The Walkley Residence in North Adelaide, completed in 1955, stands as a pristine exemplar of Robin Boyd’s mid-century modern vision, commissioned by architect Gavin Walkley after the 1947 earthquake-damaged cottage on the site was replaced with a bold steel-framed home.
Boyd’s design embraced open-plan living, combining living, dining and kitchen under one roof with minimal partitions and ribbon windows that dissolve the boundary between interior and garden. The dramatic copper-hooded fireplace anchors the living area and extends warmth upstairs via its exposed flue, while copper recurs in bannisters and handrails to unify finishes.
Walls of glass on the front façade flood the ground floor with light, framed by slim steel mullions that define Boyd’s functionalist aesthetic. The lower sections of the street-facing bedroom windows feature textured glass, preserving privacy without sacrificing the sense of inside-out openness.
At the rear, a lattice-patterned brick screen acts as a brise-soleil to shield rooms from harsh afternoon sun while admitting cooling breezes. Gavin Walkley, a prominent South Australian architect and later head of the SA Institute of Technology, collaborated closely with Boyd, with surviving correspondence filed in the home’s built-in study cabinet.
The residence has remained in the Walkley family for three generations, with Raphaela Oest now conserving original materials alongside discreet updates such as air conditioning. In 2022 the house received an Enduring Architecture Award from the Australian Institute of Architects, cementing its status as the only South Australian home designed by Boyd and a rare intact example of his work.
The materials are direct and honest. Concrete floors are embedded with pebbles, a surface often used outdoors, brought inside to enhance the feeling of continuity. “Almost wherever you are in the house, you feel like you’re outside,” says architect and historian Alan Hess, who has studied Green’s work extensively. “The spaces flow… life is being lived as a totality, a unity.”
The main bedroom offers head-on views of the ocean, framed by full-height glazing and a corner that fully opens to the landscape via two monumental glass doors. A second fireplace adds warmth. Two guest bedrooms and their accompanying bathrooms are positioned for privacy, with views to the garden rather than the coastline.
In 2003, Eric Lloyd Wright, grandson of Frank Lloyd Wright, was brought in to oversee sensitive updates. These included an expansion of the primary bathroom, and additions to the pool and spa area—executed with full respect for Green’s original vision.
Though Green is better known for his work in Northern California, the Anderson Residence is a quiet argument for his relevance in the Southern California story. “This is important architecture,” says Hess. “It’s part of the region’s heritage—and it’s been beautifully preserved.”
A study in spatial harmony and restraint, the Anderson Residence is not simply a home with a view. It’s a rare synthesis of land, form and purpose—proof that the ideals of Organic Modernism found lasting expression on the California coast.
This incredible home is currently for sale on Modern California House
