Andrew Saniga: Making Landscape Architecture at Robin Boyd's Walsh Street Residence

At 290 Walsh Street in South Yarra, Victoria AU 3141, the Robin Boyd Foundation opens a rare domestic stage for modernist ideas. The Talk: Andrew Saniga, Making Landscape Architecture in Australia is a two-hour pop-up that pairs scholarship with architecture-tour ambiance. Andrew Saniga—Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Melbourne and author of Making Landscape Architecture in Australia (2012)—frames the emergence of landscape architecture as a profession through slides, drawings and the domestic setting of Boyd’s Walsh Street residence. The house itself is the key feature: a mid-20th-century modernist residence designed by Robin Boyd, its cork floors and compact rooms preserving the material details that shaped Australian modernism. Visitors will move between a small lecture space and photographic viewpoints that capture Boyd’s flared eaves, planar walls and the narrow, planted garden that edges the lot. The scene balances built geometry and urban garden: brick, timber, and original fittings create a tactile archive while established eucalypts and clipped shrubbery lend a local botanical note. Saniga draws on Tract’s archival projects and the Loose Leaf exhibition to trace projects and people from the 1970s and 80s, explaining how campuses, courts and public landscapes remade postwar Australia. The talk includes admission to Loose Leaf and offers both context and critique—good material for design students, practicing landscape architects and curious travelers who want a sharper view of Australian design history. Practical details matter: the meeting point is 290 Walsh Street South Yarra, Victoria AU 3141; attendees must be 16 or older, large bags will be checked, and stiletto or pointed heels are not permitted to protect the cork flooring. Accessibility is limited—Walsh Street is a heritage building and cannot be modified for universal access; email [email protected] for tailored mobility support. This event is a fresh way to experience Melbourne’s design culture without the museum crowd. It’s ideal for a rainy afternoon lecture, a windy city walk followed by close-looking at proportion and material, or a focused stop on an architectural itinerary that includes nearby South Yarra and the university precinct. Bring a notebook, a camera (respectful flash rules apply), and curiosity. Why book it? The talk stages historic research inside an intact modern house, turning scholarship into an immediate encounter with place. It’s a compact, illuminating experience that connects the dots between Australian landscape practice, mid-century architecture, and the lived spaces that shaped both. Tickets may be discounted for RBF Friends and Boyd Circle members; check the Robin Boyd Foundation for availability. Plan to arrive early, allow time to browse the Loose Leaf exhibition afterward, and pair the visit with coffee on Chapel Street or a tram through the Domain precinct for a fuller day exploring Melbourne’s modern landmarks and nearby galleries.