Inside Robin Boyd’s Walsh Street: Kerstin Thompson & Mark Jacques on Modernist Renewal

South Yarra’s Walsh Street offers a rare chance to see Robin Boyd’s 1957 house and to hear new thinking about modernist conservation at a talk featuring Kerstin Thompson and Mark Jacques. The event begins at 290 Walsh Street in South Yarra, Victoria, Australia, where architects, preservationists, and design-minded travelers gather for a one-hour illustrated lecture and guided look at Boyd’s interiors and ideas. Robin Boyd, one of Australia’s most influential modernists, designed the Walsh Street residence in the late 1950s; the talk pairs his domestic clarity with the Black Dolphin Motel project—Boyd’s 1960 south-coast motel that proposed economical, landscape-attuned architecture. Speakers Kerstin Thompson and Mark Jacques bring recent conservation practice into the conversation: Thompson’s reductive renewal tactics, described by her firm Kerstin Thompson Architects, and Jacques’s landscape-led urbanism from Openwork. Together they explore material choices—brick and timber exteriors, a restored tectonic hierarchy—and what 'renew rather than overwrite' means in practice. What makes this experience special is its layering of close observation with broader cultural questions. You’ll learn how original colour palettes and fittings—cork floors, butterfly chairs, timber joinery—are reinstated from archival photographs by Mark Strizic, and how light-touch interventions can reveal structural clarity. The talk also situates the Black Dolphin Motel’s social ambition: commissioned by David Yencken and built to be economical but generous with site and view, it challenges assumptions about mid-century hospitality and conservation. Practical details are clear: tickets include admission to the Loose Leaf exhibition and the event is one hour long. The meeting point is 290 Walsh Street; attendees must be 16 and over. Note restrictions: no external food or drink, large bags are checked, and stiletto heels are not permitted due to cork flooring. Accessibility: as a heritage building, the house cannot be fully modified; those needing tailored mobility support should contact [email protected]. Why visit beyond the talk? South Yarra is an approachable slice of Melbourne design culture—street-level modernism, compact laneways, and galleries nearby—so the event doubles as a walking prompt to explore local public space. For travelers interested in architecture, conservation, or design history, this is a concentrated lesson in how to read, care for, and photograph modernism up close. Bring curiosity, a notepad, and shoes that respect heritage interiors; expect to leave with fresh perspectives on what it means to conserve mid-century architecture for the twenty-first century. Kerstin Thompson brings decades of award-winning practice and academic leadership—her firm KTA has national and international recognition, and she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia and awarded the Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal. Mark Jacques contributes urban design and landscape expertise from Openwork and academia, framing the house and motel as civic gestures that connect building, landscape, and daily life for visitors.