Rice House, Eltham

The Rice House is a residence located at 69 Ryans Road, Eltham, Victoria, Australia, built from 1952-53.[1] Designed by Melbourne architect Kevin Borland for a young couple, whose open mindedness and excitement for progressive/alternative ways of living allowed quite a different archetype for housing,[2] the house is notable for its unusual construction technique and use of materials. Rice House was the first experiment of three architectural explorations in Melbourne.[1][2]

Clients

Young artist Harrie Rice[3] and wife Lorna were a young couple whose exposure to The Age RVIA Small Homes Service saw them fall in love with modern housing design. An attempt to meet with Kevin Boyd at RVIA Small Homes Service led Harrie and Lorna to meet their architect Kevin Borland.[2]

Description
Kevin Borland's Rice House
Kevin Borland's Rice House
Rice House Floor Plan
North Elevation of Kevin Borland's Rice House

Interior

The interior of the house was comparable to caves occupying small spaces and volumes. The invention of these structural moves were developed by Borland using metal columns for the front porch will later failed and buckled due to the expansion of the material and the movement of the form work.[2]

Rice House interior

Construction technique
Rice House Construction Stage
Arched structural formwork
Image showing the anchoring details for the original concrete walkway

Borland turned to a method that had been used by the Italian Air Force during World War 2 for its hangar construction in North Africa. A system which had then later been patented by J H de W Waller, an Australian/Irish engineer.[4][1][2][5][6]

Key influences

Architectural relevance

This particular technique was the first of three buildings to be constructed. The other buildings include the Wood House and Supermarket designed by Robin Boyd in 1952, and Bellfield Community Centre designed by Kevin Borland and Peter McIntyre in 1953 all in which directly reference the Rice House.

References
  1. Victorian Heritage Database. "Rice House". Victorian Heritage Register. Victorian Heritage Database. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  2. Evans, Doug (2006). Kevin Borland: Architecture from the Heart. RMIT Publishing. pp. 97–109. ISBN 9781921166204.
  3. "Rice House". vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au. 18 September 2006. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  4. "WALLER, JAMES HARDRESS DE WARENNE". The Dictionary of Irish Architects.
  5. Goad, Philip (1999). A Guide to Melbourne Architecture. Watermark Press. p. 163. ISBN 9780949284365.
  6. Day, Norman (1995). Heroic Melbourne: Architecture of the 1950s. RMIT Publishing. p. 46. ISBN 9780864445230.

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