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Bring texts and questions to two evening salons that place Robin Boyd’s Walsh Street home and Corrigan’s practice at the center of Melbourne’s architectural debate. These intimate sessions pair close readings, material detail and contemporary responses.
Bring texts and questions to two evening salons that place Robin Boyd’s Walsh Street home and Corrigan’s practice at the center of Melbourne’s architectural debate. These intimate sessions pair close readings, material detail and contemporary responses.
Book with Robin Boyd Foundation
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Operated by Robin Boyd Foundation · South Yarra, Victoria
In the leafy streets of South Yarra, Melbourne, an intimate architectural series brings two towering minds into conversation: Robin Boyd and Peter Corrigan. Boyd and Corrigan — presented by the Naarm Architecture Foundation and the Robin Boyd Foundation — stages two evening sessions that pair historic rooms with contemporary critique, offering a close reading of mid‑century modernism and the postmodern ripple that followed Boyd’s untimely death in 1971. Part lecture, part salon, the program uses two distinct urban rooms as its set pieces. Part 1 takes place at Walsh Street — 290 Walsh Street South Yarra, Victoria AU 3141 — inside Robin Boyd’s iconic Walsh Street home, where cork floors and preserved period details force a literal step into Boyd’s material world. Part 2 moves to Little La Trobe Street — Level 2, 46 Little La Trobe Street — where practitioners unpack how Corrigan’s practice reframed Australian architectural identity. Both evenings run about 1.5 hours and feature guided talks, illustrated presentations, and time for questions. Expect close readings of texts such as Designing the Franchise Image from Architecture to Signs and Architecture in the Seventies, alongside Corrigan’s 1986 essay 'Boyd Boycotted?'. Convenors Professor Alan Pert and Professor Vivian Mitsogianni assemble emerging and established voices — including Jean‑Marc Tang, Laura Szyman, Jonathan Russell, Maggie Edmond, Nigel Bertram, Tess O’Meara and Liam Oxlade — to trace lines between material practice, media critique, construction technique and cultural identity in Naarm/Melbourne. This experience matters because it grants rare access to heritage interiors that are usually off limits to the public and frames those interiors as primary sources. You’ll see how construction details, finishes and spatial sequencing reveal priorities of an era and how those priorities were pushed, contested and rewritten by students and critics. The program also foregrounds Melbourne’s distinctive architectural conversation: a city that has long balanced suburban critique, modernist clarity and postmodern theatricality. Practical notes: tickets are sold individually (general $35, RBF Friends/Boyd Circle and student $25) and there’s an option to attend both evenings with a reduced additional ticket; sessions are recommended for attendees 16+. Heritage constraints limit universal access; bathroom facilities and some flooring require attention, and strict restrictions include no external food or drink, bag checks, and no stiletto or pointed heels at Walsh Street to protect the cork flooring. Whether you are a practicing architect, a student, or a curious traveler to Melbourne, Boyd and Corrigan offers an unusually intimate way to read the city through rooms, texts and conversation — a reminder that architecture is as much about ideas as it is about the material craft that shapes daily life. Meeting point is 290 Walsh Street South Yarra; book through the Robin Boyd Foundation calendar or via event referral link for dates and availability.
The meeting point for Part 1 is 290 Walsh Street South Yarra, Victoria AU 3141; Part 2 is at Level 2, 46 Little La Trobe Street.
Each evening runs approximately 1.5 hours, including presentations and Q&A.
Yes. Attendees must be 16 years or older for Walsh Street sessions.
Heritage constraints limit universal access. Bathroom facilities are not wheelchair accessible; email [email protected] for tailored mobility support.
No. External food or drink is not permitted; large bags may need to be checked at entry.
Single session tickets are general $35 and RBF Friends/Boyd Circle and student $25; there is an option to attend both evenings with an additional reduced ticket charge.
Robin Boyd Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to preserving and promoting the life, work and legacy of Australian architect Robin Boyd. Based in South Yarra, Victoria, the Foundation manages Boyd’s 1957 Walsh Street residence and archives, delivering guided tours, talks, walking tours and creative workshops that connect visitors with modernist architecture and Melbourne’s built history. The Foundation offers a range of experiences: guided tours of the Walsh Street house, evening events such as Sunset Cocktails at Walsh Street, themed talks on modern design and conservation, neighbourhood walking tours through South Yarra, and drop-in drawing sessions that pair architectural insight with sketching and photography. Each program is led by experienced guides, architects and guest speakers who present research-based commentary and curated access to Boyd’s preserved home and materials. As a custodian of a significant heritage property and archive, the Foundation collaborates with conservation specialists, historians and design practitioners to ensure accurate interpretation and careful site stewardship. Its events are rooted in documented scholarship on post-war modernism and local architectural history, providing reliable context for students, professionals and the general public. Visitors can expect small-group formats, focused storytelling and opportunities to photograph and study Walsh Street’s distinctive modernist features. The Foundation’s stewardship of the property, structured programming and partnerships with experts underpin its reputation as an authoritative resource on Robin Boyd and mid-20th-century Australian design. Public programs are scheduled seasonally and include limited-capacity events, making bookings recommended for visitors seeking guided access to Walsh Street and related exhibitions and archival displays.
Book with Robin Boyd Foundation