New book: Iconic Modern Australian Houses

I missed this one over Christmas, so belatedly flagging up Iconic Modern Australian Houses by Karen McCartney.

I don’t feature houses in Australia a lot, but that’s not by choice. It’s more a case of not really being ‘in the loop’ with Australian real estate agents and sites. When I do spot them they tend to be both spectacular and popular. With that in mind, I think this book might be a popular one as well.

This is a new book, but it is based on two older volumes. Previously published works focused on 50/60/70 and 70/80/90, both of which also became successful exhibitions at the Museum of Sydney.

If you missed those, this is a freshly redesigned book that takes in the whole period, complete with a revised introduction. The end result is an introduction to domestic modernism in Australia and some amazing pieces of architecture.

Whether you recognise the names of the people behind the houses perhaps depends on your prior knowledge of the subject and area. If you are familiar, this book features houses from the likes of Harry Seidler (the man behind this wonderful Airbnb house I featured a few years back), Peter Muller, Roy Grounds, Peter McIntyre, Russell Jack, Robin Boyd, McGlashan Everist, Enrico Taglietti, Neville Gruzman, Bruce Rickard, Hugh Buhrich, Ian McKay, Iwan Iwanoff, Ian Collins, Richard Leplastrier, Glenn Murcott, Barrie Marshall, Ken Woolley, Lovell Chen, Wood Marsh, Andresen O’Gorman, Durbach Block, Sean Godsell, Stutchbury and Harper, Donovan Hill and John Wardle.