Roy Grounds House, Modernist residence in Toorak, Melbourne, Australia

Roy Grounds House is a square brick residence in Toorak, Melbourne, with a circular glass-walled courtyard at its centre. A flat roof with wide eaves floats above the outer wall on continuous highlight windows. Inside, radial walls stop short of the courtyard, which remains the focus. Behind are four flats: a single-level studio and three double-storey two-bedroom units with angled carport walls and slatted balconies.

Roy Grounds designed the house as his own home and built it in 1953. In 1954 it received the Victorian Architecture Medal, the only award granted that year and the only one between the awards ceasing in 1942 and restarting in 1964. It was added to the Victorian Heritage Register in 2001.

The house takes its name from Sir Roy Grounds, who designed it as a home for himself and his wife Betty. The courtyard was originally planted with persimmon and bamboo, and the solid walls, projecting eaves and single oversized door knocker give the design an eastern character. Grounds built it in the same year as two other geometric houses: the circular Henty House in Frankston and the elevated triangular Leyser House in Kew.

The house at 24 Hill Street is a private residence and not open to visitors; the four flats behind it are also private homes. The square brick walls are broken only by the front door and a back kitchen door, so the circular courtyard cannot be seen from the street. The building is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.

The inner walls of the house do not extend fully to the central atrium but stop short, creating an uninterrupted spatial flow. This subtle design choice allows the eye and body to move freely from one side to the other without barriers breaking the visual connection.