world’s population with the touch of a button. While convenient, this connectivity can come at a cost – localised crises and events that were once isolated to one area, such as terrorism, viruses, natural disasters, currency instability and political unrest, now have an almost real-time and lasting impact on luxury real estate markets across the globe. We are seeing the effects of this internationalisation now as local markets are disrupted by global issues.

Widely considered the financial capital of Asia, and long beloved of the super-rich for its stability, Hong Kong is one of the most significant markets thrown into turmoil recently, due to political unrest and continuous protests. While its real estate is among the most expensive in the world, with homes trading for close to $US500 million ($757 million), the market has seen significant contraction as the super-rich look for alternative locations to park their money.

The pullback in Hong Kong is being felt instantly in other cities, such as New York and Sydney, where there has been a dramatic increase in the number of buyers hailing from Hong Kong who are in search of a more stable environment to invest in real estate.

In Europe much of the tumult over the past few years can be traced back to Brexit – the UK’s exit from the European Union.

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Initial reports of the impending exit sent shock waves, not just through Europe, but across the globe. Uncertainty surrounding Brexit and how it would affect buyers and sellers became a constant talking point and a source of great concern. This contributed to a general softening of luxury property markets worldwide, felt most severely in London.

Although markets and prices took a hit and uncertainty about the global implications of Brexit remain, our savvy clients have been taking advantage of London’s dip by seeking additional residences or upgrading their current homes, motivated by the city’s enduring physical allure and cultural offerings.

Just recently, the London market received another boost in confidence as it was reported that a Chinese property billionaire, exploiting the weakened pound, is in contract negotiations to buy a 45-room Knightsbridge mansion overlooking Hyde Park for a record-shattering £210 million ($413 million), far exceeding the previous record of £140 million ($276 million).

Internationalisation will continue to play a significant role in luxury real estate throughout 2020 and beyond as local markets and consumers react to global events. As the wealthy seek safe havens for their capital, some markets may suffer while others benefit at their expense, creating opportunities for sophisticated investors to buy during the dips.

While there is much speculation on the impact of the coronavirus on the global economy, the Australian prestige property market remains resilient. There is even speculation that the virus will increase demand from Chinese residents for Australian property in the future, but that would take time to filter through. Our Hong Kong business, a specialist in Australian property, has had some of its best sales since the protests started, due to investor interest in our stable, mature markets and long-term prospects. Our March data shows scheduled auctions up 12 per cent compared to two years ago, and with an average of 43 people per auction and clearance rates around 80 per cent, buyers are confidently bidding. Andy Yeung, our leading agent in Sydney’s Chatswood, reports Chinese-born Australians are very active, and in Melbourne our agent Helen Yan says local Chinese buyers are also active.

On the Gold Coast, we have seen an increase in the number of Chinese buyers. And our agent, Sam Guo, has confirmed the quality of Chinese buyers has never been so high.

CEO, THE AGENCY

Matt Lahood There is an element of immunity when it comes to residential real estate, in that people will always need shelter and it is a tangible asset. In times of uncertainty, people tend to rush towards gold and property. And as we have seen with the coronavirus outbreak, the global share markets are taking a huge hit while our property prices are on the rise and market demand is high. When Australia opened up to global markets in the 1980s there was a flood of foreign investment into the country and this bolstered our real estate markets’ potential for growth. The internet has significantly expanded global demand for our property, making it far more accessible to foreign buyers and expats. And as travel times and mobility improve, so do people’s options as to where they buy permanent residences.

The downside is that external events can affect the flow of investment into Australia, and when events such as the GFC hit global money markets, Australia’s lending landscape is affected as well as the Australian dollar. Lending is one of the biggest factors to have a flow-on effect to property.

THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| MARCH 14-15, 2020

Retreats RO S A N N E BA R R E T T

Stacey Rocca knows the respite that a crisp morning can provide. The owner of Robin Hoods Well, a homestead outside Launceston in Tasmania, welcomes almost 1000 visitors every year to her home away from the bustle, busyness and heat of the cities. There she offers an outdoor lifestyle and heritage accommodation far from the challenges of urban life.

Rocca says when you’re on the mainland – in a “hot” state – you have to actually consider whether the weather will fit your plans for the day. “Here we don’t have to think about the weather,” she says. “It’s easy.” At the height of summer she carries an umbrella – “we always carry a brolly” – but the warmth never prevents people working in the garden or taking advantage of the outdoors. And at night, they snuggle up in heated blankets.

After Australia’s devastating “summer of sorrow” and widespread bushfire crisis, regional towns need a boost. Often some of our most beautiful places in the crisp cool of autumn, regional towns continue to offer unique and wonderful scenery and experiences.

Mansion Australia endorses the campaigns to encourage people to return to bushfire-affected towns when they are ready, to continue to visit towns and communities and stock up on local produce from small businesses during their stay.

Across the nation, there’s a range of spectacular locations with equally spectacular homes, where residents and visitors can escape from urban life and experience a hinterland or cool escape. From the grand manors of colonial estates in Bowral to retreats in the Adelaide Hills or the cooler hinterland of the Gold Coast, residents and holidaymakers are finding refuges from the heat.

Airbnb’s country manager for Australia and New Zealand, Susan Wheeldon, says many people eschew the sand and surf for a cool country retreat. “Many Australians live for the beach – but that doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy the occasional getaway to cooler climates during the summer months,” she says. “We definitely do see a number of guests each year looking to beat the summer heat by making their way to Tasmania or one of Australia’s many beautiful mountainous regions.

“Indeed, many of our hidden gems and unique listings are nestled in these areas and regularly provide a base for travellers and their families to explore the incredible local surrounds.”

More than 175,000 people visited Airbnb sites in Tasmania last year throughout summer. Rocca’s farm is one such destination. She says visitors cite the range of activities on offer in her area that allow them to take advantage of the great outdoors. With an average top January temperature of 22C and minimums of 12C, Rocca says the area affords a lifestyle that is laidback and relaxed.

“It is a different life altogether,” she says. “We love our life in our small town. It’s easier to live, it’s easier to grow food. We’ve got outside dogs, we’ve got outside animals.”

Another bed and breakfast currently on sale in the Tasmanian capital, Hobart, is the historic Orana House, offering a homestead and boutique accommodation. The asking price is $1.990 million.

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Cool escapes Beat the heat and take in one of the many spectacular getaways in cooler climes

THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| MARCH 14-15, 2020

Clockwise from left: Invisible House in the NSW Blue Mountains; Orana House, Lindisfarne, Tasmania; Brocks Road, Currumbin Valley, Queensland

Knight Frank agent John Blacklow says there are many mainland visitors to the island who come for the cooler weather and find a vibrant lifestyle with growing amenity and industry.

“Our average summer temperature would probably be in the low to mid 20s,” he says. “And that certainly suits a lot of people. We get a lot of people who come here on holidays from the warmer climates in NSW, Queensland or the Northern Territory, either permanently just to get out of the heat. They’re very pleasant summer days. It’s what we would consider a nice Mediterranean-style climate.”

The Lindisfarne property, 7km east of Hobart’s city centre, has almost an acre (3531sq m) of elevated land overlooking parks, the Derwent River and the Tasman Bridge. Inside, the renovated 1907 property has 10 ensuited bedrooms, guest lounge, breakfast room, laundry, kitchen, garage, workshop and store areas. There is also a manager’s residence.

“It’s a fully functional bed and breakfast facility; it has been for some time,” Blacklow says. “All the rooms are very different and they all have a different heritage feel. It’s a beautiful-looking property. The design of it is fantastic.”

He says prices in Hobart are continuing to grow, pointing to CoreLogic’s data showing the median property price is $460,033 — higher than in Adelaide. “We’re still experiencing growth – not as much growth as we had in the peak, but it’s still continuing,” he says.

“We’ve never had it so good down here.”

Architect Richard Kirk says cool country retreats offer a contrasting lifestyle and landscape to urban surrounds.

“Historically, industrial cities were somewhere you wanted to escape from,” he says. “Now it is all about the experience. It’s about escaping the city and having that diversity of experiences.”

Kirk points to the bigger difference between day and night temperatures, as well as higher elevations, as ensuring the climate does not become too hot. This has implications for home architecture, as does the importance of bushfire resilience, to design in passive heating, cooling and protection. “The challenge is how to enhance that experience of the landscape through architecture,” he says. Managing bushfire risk is a specialist field that requires high-quality skills, he says.

In the Adelaide Hills, less than an hour’s drive from the capital, there is a marked contrast with the heat of the capital. Average January maximum temperatures are 5C cooler at a median of 24.9C, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, and the minimums are 6C less at 11.5 degrees. This has long made the wine-growing region a popular destination, not only as a retreat but as a vibrant food and wine district.

Recent bushfires affected homes around Cudlee Creek.

Sotheby’s International Realty principal in South Australia Grant Giordano says the region offers the beauty of changing seasons in a spectacular natural environment.

“Since very early on (in the state’s colonial history), from the 1840s, it was the escape of the aristocracy and an escape or a retreat from the heat, with the climatic differences and the tree cover due to the elevation,” he says. “It has different seasons.”

Given the region’s European history, the range of properties also varies, from country estates to modern contemporary houses.

Giordano says there are English-style manor estates with the dimensions and spectacular gardens of an aristocratic property that cannot be found elsewhere because the Hills environment is unique.

And there are increasing numbers of contemporary homes that blend into their landscape, he says, pointing to an architecture awardwinning home on Williams Road in Heathfield designed by Woods Marsh. The five-bedroom design curves into its 6.47-acre setting, forming a striking residence set into the hillside.

“This is a living, breathing piece of art that’s uber contemporary,” Giordano says. “But it’s not an imposition on the landscape, it works with the landscape..”

South of the Blue Mountains, in the NSW Southern Highlands, residents and visitors flock to the seasonal beauty of a region that offers cold winters and summer nights cooler than in coastal areas. Since the colonial era, Sydney residents have travelled or lived in the highlands to enjoy the peace and quiet of a rural area that offers the opportunity for livestock, animals and a large property while being close to the amenity of the city. It has attracted the likes of Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, Jimmy Barnes and Mike Cannon-Brookes.

MARCH 14-15, 2020

| THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

MANSIONAUSTRALIA.COM.AU

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Retreats

Hazelwood House, a two-storey granite and sandstone home om Mittagong

One property with the best of both worlds is an Oxley Drive, Mittagong, landholding with two separate residences. The main manor, Hazelwood House, is a two-storey granite and sandstone home on two-and-a-half acres just five minutes from Bowral, with four bedrooms, an impressive kitchen, a tennis court and a pool.

An adjoining sandstone cottage also features its own pool and spectacular gardens.

Herron Todd White residential property valuer Kurt Bismore says the region’s prestige market of more than $3 million was performing well, generally due to the flow-on effect from the higher end of the Sydney market, adding that the market to the end of 2019 was quite stable.

“There have been some very big sales going down from the who’s who of Sydney,” he says.

“Buyers are back around and agents seem to be moving things on as long as they’re priced reasonably.”

In the Gold Coast Hinterland region, not only are the night-time temperatures cooler, but there are coastal breezes and easy access to the city’s famous beaches.

Currumbin Valley, despite its name, offers elevated landholdings where contemporary homes capture views to the highrise skyline of the Gold Coast. One Brocks Road property, on sale for $2.9 million, is a Housing Institute of Australia award-winning five-bedroom home designed by Paul Uhlmann on 3.67ha.

Ray White agent Laura Robinson says the area is a “secret hideaway” that enjoys beautiful breezes.

“People fantasise and want to live there,” she says. “You have all this space around you yet you can see civilisation if you’re elevated.

“It’s a Lotto dream. You can live and not have that hectic lifestyle. You can be who you are.”

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THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| MARCH 14-15, 2020

20 20 HUNGERFORD HUNGERFORD LANE, LANE, KINGSCLIFF, KINGSCLIFF, NSW NSW 2487 2487 33

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Ascot J OE L ROB I N S ON

Upholding tradition

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Ascot is considered one of Brisbane’s most traditional prestige residential suburbs. The affluent area, just off the Brisbane River and northeast of the city, has a rich history of period homes. There has been an influx of new-build homes, but its prestige property segment certainly is still confined to historic homes.

The suburb is becoming more tightly held. According to realestate.com.au, there were just 60 house sales last year – the second lowest number of transactions since 2012, when the median house price was below $1 million. It is now $1.415 million.

Sutherland Avenue, consisting of 15 houses with views to the Moreton Bay region, is the most sought-after street and prices reflect that. The big-ticket sales kicked off in 2003 when fashion designer Keri Craig-Lee and her cattle baron husband, Trevor Lee, former chairman of Australian Country Choice, spent $6.12 million on the house Sutherland.

Two years ago Glenn Rutherford, vice-president of global cargo handling giant Swissport, paid $11 million for the nearby home of Domino’s Pizza boss Don Meij, a street and suburb record. Meij had paid $8.615 million two years earlier when he bought the home from Maxine Horne, one of Australia’s richest female chief

executives, and her ex-husband, Fone Zone co-founder David McMahon. Coronis Hamilton agents Andrew Coronis and Patrick McKinnon sold the six-bedroom home on 2025sq m. It toppled the former price record for the street, set in 2014 when the Victorianstyle trophy home Windermere sold for $10.2 million.

Windermere is now back up for sale, through Ray White New Farm agents Matt Lancashire and Hamish Bowman, following a restoration by the current vendors, the Miers family. One of the oldest homes in Ascot, it was built in the 1880s for Ruth Sutherland, daughter of pastoralist James Sutherland, the street’s namesake, who acquired a substantial landholding in the 1850s.

Ruth went on to marry solicitor and later pastoralist and politician John Appel, and they were the home’s first residents.

Believed to have been designed by architect Richard Galley, Windermere has had a who’s who of occupants during its 130-year history. Cattle baron TJ Cottee lived there, as did Robert Bentley, the accountant and long-term chairman of Racing Queensland, and for 40 years from the 1920s prominent doctor Sir Ellis Murphy and his wife, Mary, owned the home. Former Ariadne Corp deputy chairman Peter Maloney and his wife, Janet, owned the property THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| MARCH 14-15, 2020

One of the oldest homes in Ascot, Windermere was built in the 1880s for Ruth Sutherland, daughter of pastoralist James Sutherland, the street’s namesake

Left, Windermere, the Victorianstyle restored home built in the 1880s; above, the swimming pool and interior of another Sutherland Street property

MARCH 14-15, 2020

| THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

in the 80s and 90s, selling for $1.8 million in 1994. The gated Windermere, set on 4665sq m, the largest block on the street, has six bedrooms, four bathrooms, a media room, home office, 1500bottle wine cellar and a sauna. Its centrepiece is a marble provincial-inspired kitchen, flanked by a grand formal lounge and dining areas. There are additional casual lounge and dining spaces.

Lancashire says Windermere’s newly installed commercialgrade kitchen is arguably the best in Brisbane, maybe even in all of Queensland.

The deep wraparound verandas open to parklike manicured gardens featuring a central deck with outdoor kitchen and pizza oven, a swimming pool, spa and tennis court, set amid level lawns.

Windermere was last sold by pub baron Andrew Griffiths and wife Helen to the local Miers family. The $10.2m sale in 2014 was the highest price paid in Brisbane since 2007.

The tightly held nature of Sutherland Avenue has pushed buyers to the surrounding streets.

Last year, the biggest sale came late in the year when a modern home on Rupert Street sold off-market just before Christmas for $5.2 million.

MANSIONAUSTRALIA.COM.AU

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South Yarra J ONAT H A N C H A NC E L L OR

Boutique apartment complexes are in big demand in Melbourne’s South Yarra. Downsizers are looking to the luxury the pocket offers in its smaller apartment complexes, where developers have prioritised space and quality over the number of units built. The whole-floor apartments – many house-like in size – offer an attractive lock-up-and-leave lifestyle and are catching the eye of wealthy buyers.

RT Edgar agent Sarah Case says downsizers like whole-floor apartments as they have often left a large double-storey home.

“It’s a lovely change, all being on one level,” she says. “Buyers are downsizing but they still like to entertain, so they need a large living and dining zone, and they won’t compromise on this.”

Case says prices for luxury apartments, particularly ones in boutique developments, will continue to rise, given the lack of stock. “It’s really hard to find the land to actually buy, then you have to deal with a lot of heritage issues, as well as new council restrictions to height and density.”

Case, along with Jeremy Fox, is marketing a whole-floor apartment in a boutique Walsh Street complex. They have a revised guide of $6 million. The 295sq m luxury apartment is one of three in the block designed by Demaine Partnership and was completed last year.

Each of the apartment’s three bedrooms has an ensuite, and the master has its own walk-in wardrobe and study nook. There’s a marble kitchen with butler’s pantry and two living zones, one with a fireplace and the other opening to an entertainment terrace with its own barbecue kitchen. The apartment has been listed since mid-last year, but Case says buyers can’t get enough of South Yarra. “South Yarra is a hub of activity for fabulous shops, restaurants and cafes, as well as now having a great supermarket at Vogue shopping centre. Buyers also love the Botanical Gardens,” she says.

Case says the suburb is where a lot of downsizer friends have moved to. “They tend to move in from Toorak, Armadale, Malvern, Hawthorn, Canterbury, Kew and of course other places.”

The hotspot is the streets inward from Chapel Street and St Kilda Road, with one of the most sought-after addresses bookended by the Royal Botanical Gardens and Fawkner Park.

“The Botanical Gardens precinct is a small and unique spot, very much like East Melbourne, with the same buyer demographic and very similar prices for both apartments and houses,” Case says.

On Domain Street is the luxury apartment of Jane Hiscock.

She and her husband, Steve, split their time between Melbourne and France, where they have restored a number of historic properties through the years. Back in 2010 they bought Chateau

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Boutique style Downsizers are looking for luxury in small spaces

Top: The Walsh Street apartment, left, and the level-one luxury apartment on Domain Street Above: Interiors of Domain Street

Du Jonquay from New York interior designer Todd Hase and restored it.

In 2016 the pair paid $5.5 million for their Melbourne bolthole, the first-level apartment in Domain South Yarra, designed by David Hicks and set in gardens by Jack Merlo.

Hicks’s design touch is there for all to see. There’s a chevronpatterned parquetry floor in the marble kitchen, and open-plan living spaces that meet the main terrace. A second sitting room opens to another terrace. The three ensuite bathrooms feature chequerboard marble floors.

Spanning the whole of the first level in the block of three, the apartment has three bedrooms, including a master suite with a dressing room and a third private terrace. A smart home, it also features a decadent wine room beside the four-car garage.

Abercromby’s Toorak agent Jock Langley, who is marketing the property with Emma Pierson, says the apartment is South Yarra at its most seductive. They have a $6 million to $6.6 million guide.

The somewhat dated Robin Boyd-designed Domain Park Flats complex saw its penthouse sell last year for $7.6m, $2.6m above reserve. It was bought by Gary Theodore, creative director of fashion label Scanlan Theodore.

On its completion the 20-storey 1960s complex, Boyd’s first apartment complex, was Victoria’s tallest residential building.

The project now attracting buyer interest is the forthcoming Botanic Collection, the boutique apartment complex that comprises Garden Lane, Thirty Anderson, Martin House and Kurneh Place.

It is being developed on the compound that had belonged to Marion Page, the daughter of prominent businessman Sir Clive McPherson, for the past five decades. It was sold for $33m to Jetty Surf retail founder Fadil “Butch” Sadikay in 2016.

The Botanic Collection is 60 per cent sold, with prices ranging from $3 million to $20 million through Kay & Burton agent Damon Krongold.

In the recently completed Millswyn complex, which replaced a 1960s hotel, nine out of the 10 apartments have been sold. The project was built in the grounds of Millswyn Court, a historic Victorian Italianate mansion built in 1886 for one of South Yarra’s original settlers, James Gatehouse.

Millswyn was undertaken by architect Rob Mills and is set in manicured gardens designed by landscape architect Paul Bangay.

It was developed by the Pask Group led by Dean Pask, whose father Neville Pask had established the group in 1969 in southeast Queensland.

THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| MARCH 14-15, 2020

Manly MICHELLE SINGER

Energetic Melbourne developer Michael Fox is the first to admit he didn’t realise how special a spot his company CostaFox had secured for its first, and only, Sydney project The Bower at Manly.

For those unfamiliar with the prestige location, picture this: a slender row of apartment blocks in a pocket known as Fairy Bower faces north-east over the protected Cabbage Tree Bay and the sandy strip of Shelly Beach. Better still, only a footpath stands between lucky residents, their back doors and the Pacific Ocean.

To the north is Manly Beach, with its stretch of sand and wide promenade popular with joggers, the Bold & Beautiful ocean swimmers, Surf Life Savers and beach volleyballers, while locals crowd into a host of increasingly health-conscious cafes, restaurants and boutique shops. To the south are some of Sydney’s most expensive homes, beyond which are the picturesque walking tracks of North Head National Park.

The Bower, a six-apartment project with sandstone-clad walls, timber screens and glass balustrade balconies, sits serenely in the middle, calmly surveying the water as if it’s right where it was always meant to be.

A former Little Projects executive whose resume includes decades spent building and running warehouse and commercial projects for Toll Holdings and Smorgon Consolidated Industries, Fox launched his new joint-venture development company CostaFox in late 2015.

Within 18 months, his partnership with Geelong-based Costa Asset Management’s Robert Costa saw the boutique company acquire $60 million worth of sites in NSW and Victoria.

As a first venture, The Bower was a high-stakes gamble that would present some frustrating construction delays due to a number of factors, not least complications relating to site access.

Despite six months of delays the gamble paid off and was, Fox maintains, a huge success.

“It was a reasonably big play at the time to do something so high-end and expensive,” he says. “We basically sold them all to locals, and although we had a bit of a journey through the building process due to the tricky site, the result is pretty spectacular.”

Even before the official launch in March 2016, CostaFox inked $44 million in sales, including a $9.5 million transaction for a 291sq m apartment that set a new price high for the suburb of $33,807 per square metre. Unprecedented prices required an exceptional product – architecturally impressive, with next-level customisation and finishes so luxurious they were without peer.

Japanese designers Koichi Takada Architects (KTA) and Melbourne-based interior practice Mim Design were brought in to fulfil the CostaFox vision, which zeroed in on a niche demographic of deep-pocketed downsizers.

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Wish fulfilment

There’s more than a touch of magic in The Bower project’s dream location

Top: Living area, left, and kitchen of an apartment in the Bower, Above: Bedroom and walk-in robe

“We sold them all out in basically four days,” Fox says. “I stood up in The Boatshed at Shelley Beach and we held an information night for locals. We had no marketing material that was ready except for some floorplans. We did inherit a design from Koichi that we completely redid, but it worked, it was a success and it was very well received.

“People were launching projects with large apartments of 150sq m, and we really challenged that model by offering 300sq m floorplans with three bedrooms and two living rooms, and that formula really worked. The prestige market hadn’t been tested too much before this and proved to be very strong. Locals in the area were finding it very hard to downsize into something decent in both size and location.”

Although the pressure was off after the extraordinary sales period, construction wasn’t without its issues. It started in August 2016, and practical completion was initially scheduled for 2018 but finally arrived in late July, 2019. Rain during the initial earthworks and the extreme level of detail in each apartment contributed to the setbacks.

Fox’s tone as he reflects on the project is a mix of pride and a touch of envy, like a stage parent whose child has outshone even their greatest accomplishments. Although there have been no resales, he recognises that everyone who bought “has done extremely well”, with Manly prestige property prices continuing to flourish.

The square metre price record was broken again in 2018 and stands at $41,000 following the sale of a freehold 1985-built apartment, spanning 140sq m and located next door to The Bower, that sold for $5.7 million.

“When we set those price records those benchmarks continued to tumble, prices kept rising and developments just got more expensive on the back of The Bower,” Fox says ruefully.

“There’s such a scarcity of sites like that, and I guess coming from Melbourne we probably didn’t realise how special it was and how hard they are to come by. There’s nothing that compares to it in Melbourne, and when we tried to do it again and find something similar we couldn’t compete, we were priced out.”

Four years down the track, Fox remains “desperate” to buy something else in Sydney, eager to take another crack at the prestige residential market. Until he finds the right site for the right price, he’s chipping away at CostaFox’s commercial, industrial and high-density residential pipeline, which he estimates to be worth up to $400 million.

“It’s been just over four years since I found Robert Costa as a new partner and it was a great move. We’ve got a good name around town and we’re hoping to build on that.”

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Armadale LISA ALLEN

A piece of the action Architect Rob Mills liked his own work so much he bought into his new luxe development You have to admire architect Rob Mills’ attitude to his new Hampden luxe apartment development in the upmarket Melbourne suburb of Armadale. Like the Remington man, the award-winning architect liked the project so much he bought one of the larger units himself.

Mills, who divides his time between Sydney and Melbourne, forked out $4.6 million for the apartment in the yet-to-be-built block. Two other buyers, one a local from Armadale and another hailing from Sydney’s Woollahra, have paid $3 million apiece to buy into the nine-unit complex.

“The $4.6 million is all I can afford,” says Mills, adding that he would love to secure the $7 million penthouse in the complex for himself. He has designed and developed the nine-unit project at 2 Hampden Road, Armadale, with part of its attraction its proximity to the up-market suburb’s high-street precinct and its position in one of its most beautiful plane tree-lined streets. “It’s the equivalent of Sydney’s Woollahra; it’s got it all,” says Mills.

The architect based the design of Hampden on the six-level Fendi headquarters in Rome, commissioned by dictator Benito Mussolini and built in 1943, then renovated by local architect Marco Costanzi. He’s included electric chargers in the basement, as well as a landscape built into the facade so owners can have a small herb garden within reach of their kitchen.

“There’s a proper cook’s kitchen to promote cooking, which we think is important to a happy life,” says Mills. “It’s well considered and designed to last. We are trying to create a community by introducing buyers to each other.”

The seven-star rated building uses simple, pure choices of material. “Instead of being a plate glass wall, the exterior has a depth, the windows are brought in, there’s a lovely play of materials, textures and light.

“I thought it could be interesting to position it as a multiresidential mansion,” he says. Each apartment has three bedrooms, plus living, dining and kitchen. The penthouse also has a separate study. “The building is designed for the client.

When I explain that to them at our first meeting, you can hear the sigh of relief.”

Mills says that at a time when apartment building standards are dropping, his firm is using old-fashioned procurement methods to get the best results.

Construction on Hampden starts in July, with completion slated for July 2022. Apartment prices range from $3 million to $7 million.

Meanwhile in Sydney, Rob Mills Architects is renovating one of Bronte’s oldest homes, which Mills says is quite a famous estate, refurbished back in the 1980s.

“We are removing a lot of that work and returning it to its Victorian grandeur, and adding self-contained quarters at the back,” he says. “We have the most beautiful properties in Mosman, Bellevue Hill, Vaucluse and Point Piper – most of them are brand new designs.”

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From top: Living area, dining room and kitchen of architect Rob Mills’ $4.6 million apartment in Hampden, the luxury project he is developing in Armadale, Melbourne

THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| MARCH 14-15, 2020

Hope Island MICHELLE SINGER

Hope springs eternal

Clockwise from top left, No 1 Grant Avenue’s exterior; Hope Island aerial; George Mastrocostas from Aniko Group

Golfing, boating and shopping facilities make this Gold Coast enclave a winner with retirees and investors alike The golfing and boating mecca of Hope Island, the aspirational and prestigious integrated north Gold Coast resort, is undergoing a renaissance, underpinned by billions of dollars’ worth of luxury residential developments and major infrastructure projects.

An exclusive enclave for retirees and overseas investors during the 1980s and 90s, the 360ha resort has faced myriad hurdles including the collapse of two previous owners, Shinko Australia in 1999 and Gold Coast developer John Fish in 2010. After development stopped, infrastructure failed to materialise and defaults hit record levels a decade ago, the $1bn project has reinvented its image and is delivering on its luxury lifestyle offering.

Ray White Surfers Paradise chief executive Andrew Bell says the make-up of the area has changed to meet the market and buyer demographic, as a new generation of developers and landowners release realistically priced product.

“No one wants those big homes any more,” says Bell. “If you look at the biggest growth area it’s the terrace home. It caters to a very sophisticated local market and interstate buyer as well.

“Last year there was an incredible sense of maturity starting to shine through into that marketplace. It has become an area of great strength and completeness in its own right. There’s entertainment, restaurants and shopping — the area has everything. The only thing that’s missing is greater awareness.”

An estimated $1.3 billion in residential developments is under way in the area, as well as $4.3bn worth of infrastructure, putting Hope Island at the centre of one of Australia’s hottest growth corridors, according to a report by property consultants Urbis. Among the biggest residential projects is The Gallery, a $35m land release by GH Properties; the $73m final stage of Frasers Property Group’s Cova development; Anchorage Apartments, a $100m luxury masterplanned waterfront development; and Lyra, a $90m townhouse and land development.

The biggest project still to come is Serenity Cove, a masterplanned community purchased by Brisbane-based developers

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Keylin Group for $50m. Due to settle this month, it is the final developable parcel of land within Hope Island.

Projects such as this herald a wave of new wealth, attracting buyers in their 40s and 50s from cities such as Sydney who appreciate the manicured public areas, 24-hour security and laidback lifestyle, along with the access to the Gold Coast Broadwater, and proximity to Brisbane and Gold Coast airports.

Developer George Mastrocostas, 39, represents Hope Island’s next generation as his company, Aniko Group, works its way through a project pipeline of $1bn, spread throughout the Gold Coast. When he was in his late 20s Mastrocostas was all too aware of Hope Island being dubbed “a basket case” that was “best to be avoided and forgotten about”. Eventually he saw it as a sleeper suburb with potential, aggressively negotiating on three super lots in 2015 and taking a gamble that the long-awaited Hope Island Town Centre would be delivered. Completed in December 2018, it saves residents a 40-minute round trip to the previously closest shopping centre and has been credited as one of the biggest catalysts for the area’s transformation.

“I think the risk has eventually paid off,” Mastrocostas says. “I still think of Hope Island as one of Australia’s premier lifestyle resorts and we saw an opportunity there with little risk once that Hope Island Marketplace was completed.”

During the past seven years, Hope Island’s rising house prices have made it one of Queensland’s best performers. They increased from $474,775 in 2012 to $760,654 last year — an improvement of almost 60 per cent, according to CoreLogic RPData figures.

The enclave has been long associated with prestige and at times opulent homes, such as the high-profile canal-front house Sails at 2585 Gracemere Court North, which was first listed for $25m and most recently sold in 2016 for $11m.

Aniko Group’s $140m No 1 Grant Avenue project caters for a different buyer altogether. Priced from $369,000 to $665,000, it

still embodies Hope Island’s luxury image, Mastrocostas says, thanks to amenities such as a health club designed by fitness guru Michelle Bridges and pet-wash facilities for the 80 per cent of residents who are expected to own a pet.

“I’m surprised how many people want to upsize their lifestyle and downsize their house,” says Mastrocostas, having sold about 60 per cent of the 210 apartments in stage one. “We’re seeing plenty of buyers selling out of their multi-million dollar mansions and buying in No 1 Grant Avenue.

“A project like this right in the heart of Hope Island would normally not be accessible to these buyers without sacrificing design, quality and amenity.”

Tony Hymus, sales and marketing consultant for GH Australia’s boutique 46-lot subdivision The Gallery, has worked on and off within Hope Island for the past two decades. Prices at what is its first residential land release within a decade start from $545,000 for a 608sq m lot and go up to $1m for 873sq m of land fronting Links Hope Island Golf course.

“The reception from the community has been great,” Hymus says. “We’ve got 22 unconditional contracts to date. That success surprised me a bit, especially as the interest has been spread over several different demographics. It’s changing the scope of the resident, creating a diverse community with younger families, downsizers, expats and overseas investors.”

A refurbished clubhouse and additional amenities such as a gym are in the pipeline too and are likely to add even more appeal, Hymus says.

“Not having much stock available puts us in a pretty good position and more specifically puts buyers in a good position. The civil construction is under way and the reality is you won’t be stepping on this land until March. If you do the homework and look at where the market is going, with such a shortage of property I can’t see how you can go wrong. Apart from being a great place to live, it’s a very safe investment.”

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I

Fertile ground Toowoomba’s reputation as the Garden City is among its many attractions for prestige property buyers

It started with the rich, red soil in which Toowoomba’s founding fathers planted lines of street trees to welcome new arrivals. Now the centre of Queensland’s Darling Downs has become Australia’s Garden City, with a decades-old annual flower competition and an established reputation as a horticultural centre.

Toowoomba’s diverse gardens and large block sizes have become a major attraction of its prestige property market. David Snow from Peter Snow and Co Real Estate says the expansive gardens seen across many parts of the city enhance the appeal of its property and lifestyle.

“The inherent and enduring value of a quality garden and mature trees is something that has always been appreciated, and there is even greater appreciation now,” he says.“People are understanding the importance of good garden design.”

Perched on Queensland’s Great Dividing Range, Toowoomba has a strong civic history of gardening that has spilled over to its properties. Its award-winning Carnival of Flowers marks its 71st outing this year, making it the longest-running horticultural event of

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| MARCH 14-15, 2020

Toowoomba RO S A N N E BA R R E T T

Opposite: The heritage-listed Weetwood on Tor Street, East Toowoomba; Weetwood’s pool Above: Campbell Street home, built in 1896, sold recently for $1.9 million (top); Golf Course Drive, Middle Ridge

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its kind in Australia. It sparks interest from across the community, with city gardens and private residences competing for the accolade of best landscaping.

Another gardening event, and fundraiser, Toowoomba Exhibition Gardens, opens some of the city’s best gardens to the public for a small fee. Since it started in 1973, the program has generated more than $700,000 for charities. President Michael Frainey says the local weather patterns promote the growth of an unusual blend of both subtropical and cooler-climate plants.

“It’s the altitude and climate here – it gives us a more four-season climate,” he says. “The soil is excellent and well drained, and will grow anything. We’ve got a mixture of cooler and subtropical plants.”

Frainey says that commonly grown plantings include subtropical hibiscus, Leucospermum, jacaranda and bulbs, while proteacae, grevillea and waratahs are also popular. Among the cooler plantings are crab apples, cherry, pears and dogwood. “There are just so many varieties of plants in town,” he says.

But Frainey concedes that the current drought conditions – which as in many districts have led to water restrictions – and a very hot summer are taking a toll on all the gardens.

The city’s premier park, Queens Park and Botanic Gardens, sprawls over 25ha in East Toowoomba, where many of the city’s prestige homes are located. The city administration has unveiled a $12 million multi-stage masterplan for the gardens that includes improved lighting and stormwater management, upgraded surfaces and paths, and new play areas.

Also close to the private schools Fairholme College, Toowoomba Anglican College and Preparatory School and Toowoomba Grammar School, the precincts of East Toowoomba and Middle Ridge offer established and often historic properties with seasonal gardens.

Last year there were 10 sales of more than $1.5 million in East Toowoomba and five in Middle Ridge. The property price record was set with the 2017 sale of the award-winning contemporary home Mauna View for $3.6 million. Designed by Noosa architect Paul Clout, the five-bedroom residence offered “resort-style” gardens, including palms.

Webster Cavanagh principal Andrew Webster says Toowoomba still has its traditional agricultural base of rural families and retirees from northern NSW and western Queensland, who bring their green thumbs with them.

“A lot of people from out west come into Toowoomba and now they can grow a much wider range of plants than they previously could,” he says. “Along the escarpment areas people are very houseproud and that is where a lot of the nicer gardens are.”

Webster says Toowoomba as a city has changed significantly over the past decade, with important infrastructure upgrades.

“In the past 10 years it has gone from being a rural town to agriculture being a distant fourth in terms of bringing income into Toowoomba,” he says. “The top three sectors now are medical, finance and education.”

The opening of the Second Range Crossing late last year is also benefiting the city centre as it created a road for heavy vehicles to use rather than the cross-city thoroughfare.

Webster says Weetwood, a home on an 8000sq m block at 423-433 Tor Street in East Toowoomba, was a particular beneficiary of the traffic reductions.

The 1888 architect-designed home, which is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register, is surrounded by grassed areas, with bougainvillea and mature plantings across the site. It backs onto Toowoomba’s Clifford Gardens racetrack. The five-bedroom home has an asking price of more than $1.6 million.

Another heritage home, on Campbell Street, also recently sold for $1.9 million. Built in 1896, it included a classical garden across its 2130sq m, including a fountain and water features.

Also for sale is a more contemporary residence at 10 Golf Course Drive, Middle Ridge, offering more than 800sq m of living area including five bedrooms. On 6000sq m with views, it also features manicured lawns and hedging and a delicate Japanese-style garden.

Inside, the home is large and solid, with high ceilings and marble features. The list price for the property is $2.25 million.

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Prestige Market Update NERIDA CONISBEE

Living in luxury The most expensive home ever sold in Australia isn’t a waterfront on Sydney Harbour, nor is it an exclusive Toorak mansion. It’s an apartment. Last year, a penthouse in Lendlease’s One Sydney Harbour development sold for $140 million. The apartment doesn’t even exist yet, but it still managed to sell for $40 million more than the second most expensive home ever sold in Australia, Fairwater in Point Piper.

On face value, the differences between Fairwater and the One Sydney Harbour penthouse are stark. Sitting on 1.12ha of absolute beachfront land, Fairwater is sprawling. The penthouse, on the other hand, measures more than 1000sq m – enormous for an apartment – but it lacks land.

The biggest difference is that Fairwater is very similar to all of the other ultra-premium homes that have been sold in Australia, while the One Sydney Harbour penthouse is unusual in that most people who live in apartments rent them and generally pay less than they would for a house in the same suburb.

Traditionally in Australia, expensive apartment living has been rare and luxury apartment living unheard of. But by the end of this decade more Australians will be living in apartments and the number of ultra-luxury apartments developed will rise dramatically.

For most apartment dwellers, the driving factors are affordability, amenity, suburb desirability and lifestyle choice. For someone who can easily afford a notoriously luxurious property such as Fairwater, Elaine or Rona but who decides to buy an apartment, the drivers are very different. It’s all about lifestyle.

In an increasingly globalised world, wealthy people travel a lot

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and often have expensive apartments in many cities. Looking after multiple Fairwater-esque homes scattered across the globe is exhausting and expensive, even if you do have a lot of cash. You also don’t need an acre of garden when dropping into Sydney to stay for a week. An apartment is more convenient, and it allows buyers to architecturally design their home to suit their needs in a premium suburb. Security is also crucial – it’s easier to lock up and leave an apartment if you like to holiday a lot.

The biggest difference, however, is in the services available within a luxury apartment. A great concierge service means there’s always someone to coordinate your laundry, handle maintenance and get you a restaurant booking. Organising parties, looking after pets and overseeing renovations may also be on offer. Links to luxury hotels are common and you can expect the level of service you get in a hotel to be provided in your sky-high home.

As we continue to watch the rise of ultra-luxury apartments, it’s interesting to note the differences in popularity and price between new developments and existing luxury apartments.

According to realestate.com.au, the most expensive apartment in an established development sold for $24.6 million in 2012. More recently, Lleyton and Bec Hewitt spent years trying to sell their 1100+sq m Melbourne penthouse, which eventually sold at a reported loss. While new apartments reign supreme for now, it’ll only be a matter of time before existing ultra-luxury apartments benefit from the ripple effect.

Nerida Conisbee, realestate.com.au Chief Economist

Most expensive established apartment sales recored on realestate.com.au Address

Year

Price ($M)

26/1 Macquarie St, Sydney, NSW 2000

2012

$24.6

88/8 College St, Sydney, NSW 2000

2019

$14.5

3/10 Wentworth St, Point Piper, NSW 2027

2016

$13.5

4/47-49 Wolseley Rd, Point Piper, NSW 2027

2017

$13.5

1/28 Billyard Ave, Elizabeth Bay, NSW 2011

2013

$12.3

2/93 South Perth Esplanade, South Perth, WA 6151

2017

$12.2

7/22 Macleay St, Potts Point, NSW 2011

2014

$11

Apartment 1, 6 Buckhurst Ave, Point Piper, NSW 2027

2011

$10.8

‘Wintergarden’ 4/614 New South Head Rd, Rose Bay, NSW 2019

2019

$10.3

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| MARCH 14-15, 2020

MANSION GLOBAL

C A PA N NOR I , L UCC A , I TA LY

Italian exuberance

E N G L I S H H I D E A WA Y CLAIRE CARPONEN

A secluded country house overlooking the posh English town of Henley-onThames is on the market. Known as Bowsey Manor, the five-bedroom home was listed last week for £4 million ($7.8 million) with estate agency Strutt & Parker. The residence has been extended and restored by the owners, who have lived there for around 20 years, according to Edward Lucas, listing agent and director of Strutt & Parker’s country department. While loaded with historic details and features such as exposed timbers, vaulted ceilings and antique marble fireplaces, the home also features contemporary design. The owners chose the design deliberately, wanting to “maintain its authenticity while creating something up to modern standard to live in”, Lucas says. “The old and new

Frescoes depicting mythological themes adorn the walls and ceilings of this historic mansion outside the city of Lucca, while its gardens feature stone nymphs, a peschiera (fish pond) and a number of artificial caves. Villa Mansi once belonged to the Mansi family, whose wealth came from the silk trade. The house has 16th-century origins, but was mainly built in the 17th century. It was transformed in the 18th century by the architect Giudi, who created its Rococo facade. Theatrical Baroque gardens were added by the stage set designer Filippo Juvarra, and classical murals and trompe l’oeil paintings by the Lucchese artist Stefano Tofanelli. Set in the rolling Tuscan countryside, it sits grandly behind flat lawns shaded by ancient trees. The gardens have become more natural over the years, though the theatrical set pieces of the grottoes and peschiera have been retained, bringing a sense of romance and atmosphere to the grounds. Villa Mansi is an iconic property, says Daniela Sprea of Italy Sotheby’s International Realty agent in Lucca, who has listed it for €19 million ($31 million)

CA L I FORN I A N LU X U RY

sit together very well.”

LIZ LUCKING

A sleek new contemporary estate in Los Angeles’s exclusive Bel Air has been listed for $US19.899 million ($30.17 million) by James Harris and David Parnes of The Agency, and Jade Mills of Coldwell Banker. It last sold in 2017 for $4.2 million ($6.3 million) to a corporation. The three-level, 1117sq m house, on a 3723sq m lot in the prestigious West Gate section, was completed in 2019. “It’s a stunning modern house,” Harris says. “It doesn’t look like a typical modern box. It has warmth and texture and lovely architectural significance,” with smoked glass, stone and exotic woods. In addition to an infinity glass-bottomed pool with a waterfall, the gated property has a rooftop bar, a garden and a four-car garage.

The house has seven bedrooms, seven full bathrooms, two half- bathrooms, an elevator, and a 9m custom chandelier. On the lower level is a bar, a movie theatre, a fitness centre, a wine cellar, and a private patio with views of the city and ocean.

NANCY A RUHLING

MARCH 14-15, 2020

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Campbell Point House J ONAT H A N C H A NC E L L OR

Chateau du lac Who hasn’t fantasised about owning a chateau with a cigar room, a ballroom, an imposing fireplace and a bedroom for almost every guest? Plus Pimms served in the garden maze as the sun sets.

Now the fairytale opportunity to buy and run such a stately home is available on Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula, with the listing of Campbell Point House (pictured above).

The rare 15-bedroom offering that sits on 15ha on Lake Connewarre is being offered with a $20 million to $22 million price guide through Sean Cussell at Christie’s International Prestige Homes Victoria.

The French chateau-inspired estate was built in 2008 by the current owners, property developer Aaron Parkhill, nephew of Westfield billionaire Frank Lowy, and his wife Megan Blackhall.

Parkhill wanted the home to have a 200-year-old look for guests arriving after passing through the 10,000-tree pine forest.

The holding, on the outskirts of Geelong some 90km from Melbourne’s CBD, was secured some 14 years ago. Parkhill handled much of the 15-month build himself. A few years after completion the family moved out, the couple having found that the sprawling 1350sq m, five-bedroom residence was too big for them and their three kids. Indeed the family had felt themselves drawn together and living mostly in the master suite.

From 2011 the property operated as a wedding venue while Parkhill waited for a permit to run it as a hotel. At one point MasterChef booked it out to film the show, with guest chef Marco Pierre White cooking up a storm.

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Fashion designer Rebecca Judd, the wife of retired Carlton champion Chris Judd, had her baby shower at the property, and Cats teammate Joel Selwood proposed to his now wife Brit Davis when staying there.

It’s also been sought out by some of the world’s biggest names.

Singers Justin Bieber and Adele each reportedly booked out the private, gated property. However it’s believed neither showed given Greater Geelong Council’s then strict laws preventing easy helicopter access for the megastars. There’s now an onsite helipad.

After spending around $10 million on renovations and extensions, Parkhill and Blackhall opened the doors to their boutique hotel, with a capacity of 30 guests, in late 2018. The main building has five ensuited bedrooms, formal and informal living and dining rooms, a commercial grade kitchen, conservatory, billiards room and cigar room.

In the formal manicured grounds, framed by English box hedges and including a number of water features, there is a pool house, accompanied by an infinity pool, complete with sauna and a marble fireplace.

There are two three-bedroom cottages, a four-bedroom lake house, and a pavilion next to the grass tennis court. A caretaker’s cottage and a utility building with staff amenities is also in the grounds. Down by the water there’s a private jetty with a boathouse painted in the colours of the French flag.

Materials for the property were sourced from all over the world. All of the marble came from China and the decorative

teak woodwork and doors from Indonesia. The floor tile that is a feature of the living room came from France. Parkhill carried the tile on a plane to Jakarta, where a craftsman reproduced it in bulk by hand.

Only guests can use the amenities, including the day spa, leisure facilities and restaurant, led by head chef Tobin Kent, the former head chef at Inverleigh’s Gladioli, who uses organic produce grown in the grounds.

Of course the number of unviable longstanding country homes has escalated overseas. The UK’s stately homes were mostly built in the 17th and 18th centuries as the heart of an agricultural estate, with money made from renting the land to tenant farmers.

There were almost 5000 mansions at their mid-19th century peak, but that number dived especially during the 1950s to about 3000, which remain today.

Cussell says he’s never had an offering like Campbell Point House. “Campbell Point House may ultimately appeal to a private hotel operator, given the hard work has been done in planning and building such a rare property,” Cussell says.

“It has enormous potential to capitalise even further on the luxury wedding market, being so close to Melbourne. We have already received interest from families looking for a large holiday retreat with direct access to the lake and the beach.

“We are also expecting interest from overseas buyers seeking a trophy Australian asset.”

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56 E ROGOUDS O S TER E E T 1 R1A/V E NFW DN RIV SE URNESNHIITNYE CBLE, ANCOHO S A H E A D S 8 S 4

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offermann.com.au

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Auction Saturday 4 April 11am Price Saturday 17 March 1pm Agent Rebekah Offermann View Saturday 11.00am - 11.30am Wednesday 0413 044 2414pm - 5pm Agent Nic Hunter 0421 785 512

NOOSA’S HOME OF PRESTIGE PROPERTY

Stable genius

An inspired melding of old and new

Colour coding Make the move into autumn

Modular moment Charlotte Perriand’s shelving

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A cohesive palette flows from room to room, connecting all the spaces and creating a calming effect

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PRIVATE OASIS

This two-storey home in Albert Park is steeped in history ... with a few hidden treasures thrown in S to r y by SA M D UNCA N P h o to g r a phy by S H A N NON MCGR AT H

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If this two-storey home with a basement in Melbourne’s beachside Albert Park were to be renovated again in the future by a new owner, there would be a joyous surprise in store.

They would likely be aware that the structure at the rear of the unified three-part building was in the late 1800s a stable housing horses and carts that delivered milk to the inner city. They would probably also know that the weatherboard cottage at the front was where the stable manager resided.

What they might not be aware of is the property’s late 20th-century chapter, in which a motor enthusiast purchased the buildings in 1974 and used the old stables as a garage and showroom for his eight vintage racing cars.

It wasn’t until 1996 that Albert Park became the home of the Australian Grand Prix, but over the years a dozen or more Formula One driving greats visited the stables to view the collection. Among them were Jackie Stewart, Juan Manuel Fangio, Jack Brabham and Alan Jones. When they did so, they sprayed their signatures in large graffiti style on the internal walls.

Chris Rak, principal interior architect at Robson Rak, says his firm protected the sprayed signatures behind newly installed internal walls, but they’re hidden. If you were to pull those walls down in a hundred or so years, he says, it would reveal a remarkable vignette of motor-racing history.

When the St Kilda-based architecture and interior design firm took on the project to transform the old cottage and stables into a contemporary home for a busy family, the challenge was to create a cohesive environment. Linking the existing buildings with a new architectural insertion meant there would be three distinctly different structures to unify.

“Externally the three forms read as separate styles, but internally, the home is designed using a cohesive, limited palette of materials that flow from one space to the other,” says Kathryn Robson, principal architect at Robson Rak. “This ensures the connection of all forms to create a home that is calm, consistent, and easy to live in.

“In effect, we’ve stitched together three very different structures. Internally, they make for exciting transitional spaces; externally, the key was to celebrate their differences.”

The creation of a private oasis was important for the busy owners, who spent a lot of time overseas and needed a tranquil and restorative sanctuary.

Robson says the significant heritage controls on the site meant the new-built form had to be clearly distinguishable from the old building fabric, within a contemporary style. To achieve this, she opted for slender, contemporary grey bricks, large expanses of glass and aluminium to link the cottage to the stables.

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Clockwise from opposite page: The client’s art collection was incorporated into the design; the fireplace with shelf for wood; upstairs looking out; the interior courtyard; the contemporary neutral palette is continued in the kitchen

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The wall of the rear additon to the house, left, and its cottage facade, below

Enter through the front door of the cottage and you step into a sitting room and library space, which links to the main kitchen and dining area. A discreet butler’s pantry acts to conceal a study and stairs down to the basement with a rumpus room, laundry, cellar, and spare bedroom. On the first floor are the master suite, two further bedrooms with ensuites, and a European laundry. A roof terrace above reveals city views.

An internal courtyard comes off the kitchen and dining area on the ground floor, leading to the “Great Room” – the main living space in the former stables with a doubleheight void above. “I love the Great Room,” says Robson. “This room is where you reflect on the existing forms and details that were part of the original stables. I also love the indoor-outdoor connection when all of the doors are opened into the internal courtyard – this is the ultimate party space.”

The house was designed to showcase the client’s significant art collection, she says, with gallery-like areas for paintings, as well as inset details in the joinery to house the works. “When we commence the design process, we take an inventory of the art to ensure it is considered in the initial concept design phase. We always ensure that art is a part of every space in the house, right down to the metal sculpture of a dog that sits under the stairs.”

Rak says a cool colour palette was important in all three internal volumes to open and link the spaces and help showcase the client’s furniture selection and art.

The latter certainly takes centre stage in the home. With a minimal and restrained approach, Robson Rak used a combination of natural stone floors, pale timber cabinetry, white walls and pale joinery to create the ideal backdrop for the abundance of artwork, sculptural pieces and statement furniture.

Eye-catching is the bespoke marble bath, designed with a large custom skylight over it, and elevated to enhance the light above and embrace the ritual of bathing.

“You can lie back in the bath gazing up to the sky,” says Robson. “The marble tiles in this room were chosen to tie into the Melbourne sky colour, so the whole space becomes one with the sky.”

Also attention-grabbing is the beauty of the freestanding wood fireplace, with a ledge seamlessly extending to one side for wood. It looks like an elegant coffee table and fireplace merged into one and provides a focal point in the new sitting room.

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Etc. S A M YA T E S

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Autumn tones Cosy up with a home refresh to usher in the change of season 1. C H A I R Paroo Chair with timber-look aluminium legs in red, white or black. mattblatt.com.au 2. W A R D R O B E Ubik walk-in closet with a wood or glass drawer fronts. poliform.com.au 3. L I G H T F I T T I N G

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Orient P2 pendant light by Fritz Hansen with lampshade hand-spun in a wooden mould cultdesign.com.au

5. B E D Queen size Klassik Papercord bed in oak or natural. greatdanefurniture.com 6. A R M C H A I R

Walter Knoll Bao armchair with back in patchwork leather and natural fabric seat. livingedge.com.au

7. B O W L S B&B Italia Outdoor Karam set of three bowls spacefurniture.com.au

4. B E A N B A G Leather bean bag comes in olive, tan or chestnut. koskela.com.au

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Nuage Cabinet C H A R LO T T E P E R R I AND

Design Classics DAVID MEAGHER

The shelving, above and left, comes in different heights and colours and can be configured in various combinations

he French designer Charlotte Perriand was so in awe of Swiss architect Le Corbusier that in 1927, aged 24, she showed up at his studio asking for a job. He is reported to have said “We don’t embroider cushions here.”

Later that year, Perriand was praised by critics for her rooftop bar at the Salon d’Automne, built entirely in nickel-plated copper and anodised aluminium. Le Corbusier was so impressed that he got in contact with her and began what would become a decade-long collaboration.

Perriand then went to live in Vietnam and Japan, which is where she came up with the design for one of her most iconic pieces: the Nuage shelving unit. She wrote in 1940 about the shelves she saw at the Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto: “[They were] arranged on the walls, in the form of a cloud. A free form that gives rhythm to space and enhances the objects it supports.”

Today there are various models in different heights and colours. They can be arranged in various configurations, thanks to the coloured sliding panels, trays and shelves, and the modular system can be joined with other units in myriad combinations.

The first versions were made from wood due to war time rationing but by 1956 they appeared in aluminium. Original versions sell in the six figures at auction, and today they are produced in aluminium with timber panels exclusively by Cassina and are available in Australia from Space Furniture. spacefurniture.com.au 58

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