Paganin Home, A Modernist Icon Reborn From the Ashes
Destroyed by a fire, an architectural icon by modernist Iwan Iwanoff is faithfully restored by its Perth owners
Julia Fairley
16 March 2019
Chief Sub-Editor and Writer, Houzz Australia and New Zealand. I love design and architecture that is thoughtful, sophisticated and champions an element of the unexpected. Before graduating with a Bachelor of Arts at UNSW and becoming a journalist, I studied interior architecture. For over a decade I have interviewed inspiring creative minds from around the world to write about design in its many different forms. Recently, I have also become an accidental gardener, to everyone's surprise.
Chief Sub-Editor and Writer, Houzz Australia and New Zealand. I love design and architecture... More
When the time came for Perth couple Tim Bult and Lisa Church to buy a family home, they could not resist the charm of Paganin House in Floreat, WA. An icon of modernist architecture by Iwan Iwanoff, they bought the property in 2013 and spent two happy years there.
But just days before Christmas 2015, when the couple and their children were holidaying overseas, the home burnt down in a tragic accident. Instead of building a new, different home, Bult and Church decided to faithfully restore and rebuild the original design in a journey that has been documented by ABC TV’s Restoration Australia, hosted by architect Stuart Harrison.
But just days before Christmas 2015, when the couple and their children were holidaying overseas, the home burnt down in a tragic accident. Instead of building a new, different home, Bult and Church decided to faithfully restore and rebuild the original design in a journey that has been documented by ABC TV’s Restoration Australia, hosted by architect Stuart Harrison.
Lisa Church and Tim Bult outside their restored Paganin House
Images courtesy of Restoration Australia and ABC TV
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Tim Bult, Lisa Church and their children
Location: Floreat, WA
Size: Four bedrooms, two bathrooms, plus a separate pool house added by Iwan Iwanoff in 1979
Original completion date: 1965
Restoration date: 2018
Original architect: Iwan Iwanoff
Architect for restoration: Tim Wright Architect
Builder for restoration: Toby Bird and Stuart Brooks, Litehouse
Paganin House was originally designed by Iwan Iwanoff, a Bulgarian-born architect who emigrated to Australia in 1950. The home is a beacon of postwar design amid Perth’s suburban architecture.
“I have a soft spot for the Paganin House, it was actually part of my introduction to architectural modernism when I was studying architecture here in Perth,” says Stuart Harrison, presenter of ABC TV’s Restoration Australia, in an episode dedicated to this home. “His creations were, both then and now, seminal examples of creativity and innovation.”
Images courtesy of Restoration Australia and ABC TV
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Tim Bult, Lisa Church and their children
Location: Floreat, WA
Size: Four bedrooms, two bathrooms, plus a separate pool house added by Iwan Iwanoff in 1979
Original completion date: 1965
Restoration date: 2018
Original architect: Iwan Iwanoff
Architect for restoration: Tim Wright Architect
Builder for restoration: Toby Bird and Stuart Brooks, Litehouse
Paganin House was originally designed by Iwan Iwanoff, a Bulgarian-born architect who emigrated to Australia in 1950. The home is a beacon of postwar design amid Perth’s suburban architecture.
“I have a soft spot for the Paganin House, it was actually part of my introduction to architectural modernism when I was studying architecture here in Perth,” says Stuart Harrison, presenter of ABC TV’s Restoration Australia, in an episode dedicated to this home. “His creations were, both then and now, seminal examples of creativity and innovation.”
The owners, too, have always harboured a deep admiration for the work of this often-unsung modernist architect. “I grew up two doors away from an Iwanoff that was like no other house I’d ever seen before and had this amazing impact on me,” says Bult.
So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the couple spared no time or expense in restoring this beloved gem. Together with their architect, Tim Wright, they recreated Iwanoff’s design using his original architectural drawings, which had been kept at the Battye Library of West Australian History.
Find an architect near you on Houzz to update your home while staying sensitive to its history
So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the couple spared no time or expense in restoring this beloved gem. Together with their architect, Tim Wright, they recreated Iwanoff’s design using his original architectural drawings, which had been kept at the Battye Library of West Australian History.
Find an architect near you on Houzz to update your home while staying sensitive to its history
Arthur Paganin, who originally commissioned this home, was a marble trader. The building was home to various types of rare and exotic stone, almost all of which was lost in the fire. Replacing the stone accounted for almost one-third of the restoration budget, and the owners and building team painstakingly attempted to source stone that matched the colours, veining, markings and finishes of the originals.
In his search, Bult tracked down Italo Paganin, Arthur’s younger brother, who assisted with sourcing new marble. Bult also travelled to the quarries of northern Italy in his quest to match a rare nero portoro marble – black with narrow gold veining – pictured in the background here.
“I was very impressed because it was so similar to the original plate,” says Paganin of the marble Bult sourced.
Marble, stone and cement work: Frank Dalle Nogare
In his search, Bult tracked down Italo Paganin, Arthur’s younger brother, who assisted with sourcing new marble. Bult also travelled to the quarries of northern Italy in his quest to match a rare nero portoro marble – black with narrow gold veining – pictured in the background here.
“I was very impressed because it was so similar to the original plate,” says Paganin of the marble Bult sourced.
Marble, stone and cement work: Frank Dalle Nogare
Iwanoff had an obsessive interest in materials and designed the building, its interiors and joinery right down to the dining room table. However, he was notorious for going ‘off-script’, altering his designs mid-construction without always updating the plans. This meant the owners and restoration team had to be vigilant in cross-referencing the architectural drawings with old photographs, taken from before the fire, and others they collected from previous owners.
For the jarrah ceilings, the carpenters adhered to the eight-millimetre gap between each individual jarrah board – the exact distance Iwanoff originally specified. In total, five kilometres of jarrah boards were used (with another five tonnes needed for window and door frames).
Even using contemporary drills, tools and equipment, the ceiling alone took almost two months to complete – a staggering amount of time when you consider how long the task would have taken the craftsmen of the original home, who built the same ceiling by hand half a century earlier without the aid of modern building equipment.
“There’s so much eye-watering precision here,” says Harrison, who notes that an equivalent plasterboard ceiling would normally take just two days. It’s testament to the owners’ commitment to restoring the original design, no matter how long it took.
Even using contemporary drills, tools and equipment, the ceiling alone took almost two months to complete – a staggering amount of time when you consider how long the task would have taken the craftsmen of the original home, who built the same ceiling by hand half a century earlier without the aid of modern building equipment.
“There’s so much eye-watering precision here,” says Harrison, who notes that an equivalent plasterboard ceiling would normally take just two days. It’s testament to the owners’ commitment to restoring the original design, no matter how long it took.
“The dining room was defined by a kind of floating internal fence,” says Harrison. “It sits as a platform into the main living space and it’s where the level changes really play out. Being in this room properly and taking it in is actually an essay on how to define a room without solid walls. It has the different ceiling treatment to the area, it has the battening, it has these [textured gold wallpaper] panels to help define it, and then it has the inset floor strip almost like a kind of memory of a wall. It has all of the things you do to create a room without [using] walls.”
As much was salvaged from the fire as possible, including the original steel brackets that held the ‘fence’ of timber battens in place, which miraculously survived the fire. The brackets needed to be restored and powder-coated and, true to the handcrafted quality of materials used in the 1950s, they were each on slight angles.
This added a new layer of complexity to the restoration for the carpenters. Nevertheless, the team understood the importance of remaining faithful to the original home and cherished the opportunity to reuse some original materials.
As much was salvaged from the fire as possible, including the original steel brackets that held the ‘fence’ of timber battens in place, which miraculously survived the fire. The brackets needed to be restored and powder-coated and, true to the handcrafted quality of materials used in the 1950s, they were each on slight angles.
This added a new layer of complexity to the restoration for the carpenters. Nevertheless, the team understood the importance of remaining faithful to the original home and cherished the opportunity to reuse some original materials.
“For all of us it actually adds to the story and it creates a nice element for us [knowing] that there are still some of the old things here,” says Church.
There was more work involved in reworking and reusing the steel – it would have been simpler and faster to simply rebuild the dining area and other spaces using all-new material – though it’s the authenticity of the restoration that is important to the owners and the craftspeople who lovingly brought this home back to life. “We want a good job, not a quick job,” says Bult.
Jarrah joinery by Peter Rundle: Furntech; carpentry by Mark Barrett: Benchmark Cabinets
There was more work involved in reworking and reusing the steel – it would have been simpler and faster to simply rebuild the dining area and other spaces using all-new material – though it’s the authenticity of the restoration that is important to the owners and the craftspeople who lovingly brought this home back to life. “We want a good job, not a quick job,” says Bult.
Jarrah joinery by Peter Rundle: Furntech; carpentry by Mark Barrett: Benchmark Cabinets
Likewise, Church was meticulous in attempting to find a match for the original textured gold-foil wallpaper used in panels between the timber battens that frame the dining area. “It wasn’t really glitzy,” says Church, “but it just had a beautiful effect against the timber. We’ve always felt from the very beginning that it’s really important to get these decisions right.”
The owners credit their team of talented craftspeople who were as eager to rebuild Iwanoff’s modernist vision as they were. “There were so many extraordinary people Litehouse brought together who collectively made it a success through their commitment to what we were trying to achieve,” Bult tells Houzz. “While it was a huge effort, we wouldn’t do anything differently.”
Now that their home has risen from the ashes, the couple has embarked on their next restoration project: sourcing original furniture to faithfully match the modernist pieces that were lost in the fire.
Now that their home has risen from the ashes, the couple has embarked on their next restoration project: sourcing original furniture to faithfully match the modernist pieces that were lost in the fire.
“I think a lot of Perth people – I used to be one – thought the house was gone forever, lost; it was almost completely destroyed by the fire,” says Harrison in an interview with Houzz. “People would have been expecting a new house to replace it. The fact that it has returned, like the phoenix, is a very pleasant surprise to everyone: the community and the architectural world. This wasn’t the easy path, and to be done this well is rare.
Stuart Harrison, architect and host of ABC TV’s Restoration Australia
“The Paganin House has two completion dates now – 1965 and 2018,” says Harrison. “Fortunately the process of rebuilding, thanks to the show, has been well-documented, and this will also be useful in the future. The house is of state, if not national, significance and I hope it will be acknowledged in this way and protected – it hasn’t been in the past, along with many other Iwanoff houses that really have been lost.”
Restoration Australia (Series 2) finished on Sunday, April 21 2019, 7:40pm on ABC and ABC iview
Your turn
What do you respect most about this restoration? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story and join the conversation.
More
Want more design inspiration? Don’t miss Houzz TV’s episode of My Houzz: Actor Neil Patrick Harris Surprises Brother With a Home Reno
“The Paganin House has two completion dates now – 1965 and 2018,” says Harrison. “Fortunately the process of rebuilding, thanks to the show, has been well-documented, and this will also be useful in the future. The house is of state, if not national, significance and I hope it will be acknowledged in this way and protected – it hasn’t been in the past, along with many other Iwanoff houses that really have been lost.”
Restoration Australia (Series 2) finished on Sunday, April 21 2019, 7:40pm on ABC and ABC iview
Your turn
What do you respect most about this restoration? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story and join the conversation.
More
Want more design inspiration? Don’t miss Houzz TV’s episode of My Houzz: Actor Neil Patrick Harris Surprises Brother With a Home Reno
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Such an awesome house, have been in love with it for years and glad to see it’s back in it’s rightful place as the icon that it is......... thank you Iwan for the original and to everyone involved with the rebirth.........
Saw this story last night on the ABC, moving and beautiful. I only wish others valued their 1960s post modern homes to the same extent. Totally inspiring and all power to them for realising just how special their original home was. Time to heritage list our wonderful post modern homes, to preserve them to demonstrate a major expression of culture and architecture of the 1950s to 1970s. So glad I too live in a post modern home, though not quite as iconic as this amazing Paganin one!