The Walls Around Us Student Competition.

Some of the most interesting buildings are architects’ own homes.
Robin Boyd made a beautiful and experimental home, Boyd House II/Walsh Street, for his family in South Yarra.

Boyd tested things.

There were very different issues and concerns in 1957, and the world is not the same in 2022. No doubt Boyd would design something different if he was alive today. This competition asks students to reflect on the interests and ideas of Boyd and his contribution to architecture through the lens of his own home.

Working drawings. Walsh Street Plans.

The Robin Boyd Foundation is proposing that entrants consider ‘the walls around us’ and design a new way to live on the Walsh Street site.

Student’s are invited to consider a proposition that speaks to our immediate concerns as a society, and are asked you their design principally uses brickwork or blockwork in a way that demonstrates the unique qualities and possibilities of these materials.

Robin Boyd, The Australian Ugliness, (Melbourne: F.W. Cheshire, 1960), 174, Roy Simpson Collection, RMIT Design Archives. Illustration by Robin Boyd, ©2019 Estate of Robin Boyd, courtesy Robin Boyd Foundation

PROJECT BRIEF:
Participants are invited to submit their designs for a reimagined development of the Boyd House II/Walsh Street site at 290 Walsh Street, South Yarra VIC 3141. Entries must:
– Design a place to live.
– Demonstrate an exploration into the ideas and interests of Robin Boyd.
– Demonstrate an understanding of the experimental vision of Boyd House II/Walsh Street.
– Respond to the site and context of 290 Walsh Street, South Yarra VIC 3141.
– Incorporate a proposition relating to one or more of: Sustainability; Reuse/repair/reimagine; Caring for Country; Housing Affordability; Increased density.
– Be a minimum of two dwellings (there is no maximum).
– Be a maximum of three storeys.
– Should principally be constructed of brickwork or blockwork demonstrating the unique qualities and possibilities of the materials.

EVALUATION CRITERIA:
The Jury — consisting of Eve Castle (QLD), National Business Development Manager, Brickworks Building Products, Prof Philip Goad (VIC), Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor and Chair of Architecture, University of Melbourne and Director, Robin Boyd Foundation; and, Simon Pendal PhD FRAIA (WA) Principal, Simon Pendal Architect, Senior Lecturer, Architecture, School of Arts and Sciences, Fremantle, The University of Notre Dame Australia — will assess the merit of each Entry against the following Criteria:
1. Engagement with the ideas, vision, theories and research of Robin Boyd with particular focus on the Boyd House II/Walsh Street residence.
2. A proposal which provides a response to environmental, economic, social, and cultural issues through architecture.
3. Understanding and creative use of material qualities and possibilities provided by brickwork and blockwork.
4. A creative and viable response to the site and context of 290 Walsh Street, South Yarra VIC 3141.
5. Presentation, clarity and quality of graphics, text and submitted materials.

Boyd House II / Walsh Street, South Yarra