Chadwick House, Heritage-listed residence in Eaglemont, Australia.
Chadwick House is a two-story residence in Eaglemont featuring half-timbered walls, a Marseilles-patterned tile roof, and two verandas on the east and southeast sides. The building takes advantage of the natural slope by including underground office spaces with direct access to the main living areas.
Harold Desbrowe-Annear built Chadwick House in 1904 for his father-in-law James Chadwick, on a sloping allotment then at Melbourne's rural-urban fringe overlooking the Yarra Valley. Chadwick leased it to civil servant Charles Stanesby until he moved in himself in 1907; Arthur V. Walker occupied it later. Architect Peter Crone bought it in 1988 and spent ten years restoring it, work honoured with heritage awards in 2008.
The house's name comes from James Chadwick, Desbrowe-Annear's father-in-law, who owned it after construction and leased it to civil servant Charles Stanesby until 1907. The black-stained timber and white roughcast panels follow the northern European "black and white" domestic tradition, and the two east and south-east verandahs carry double ox-bow balustrading.
Chadwick House is a private residence at 32–34 The Eyrie, Eaglemont, and is not open to the public, so it is seen from the street. The three Desbrowe-Annear houses stand on The Eyrie and adjoining Outlook Drive, each set progressively further back so as not to block the others' view; walking the street shows this stepped siting.
The design was ahead of its time with window sashes recessed into walls and a heating system using natural convection to save energy. These early efficiency solutions show the architect was thinking about how to reduce waste well before sustainability became a modern concern.
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