The Light House, including hard landscaping and summer house to the rear garden

The Light House

A Post-Modernist house designed in 1983 and built between 1984 and 1985 by architect Ivan Simovic for his family. The building is a steel-framed structure with concrete floorplates and brick and concrete wall construction.

The house occupies a distinctive wedge-shaped plot on the curved north-eastern end of Redington Road, with the site widening from the width of a double garage at the front to over 14 metres in the rear garden. The lower-ground floor is conceived as an open-plan social and entertaining space, accessed via a descending curved ramp from the main entrance at the west end and opening onto the garden to the east. A compact kitchen occupies the narrowest portion at the west side of the lower-ground floor. Bedrooms, bathrooms and a study are positioned on the upper level, connected by and with views onto a full-height, top-lit central core that forms the heart of the house.

The street-facing elevation is narrow and single-storey, set back from and largely obscured by neighbouring houses. A central entrance is set beneath a timber-clad cylindrical drum (the original water tank) with three steps and flanking orange pipes, echoing the formal classical surrounds of Redington Road. To the right, a stepped-back wall section contains a tall narrow window. External walls are constructed of stock brick punctuated by regular bands of red bricks laid in header bond. The garden elevation is curved with a stepped cut-away section to the north, where the brickwork gives way to full-height glazing. A band of lead sheeting runs along the top of the glazing. The south end of the rear elevation has an angled projection with further full-height glazing, terminating in a tall brick chimney of octagonal form. A concrete column support with distinctive coiled shutter marking projects from this section into the garden, tied to the house with a concrete beam and capped with a lamp. The south-western and north sides have blind flank elevations.

The interior design comprises complex interconnected levels and spaces formed with curved internal walls, creating multiple openings that afford views onto the open-plan social space of the lower-ground floor, the focal point and hub of the house. Simovic conceived the design as an outer shell divided from the inner volume by several intermediate spaces: a double-height curved volume facing the garden and a ramp from the main entrance. On entering from the rear garden, the double-height area separates the elevation from two rear bedrooms to the upper level, which are themselves separated by a narrow opening offering glimpses through to the central full-height space. From the Redington Road side, a relatively tight entrance leads through to the top of the ramp, providing an open view through the building and access to the lower floor via either the curved ramp along the northern side or a central spiral stair with tubular steel balusters. The ramp incorporates recessed shelving and seating, functioning as both a reading space and dramatic entranceway to the main living area. This curved ramp reveals the space between the outer shell and inner volumes, with views cutting through the house and onto the garden. Inner walls are expressed as simple white curvilinear forms against the brickwork and glass of the outer wall. This distinction in wall treatments, combined with varied levels, the central full-height top-lit space and various internal openings, creates an impression of spaciousness within a relatively compact building.

The entire lower-ground floor functions as an open entertaining and living space. A formal dining area occupies the centre, designed to accommodate 50 people, with informal seating areas adjacent to the ramp, marked by original fitted seating, and in the south-eastern corner featuring an inset fireplace. The floor throughout is finished in white and red marble tiles forming a grid pattern, with all fitted shelving and cupboards original to the design. Openings and gaps in horizontal and vertical surfaces offer glimpses of space and light through cut-outs in the upper levels of the external walls and between internal spaces, allowing perception of depth and light beyond this area. The central full-height space brings direct daylight deep into the single-aspect floorplate, reflected and diffused by the curved white surfaces. A key aspect of the design was deliberate control of light and shadow, informing the detailing of inner volumes to reveal structural elements or distinguish planes, creating highlights and deep shadows.

At the west end of the lower-ground level, a compact kitchen is divided by a curved wall with a door to the south and a central cut-through of stepped form revealing the living area. The kitchen is flanked to the north by a utility room, a photographic dark room (now a store), and a small semi-circular breakfast area arranged around a fitted bench and table.

The upper floor contains two bedrooms with private bathrooms, a study and a family bathroom. These rooms are connected by an L-shaped landing with original integrated shelving and cupboards, lit by the central glazed roof section of the full-height core. Further original fitted storage exists in the bedrooms. Each room is partially lit by glazed roof panels, this being the principal light source for the master bedroom at the west end. The northernmost bedroom, designed as a child's room, has a circular form with a ladder providing access to a small mezzanine play area within the central roof space. The study/bedroom to the south-east side opens onto the main social space with a small snug containing an integrated bench and tubular steel baluster overlooking the fireside area of the main living area. Throughout the upper floor, the steel roof structure is exposed, with the shallow multi-pitched roof form expressed.

The summer house at the end of the garden, the brick footpaths and mosaic paving sections were designed as part of the original concept by Simovic, with the summer house executed in varied light and red stained timber to match the colours of the main house.