House
1 Mountain View Road BALWYN NORTH, BOROONDARA CITY
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Statement of Significance
What is Significant?
The house at 1 Mountain View Road, Balwyn North, built in 1939 by master builders L W Ritter Pty Ltd is significant.
Significant elements of the place include the brick garage and low brick fence with mild steel balustrade that runs across the street frontage and continues partway down the southern boundary.
The rear extension constructed in 1977 is not significant.
How is it significant?
1 Mountain View Road, Balwyn North, is of local architectural (representative) significance to the City of Boroondara.
Why is it significant?
1 Mountain View Road, Balwyn North is a fine and externally intact example of a two-storey Moderne dwelling. It demonstrates key design elements of the Moderne style, including a layered geometric massed form, a strong horizontal emphasis balanced by the vertical axis of the chimney, and the use of contemporary materials such as corner and steel framed windows, smooth rendered walls and patterned brick work. It is also a well-designed and carefully detailed example of the Moderne style. Its bold use of planar surfaces broken up by the subtle use of curved elements and panels of contrasting brickwork and its dominant stepped chimney stack makes it an excellent representative example. It is enhanced by the retention of the front and side fence with an Art Deco mild-steel balustrade matching the one above the cantilevered entrance hood. (Criterion D)
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House - Physical Description 1
Constructed in 1939, 1 Mountain View Road, Balwyn North, is a substantial two-storied brick dwelling. Positioned on the east side of Mountain View Road the house sits one block back from Doncaster Road. Taking advantage of its elevated position, the house sits at a slight angle to the road taking in sweeping vistas to the west. There is a gentle fall to the land from north to south. Constructed in brick with a smooth render finish, the house has a hipped roof and uses simple detail elements of Moderne styling including the asymmetrical massing of simple geometrical shapes and contrasting vertical and horizontal elements.
The low-pitched hipped roof is clad in a variegated terracotta roof tile and picks up on the colouring of the vertical bands of tapestry brickwork incorporated into the steel-framed corner windows.
The street-facing east elevation steps back in three sections from its north-west corner. The furthest forward element contains a centrally placed chimney with symmetrically placed steel-framed corner windows on either side at each level. The chimney creates a strong contrasting vertical element in the otherwise streamline horizontal treatment of the facade. Stepped in both plan and elevation, the chimney breaks through the eave line and introduces a strong geometrical element creating shadow-lines that contrast to the overall simple slab like treatment of the facade.
Recessed in plan, the main entrance is sheltered by a flat concrete hood with a geometric metal balustrade on top an element of Art Deco to the facade. This same mild-steel panel is used for the front fence. The front door has a porthole window. Coupled with the rounded corners and raised brick stripe detailing to the entrance and stairwell above, these elements are representative of Moderne styling popular in the late 1930s. A pair of raised brick stripes wrap around the curved corner. A slender vertical window above the front door is glazed with etched glass. Lighting the stairwell, this window introduces another element of verticality to the elevation.
Windows are horizontal steel-framed casement windows. The use of horizontal glazing bars further emphasises the width and shallow depth of the windows. Distinctive vertical panels of tapestry brickwork break up and contrast with the windows and the sheer planes of the rendered brick walls. The sills are flush set into the wall without exposed sill bricks and finished in smooth render continuous with the wall surfaces.
The house is set behind a low brick wall capped with a metal rail that matches the railing above the front entrance. It has been recently rendered. A tapestry hedge sits behind the fence and a large Blue Atlas Spruce tree may be an early planting. Unusually the fence detailing continues down the southern boundary, along the driveway, stopping in line with the house. Part of this low side wall is clad in random slate veneer with evidence of it delaminating and falling off. It is possible that the front fence was once clad in a similar material but has now been lost. A concrete drive runs down the southern boundary and leads to an original simple, detached, single, brick garage at the rear of the house. A concrete path leads off the drive, whilst the front steps and porch are paved in slate matching the remnants on the side low brick wall.
1 Mountainview Road, Balwyn North, is of very high integrity with very few changes visible to original or early elements of the place. The building retains its original built form, original roof form and fenestrations. The rear extension is not visible from the public domain.
The integrity of the building is greatly enhanced by the unusually high level of intactness of these main elements, which include the terracotta-tile clad hipped roof, masonry walls with smooth render finish, raised brick stripe detailing to the curved stairwell wall, vertical bands of tapestry brickwork, stepped chimney, steel framed windows, entrance porch with cantilevered concrete hood with mild steel balustrade, original door and window joinery including port hole window to the front door and etched glass to stairwell window.
The integrity of the place is enhanced by the original low brick fence with mild steel balustrade that runs across the street frontage and continues part way down the southern boundary and by the original brick garage.
The integrity of the place in slightly diminished by the rear extension although this is not visible from the public domain.
Heritage Study and Grading
Balwyn Heritage Study Peer Review Stage 2
Author: Context
Year: 2020
Grading: Local
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