Eora / Kuring -gai
NSW
Babylon House—a name inspired by the mythical Tower of Babel—represents a unique and captivating building. Much like the unfinished mythical tower reaching toward the heavens, Babylon House climbs a rocky summit with a sense of grandeur. The new additions complete its journey, adding the final touches to a magical and whimsical place.
Originally designed by Edwin Kingsberry in the early 1950s, Babylon House sits on a ridge dividing Avalon and Pittwater, offering expansive vistas of the surrounding landscape. The design brief was deeply attuned to the “spirit of the place,” honouring both Kingsberry’s eccentric vision and the natural majesty of the environment.
Working closely with the client and builder, design decisions were tested rigorously to preserve the house’s whimsical character while enhancing its liveability. The result is a coherent integration of old and new, where the existing charm is enriched by thoughtful additions.
In Babylon House, old and new meet in quiet conversation. The extensions unfold with a gentle confidence – distinct yet respectfully echoing both the spirit of the landscape setting, and of the original structure – without recourse to imitation or mimicry. Their language is subtly altered, like a familiar melody played in a new key, allowing the past and present to coexist in seamless harmony.
This is a home shaped not just by design, but by dialogue in an eight-year collaboration between client and architect that has yielded a work of rare refinement. The result is architecture that feels inevitable, as though it has always belonged.
This is not a house that demands attention. It earns it through clarity, care, and a quiet confidence in the power of less.
Morris and I come to design from opposite positions. He works with smoke, mirrors, and dollar-per-clap in the touring music world, where every cent must work hard, while I focus on textiles, finishes, and intimate details. Rob, a consummate collaborator, navigated that dance—his ideas, a demanding original house—and took us on a fantastic journey. Magic is hard to quantify, an exercise in intangibles, but the existing house had it. Our challenge was to preserve and build on it. Now complete, living here is an ever-evolving pleasure—and yes, still magic.
Rob Brown, Design Architect
Thomas Monahan, Project Architect
Ryan Western, Graduate of Architecture
Trent Girdler, Builder for Stage 1 (Carport, Kitchen, and outdoor stairs)
John Wittey, Stone Mason