Perth’s Iwan Iwanov-designed Brutalist Marsala House listed for sale
Marsala House, the fabulous Brutalist Iwan Iwanov-designed Perth house that is the youngest property to be enshrined on the Western Australian heritage list, has been listed for sale.
Owners Mark Etherton and Christopher Beer bought the then deteriorating house in 2005 for $725,000 and embarked on a massive restoration project. The result quickly re-established Marsala House as one of Iwanov’s most idiosyncratic explorations of Australia’s late 20th-century Brutalist style, a movement that includes iconic Canberra buildings including the High Court of Australia and the Australian National Gallery.
Known locally in Dianella as the Disco House, its won a WA Heritage Award for outstanding conservation of a residential building.
“There is a richness to the brutalist style,” says Etherton. “The way the light plays on it and the texture that is revealed in the harsh Australian sun that makes this house so special to live in.”
Built in 1976 for the Marsala family, the project pushed the boundaries of concrete block contemporary design while the inside was heavily influenced by Las Vegas overstatement.
Now the interior is a wonderful tribute to groovy 1970s style.
The three bathrooms are tiled with Bisassa mosaics while the formal dining room has a full bar with backlighting in the cabinets, and the “disco” room remains a bizarre but chic nod to its era. A kidney-shaped pool graces the back garden.
It is expected that house will sell through listing agent Paul Tonich of Altitude Real Estate for about $2 million.
