Season 5 Episode 1 is WBG's Castlecrag.
"Anthony Burke meets self-confessed 'Architecture Nerds' Annette and Michael Pitman who own the smallest of all the Walter Burley Griffin-designed houses in Castlecrag and want to restore and extend the house"
A big change to a house by one of the godfathers of Australian architecture, Walter Burley Griffin's small Castlecrag house is certain to rile up the purists.
In a media world where house buying and renovating has become a competitive sport, viewer expectation is now that there will be drama, action, tension and twists. Conflict is therefore mandatory.
Burke only takes until 10 seconds in to set up the conflict. "No one wants to live in a museum", while the new owners set out to modernise it with "the whole community looking on." And of course there are the "encyclopedia's worth of heritage restrictions" at 3 minutes. Just how long until the government bogey heritage advisor comes in to ruin their dream of an open plan luxury commercial kitchen fit out.
It sold in 2017 for $3mill, so while it might still be a renovators dream, it's only a reality for the 1%. An extension designed by Weir Phillips is purportedly sympathetic, replacing other additions from the 1980s, described by Burke as "overbearing and totally obscuring it from the street".
The extensive Wikipedia article draws mostly from the NSW heritage register. There is a WBG society to feed the enthusiasts. Burke gives equal credit to Marion Mahoney and a rundown of the Griffin story - FLR Prairy Style, Canberra, Knitlock, etc.
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