Hobart and the Tasman Peninsula: Architecture & Design 2025

Day 1: Sunday 16 March, Arrive Hobart

• Short Welcome Meeting at 10.00am
• MONA – Fender Katsalidis Architects
• Orientation Walking tour of Hobart’s Waterfront incl. tour of the Henry Jones Art Hotel led by Robert Morris-Nunn AM
• Introductory talk by Robert Morris-Nunn AM
• Welcome Dinner at the Old Wharf Restaurant

Meeting Point: Please meet in the foyer of the MACq 01 Hotel at 18 Hunter Street at 10.00am.

We commence with a short welcome meeting followed by a morning excursion by ferry to the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), an art museum that is the antithesis of the traditional gallery. It was created to be shocking, educational and entertaining with the confronting themes of passion, death and decay explored in unflinching detail. The controversial artworks are all from the private collections of David Walsh, a mathematician and art collector who made his money perfecting algorithms that let him beat casinos and bookies at their own game. Designed by Fender Katsalidis Architects (FKA), MONA sits sentinel over the Derwent, its bulk echoing the riverbank topography. Lunch is available at the Moorilla Wine Bar.

Mid-afternoon we return to Hobart for an orientation walk of the city’s waterfront including a tour of the interior of the Henry Jones Art Hotel, led by Robert Morris-Nunn AM. Robert, an adjunct professor at the University of Tasmania’s School of Architecture, is principal of one of Tasmania’s most awarded practices, Circa Morris-Nunn Chua Architects. In 2017 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his significant service to commercial architecture in Tasmania, to tertiary education and to professional institutes, and as a role model. His body of work which “engages with its users, weaving the natural environment with the stories of Tasmania’s cultural history” includes the luxury Saffire Resort, the updated Henry Jones Art Hotel in one of Hobart’s oldest waterfront warehouses, and the Islington Hotel in one of Tasmania’s finest Regency mansions.

This evening we enjoy an introductory talk by Robert Morris-Nunn followed by a Welcome Dinner at the Old Wharf Restaurant. (Overnight Hobart) D

Day 2: Monday 17 March, Hobart – Hollow Tree – New Norfolk – Hobart

• 42 Goulburn Street – Circa Morris-Nunn Chua Architects (to be confirmed in 2025)
• The Barn – Alex Nielsen and Liz Walsh architects
• Hollow Tree House – Core Collective
• Valleyfield – Jones Moore Architecture (JOMO)
• Devonshire Tea at Glen Derwent

Hobart is home to a swathe of heritage-protected Georgian and Victorian buildings. Its most significant colonial buildings include Parliament House and the Penitentiary Chapel – both designed by John Lee Archer, a civil engineer and colonial architect who worked in Tasmania from 1827 to 1838. This morning we view a couple of projects which involve the recycling of Hobart’s historic buildings.

We begin with a visit to 42 Goulburn Street, a conversion of the heritage listed ‘Bulls Head’ Hotel (originally built in 1828) into two inner-city apartments by Circa Morris-Nunn Chua Architects. Accompanied by Robert Morris-Nunn AM, we visit one of these private apartments. The project won the Roy Smith Heritage Award Australian Institute of Architects (TAS) in 2012 and in the same year was short-listed for the National AIA Award (AUS).

At the rear of the property lies a clever renovation of an 1820s sandstone barn by architects Alex Nielsen and Liz Walsh. Their careful renovation of this historic barn which retains much of the original stone and timber work, won the Heritage Award and Small Project Architecture: Nicholas Murcutt Award (AIA National Awards, 2015). Both talented young designers, they have each gone on to work at respected architectural firms in Hobart – Liz is at Cumulus Studio, Alex at Circa Morris Nunn Chua Architects.

Late morning we depart Hobart and journey north to the rural locality of Hollow Tree located in the Central Highlands. Here, we will be hosted for a private visit and lunch at the magnificent heritage-listed property, Strathborough. The European history of Strathborough began with a 2,000 acre grant issued to Joseph Bradbury in 1823. Bradbury who had arrived from London in the same year, was appointed pound keeper (a stock controller authorised to impound trespassing animals) for the district. The large sandstone house was built by convict labour for Bradbury and completed in c.1834. The house’s current owners engaged architectural firm Core Collective to restore the house and stables back to their original fabric. This is a wonderful opportunity to gain an insight  into the collaborative process of refurbishing and renovating a house of many histories.

In the afternoon we travel to New Norfolk, a town located on the Derwent River which retains evidence of its pioneer heritage including Tasmania’s oldest Anglican Church, St Matthews (1823) and one of Australia’s oldest hotels, The Bush Inn (1815). There are many private homes from the 1800s to the early 1820s including Valleyfield and Glen Derwent which we visit.

Listed with the National Trust, Valleyfield is located beside the Derwent river in New Norfolk. In 1813 the land was granted to two ex-convicts, William and Mary Abel, who grew crops and supplied the colonial government with meat. The house was built in 1822 and operated as The Kings Head Inn. The property was later purchased by Captain Richard Armstrong, who converted the inn into a house in 1832. The property was later sold to Ebenezer Shoobridge who planted hops and apples, constructed two hop kilns and planted many of the established trees in the garden. In 1910, Hugh Ashton Warner leased the property in partnership with Shoobridge and later purchased it in 1919. Today the property is owned by Kate and Dick Warner (Kate is the immediate past Governor of Tasmania). On arrival we meet with James Jones and Petrina Moore from Jones Moore Architecture (JOMO) who designed/reimagined an unrenovated 1824 granary for accommodation for Dick and Kate. We also view two unique oast houses (for drying hops), and the historic stables, courtyard and  coach house.

Following our tour we enjoy Devonshire Tea at neighbouring Glen Derwent whose first European settlers, the Cullen family, were also ex-convicts. The tea room is located in a conservatory attached to the main house which was built in 1818. An earlier cottage, thought to have been built in 1808, now functions as the stables. The historic coach house, large sandstone barn and carpenter’s loft were also built around 1818. (Overnight Hobart) BL

Day 3: Tuesday 18 March, Hobart – Sandy Bay – Taroona – Hobart

• Fisher House, Sandy Bay – E. Dorney (1991)
• Dorney House, Fort Nelson – E. Dorney (1978)
• Young House, Lower Sandy Bay – Esmond Dorney (1959)
• Tate House, Taroona – Esmond Dorney (1958)
• Saint Pius X Catholic Church, Taroona – Esmond Dorney (1956)
• ‘Esmond Dorney and his influences’ – talk by Paddy Dorney, held at the Tasman Chapter – Australian Institute of Architects

Note: Access to Dorney House Fort Nelson involves a 20-minute walk up a steep hill to the house. A mini shuttle bus will be provided for those who require assistance.

J.H. Esmond Dorney, who died in 1991 aged 85, is regarded as one of the most important modernist architects of Tasmania’s post-war period. A contemporary of Robin Boyd, in 2008 he was awarded the President’s Prize posthumously by the Tasmanian chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects. We spend the day visiting a number of Esmond Dorney’s projects. We will be accompanied by his son, Paddy Dorney, who is a former lecturer in architecture at the University of Tasmania. Paddy is also an architect and is writing a book about his father’s life.

We begin with a special visit to Fisher House, the last home designed by Esmond Dorney prior to his death. This unique home, which was designed for a family with adult children, features a magnificent ballroom with fully-sprung floors; the walls are decorated with a remarkable collection of ballroom dresses and suits. From the ballroom we may look out across the adjacent indoor swimming pool to magnificent panoramic views of the Derwent River.

Next, we visit Dorney’s famous Fort Nelson house. This 1978 modernist gem, located atop an abandoned 1900s fort on Porter Hill, was one of three family homes constructed by Esmond Dorney. Dorney House featured in the first episode of the ABC TV program Designing a Legacy hosted by Tim Ross. We also visit the celebrated Young House (1959), popularly known as the Butterfly House, with an extension by Morris-Nunn and Associates (1999); Saint Pius X Catholic Church (1956); and Tate House (1958), which has recently been reworked by Preston Lane Architects, and is featured in Habitus Living.

We end the day with a talk by Paddy entitled ‘Esmond Dorney and his influences’ which will be held at the Tasman Chapter – Australian Institute of Architects. (Overnight Hobart) BL

Day 4: Wednesday 19 March, Hobart – Battery Point – Tasman Peninsula  – Acton – Hobart

• Fusilier Cottage, Battery Point – Bence Mulcahy (to be confirmed in 2025)
• The Glass House, Koonya, Tasman Peninsula – Room 11
• Farewell lunch at the Bangor Vineyard Shed, Forestier Peninsula
• Acton Residence – Circa Morris-Nunn Chua Architects & landscape architecture studio, Playstreet

This morning we return to Battery Point for a visit to Fusilier Cottage by Bence Mulcahy which won numerous awards in 2022 including the National Architecture Awards: Award for Residential Architecture Houses Alterations and Additions, the Tasmanian Architecture Awards: Award for Heritage Architecture and the Houses Awards: Award for House in a Heritage Context. The Tasman Chapter of the AIA website states “Fusilier Cottage occupies the corner of the site with a garden and large sycamore the other half, a feature in the Hampden Road streetscape. Planning was driven by the mixed use brief and accommodates much of the new program at the cottages rear, with the living pavilion, peeking into the north/street-facing garden. Form, scale and materiality of the new work engages with the context, is subservient to the main cottage, and neighbours and whilst occupying its own space in the existing garden, observes a healthy setback from the sycamore tree. The timber sliding doors and screens moderate privacy, sun, light and views and the internal planning utilises the “shadow” of the existing cottage to create privacy within other domestic spaces. The changing facade provides enjoyable engagement with streetscape and community. The new work appears small and simple and upon inspection reveals itself as expansive and complex.”

Mid-morning we continue our journey south to Koonya, located on the rugged Tasman Peninsula which features spectacular coastlines, world heritage-listed convict sites and a national park home to a diverse range of indigenous flora and fauna. Here we visit The Glass House which was included in the shortlist for the 2021 Tasmanian Architecture Awards. Designed by Thomas Bailey, director of Room 11, and Kate Phillips, this glass pavilion “reads as two parallel lines set against the gently undulating landscape.” “While the minimalist art of Donald Judd and modernist architectural masterpieces such as Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House and Philip Johnson’s Glass House offer Koonya Pavilion’s clearest precedents, Thomas’s personal connection to the area was an equally significant point of reference”. Source: thelocalproject.com.au. During our visit we meet with Kate and Thomas who will discuss this project, as well as three other architectural interventions by Room 11 located on the same site including the main house and the The Pulmonum – their meditation ‘folly’.

A light lunch will be served at the award-winning Bangor Vineyard Shed located on the Forestier Peninsula overlooking Blackman’s Bay.

In the afternoon we are joined by Robert Morris-Nunn AM who will meet us in Acton for a tour of a stately two-storey Georgian homestead which was built in the mid 1820s. Here Robert will explain how materials, including hardwood timbers, sandstone and field stones, from a former heritage-listed (but condemned) outbuilding were carefully ‘recycled’ to create opposing wings to the rear of the house which included an open family dining/kitchen area on one side of a central courtyard, and two children’s bedrooms on the other. We also meet with Miriam Shevland and Carl Turk, directors of the architecture and urban design studio, Playstreet, which won three Landscape Architecture Awards in 2021 including an award for their work at Acton Residence. (Overnight Hobart) BL

Day 5: Thursday 20 March, Hobart – Berriedale – Mount Stuart – Hobart Airport

• Dock on the Bay, Berriedale – Ray Heffernan (1964)
• Mt Stuart Greenhouse– Bence Mulcahy Architecture (to be confirmed in 2025)
• Wombat One Pavilion, RTBG with architect David Travalia

Accompanied by Paddy Dorney we commence this morning with a visit to Dock on the Bay which features an extraordinary design that sits on the waterfront in the garden suburb of Berriedale. “The house looks across the bay to MONA and was design in 1964 by Ray Heffernan – one of our significant mid-century modernists. It has the courage to address the contradictions of site – with views to the south and the sun to the north. A blank wall with high clerestory windows addresses the entrance which captures the sun, and the building is fully open to the south, with floor to ceiling glazing addressing the garden and the bay. The internal space is articulated by subtle manipulations of levels. The building is a sophisticated mid-century design that has been beautifully and thoughtfully renovated by the current owner.” Source: openhousehobart.org

Next, we visit Mt Stuart Greenhouse which features a spectacular garden. About 5 years ago, Bence Mulcahy Architecture designed an extension and more recently completed a conversion of their garage to a ‘Greeny flat’. The project has been the recipient of several Tasmanian Architecture Awards including The Henry Hunter Triennial Prize in 2020.

Returning to Hobart, we take a walk through the Royal Tasmanian Botanic Gardens to view the award-winning Wombat One Pavilion, conceived, designed and financed by a group of Environmental Design students, under the tutelage of Richard Leplastrier in 1979-80. In 1982 it won the prestigious Triennial Award from the Australian Institute of Architects. Our tour will be led by architect, David Travalia – one of those environmental design students who helped design and build Wombat One. Note: Lunch is available at garden’s Succulent Restaurant.

Mid-afternoon we travel to the Hobart Airport where our tour will officially conclude at approximately 3.30pm. B