Prominent Victorian architect Harold Desbrowe-Annear

Harold Desbrowe-Annear

This page is wholly from the Robin Boyd Foundation

Harold Desbrowe Annear Sunday June 26 2011

The Robin Boyd Foundation invites you to an rare public open day of privately-owned houses designed by architect Harold Desbrowe-Annear.

• 6 inspiring houses open for you to visit.
• A exclusive collection of houses never before opened to the public
• 5 houses designed by Desbrowe-Annear, 1 designed with his influence

Harold Desbrowe-Annear was one of the most innovative architects in Australia in the early twentieth century. Trained in the heady days of Melbourne’s 1880s land boom and imbued with the ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement, he was acclaimed by Robin Boyd as a pioneer of modernism. In his first book Victorian Modern published in 1949 Boyd wrote ‘Harold Desbrowe Annear was the first Australian-born to produce original architecture, a big bluff, hearty architect, who knew what he wanted, and saw that his clients got it.’

Desbrowe-Annear embraced the power of architecture to improve people’s lives. Open plan living areas expressed architecturally the new openness and sense of freedom that was flowing through society at the time of Federation – an Australian architecture that responded to climate, use and place.

In the spirit of the Arts and Crafts he saw the suburban house in its widest sense – as part of a total ensemble that included the interior, the furnishings and the garden. He promoted the idea of an ‘architecture of democracy’: an art available to everyone. Adopting a variety of styles, the houses were nonetheless all planned for comfort and functional efficiency, as well as good design.

For Booking Form go to bottom of this page



Desbrowe-Annear House (1903)



Chadwick House (1903)



Darvall House - Billiard Room extension (1908 - 11)



Macgeorge House (1910)



BrayHouse (1910)



Napier Waller Houseand Studio (1922)



Springthorpe Memorial (1897 – 1900)

Date: Sunday 26th June 2011, House opening times: 10.00am to 4.00pm
To participate: This is a ticketed event. All tickets must be pre-purchased. Tickets will not be available for sale on the day.
Day Pass Ticket prices:

General public $90.00

Robin Boyd Foundation Members $70.00

Students $50.00

Download Booking Form