CLEMSON HOUSE
24 MILFAY AVENUE KEW, BOROONDARA CITY
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Statement of Significance
What is significant?
The Clemson house was designed by architect Robin Boyd for the Clemson family and built in 1959-60.
The block slopes steeply to the west from the driveway off Milfay Avenue, with a minor creek flowing down the southern boundary. The landscape includes a large mature eucalypt dating from well before the house, and informal planting and landscaping which give a bush block feel to the place. Ellis Stones built benching of large stones to stabilise the cutting to the north of the house, and flagstone steps and paving leading to the front entrance.
The main design feature of the house is the single sweep of steeply sloping metal deck roof in a shallow inward sloping V which floats above and shelters the simple cabin shaped dwelling enclosures below. The roof is supported on a series of eleven white 'scissor' frames of light section timber with square timber columns forming an open colonnade along the outside of the building. The top two bays off the driveway form a carport. Two cabin like living areas with dark painted vertical boarded walls and sloping fibro roofs step down the hill, one for bedrooms and bathroom and the other the kitchen and living area. They are separated by a breezeway with a translucent roof containing the entrance and laundry. Square timber framed windows are fitted to a uniform module of half a structural bay. The final bay under the roof is a deck which stands well above ground level and is surrounded by trees and is backed by the fully glazed wall of the living area.
The interior of the house is lined in natural finish hardwood boards with painted fibre-board ceilings. All rooms are comprehensively fitted with cleverly resolved built-in furniture, lighting and labour-saving appliances tailored to the Clemson's particular needs and adding to the liveability of what is actually a very small and economical dwelling. Detailing generally is simple but sophisticated.
How is it significant?
The Clemson House is of architectural significance to the State of Victoria.
Why is it significant?
The Clemson House is of architectural significance as a house design by Robin Boyd, a prominent Melbourne architect, critic and writer. The house clearly reflects some of the major design themes in his work, including the strong controlling idea of the dwelling stepped down under a single sloping V roof, the clear expression of structure in the cissor' frames, and the specificity of the solution to the steep bush block and the clients' living requirements.
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CLEMSON HOUSE - Permit Exemptions
General Exemptions:General exemptions apply to all places and objects included in the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR). General exemptions have been designed to allow everyday activities, maintenance and changes to your property, which don’t harm its cultural heritage significance, to proceed without the need to obtain approvals under the Heritage Act 2017.Places of worship: In some circumstances, you can alter a place of worship to accommodate religious practices without a permit, but you must notify the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria before you start the works or activities at least 20 business days before the works or activities are to commence.Subdivision/consolidation: Permit exemptions exist for some subdivisions and consolidations. If the subdivision or consolidation is in accordance with a planning permit granted under Part 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the application for the planning permit was referred to the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria as a determining referral authority, a permit is not required.Specific exemptions may also apply to your registered place or object. If applicable, these are listed below. Specific exemptions are tailored to the conservation and management needs of an individual registered place or object and set out works and activities that are exempt from the requirements of a permit. Specific exemptions prevail if they conflict with general exemptions. Find out more about heritage permit exemptions here.Specific Exemptions:General Conditions: 1. All exempted alterations are to be planned and carried out in a manner which prevents damage to the fabric of the registered place or object. General Conditions: 2. Should it become apparent during further inspection or the carrying out of alterations that original or previously hidden or inaccessible details of the place or object are revealed which relate to the significance of the place or object, then the exemption covering such alteration shall cease and the Executive Director shall be notified as soon as possible. General Conditions: 3. If there is a conservation policy and plan approved by the Executive Director, all works shall be in accordance with it. General Conditions: 4. Nothing in this declaration prevents the Executive Director from amending or rescinding all or any of the permit exemptions. General Conditions: 5. Nothing in this declaration exempts owners or their agents from the responsibility to seek relevant planning or building permits from the responsible authority where applicable.Landscape:
* The process of gardening, mowing, hedge clipping, bedding displays, removal of dead plants, disease and weed control, emergency and safety works.
* The replanting of plant species to conserve the landscape character.
* Management of trees in accordance with Australian Standard; Pruning of amenity trees AS 4373.
* Vegetation protection from possums.
* Repairs, conservation and maintenance to hard landscape elements including paths, stone embankments, stone edging, fences and gates.
* Installation, removal or replacement of garden watering and drainage systems.
Building Exterior:
* Painting of previously painted surfaces in the same or original colour
* Treatments to stabilise and protect timberBuilding Interior:
* Repainting in existing or original colours and revarnishing of timberwork in original paint system
* Replacement of carpets and/or flexible floor coverings.
* Installation, removal or replacement of hooks, nails and other devices for the hanging of mirrors, paintings and other wall mounted artworks.
* Replacement in bathrooms and toilets of sanitary fixtures and associated piping, mirrors.
* Replacement of bathroom wall lining and reinstallation of existing tiles or replacement with tiles in the same size, finish and pattern.
* Replacement of stoves, ovens, refrigerators, dishwashers etc and associated plumbing and wiring.
* Installation, removal or replacement of hydronic or radiant type heating provided that the installation does not damage existing skirtings and architraves.
* Installation, removal or replacement of electrical wiring provided that all new wiring is fully concealed.
* Installation of smoke detectors
* Removal of extraneous items such as, pipe work, ducting, wiring, antennae, aerials etc, and making good.CLEMSON HOUSE - Permit Exemption Policy
The Clemson House is significant as a house designed by Robin Boyd. The conservation of the significance of this place is closely connected to the high level of intactness of the place. Because of the intactness of the fabric of the house and its interior furnishings, the range of permit exemptions for this place is less than that usually given for residences which have been more substantially changed and had many different users since they were built.
Inside the building the original built in furniture is extensive and very intact. A permit would be required for changes to to built in furnishings. In order to maintain an acceptable level of amenity and to enable ongoing ocupation of the place, exemptions are given for further upgrading of services.
The landscape combines some hard landscaping elements designed by Ellis Stones as well as areas landscaped by the Clemsons themselves. The Ellis Stones elements are the large stones stabilisating of embankments around the house and the flagstone steps down the hill to the entrance and associated paving. The Clemson built landscape elements are mainly in the lower reaches of the garden, and include the pond and footpaths.While these various components are not itemised in the extent, permits would be required for substantial changes or removals or additions of hard landsscape elements. Maintenance and repair of these elements is permit exempt.
The plantings on the site are generally informal. Although there are many non-native and non-indigenous components, g, the large mature eucalypt(s) predated the house but are significant both in their own right and because they indicate the original bush setting. The copper beech is also significant. The planting at the bottom of the site is very informal. It serves as a screen and acts as a "bush" backdrop to the balcony.
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