S2 Ep 9 - Marsala House Iwan Iwanoff

Kevin on the dance floor?

The ultimate 1970s party house is on the menu as Tim and Kev hit the Perth suburb of Dianella to visit one of the city’s most talked-about homes.

Designed by Bulgarian-born architect Iwan Iwanoff in 1976, the Marsala House is a sculptural, concrete-block Brutalist wonderland that boasts a Saturday Night Fever-style dance floor.

The current owner, Greg, flings open the doors to reveal the stories of this iconic house.

Iwan Iwanoff (1919–1986) was a Bulgarian-born architect who trained in Munich before emigrating to Western Australia in 1950, where he worked with Krantz & Sheldon and later established his own practice in 1963. Known primarily for residential work, his early designs were influenced by post-war modernism, but from the mid-1960s he developed a distinctive, sculptural style using modelled concrete blockwork. Combining expressive forms with rational planning, his later houses - such as the Marsala and Tomich houses - read as bold works of architecture that verge on abstract sculpture.

There’s a couple of great Iwanoff books:
Perth born photographer Jack Lovel has documented many of his homes in this excellent publication – Catching Light – robinboyd.org.au/product/catching-light

Warren Anderson definitive Iwanoff book is a must read – The Architecture of Iwan Iwanoff – crowbooks.com.au

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Big Design Adventure is proudly sponsored by Space Furniture (@spacefurniture), the Australian Institute of Architects (@institute_architects_aus) and is produced with the support of the Alastair Swayn Foundation (@alastairswaynfoundation) in Australia, Royal Institute of British Architects (@RIBA) in the UK and New Zealand Institute of Architects (@nziarchitects) in New Zealand. 

 

Hosts: Tim Ross and Kevin McCloud
Guests: Greg Eastwood and Vespa Eastwood
Big Design Adventure is produced by Modernister Films on Wallumedegal land, Australia.
Executive Producer: Shelley Kemp
Audio Production: Madeline Joannou – Mylk Media
Music: Kit Warhurst (@kitwarhurst)

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