Creswick, Walter Burley Griffin's Castlecrag house of seven lanterns listed

The Walter Burley Griffin Castelcrag house, Creswick, aka the house of seven lanterns, has been listed for sale.

Albeit with extensions, the house retains aesthetic significance as a residence erected in 1926.

Enthusiasts says the property is an outstanding combination of house and landscape, adhering to the Griffin doctrine of organic architecture.

The house retains many of its original design features, attributed to the innovation of Griffin, including the knitlock block and the distinctive design of the french doors and windows, incorporating timber joinery.

It is one of a group of three Griffin houses in The Barbette sited near the escarpment edge with staggered setbacks. 

Sadly the seven lanterns now long removed were evidence of Griffin's experimentation into sculptural segmental architecture.

It is one fourteen houses designed by Griffin and built in Castlecrag and one of the thirteen remaining. 

It is being marketed by the McGrath agents as "an iinspiring home that successfully unites Walter Burley Griffin's Creswick house, with a minimalist contemporary residence, delivering a marriage of effortless modern living with revolutionary, timeless design all nestled in a tranquil harbourside setting."

It is set on 891 square metres.

Offers are due 14 May with McGrath agents David Forrester and Grant Borley. It is understood around $2.5 million is being sought.

It is offered by the architect Barbara Bunton and her husband Paul who designed and built a two-level addition to the original two-bedroom property, linking the two with a bridge.

The original flat roofed singe storey house was 82 square metres with separate living and dining rooms, two bedrooms, bathroom and small kitchen.

Even at the time of its construction it was considered a small house and described in the Australian Home Beautiful in 1929 as a "house for elfin folk." 

The Creswick House was built in 1926 for Mrs Alice Creswick who lived in Burwood. Mrs Creswick was a member of the Theosophic Society whose meeting rooms were near Griffin's offices in Bligh Street. Both Walter and Marion Griffin were Theosophists. 

Griffin was compelled to purchase the completed house after Mrs Creswick threatened legal action based on the unhealthy environment of the house due to water penetration and damp.

Marion sold it after Griffin's death to Eric Nicolls, Griffin's architectural partner who owned it for five years until 1949.