Saving an iconic Toorak home designed by Arts Centre architect

News.com.au

14-07-2025

When couple David Hart and Jessica Soleimani embarked on a journey to restore their Toorak house, they also rescued a piece of Melbourne's architectural history.
Aside from returning the mid-century modern home to its former glory, they preserved an early work by one of Australia's most influential architects for future generations.
The completed project even added more than $1m in estimated value to their abode, that's known as Shere.
As founder and director of Victorian-based commercial and residential builder, DG Build, Mr Hart and Ms Soleimani – who works in the business too – launched their first project together following their 2018 honeymoon.
The couple knocked down an older house in Melbourne's northwest before subdividing and building two double-storey units.
Next up, they renovated and sold a fire-damaged property in the same suburb.
'After these, it just became a thing that we did,' Mr Hart said.
'We moved onto a three townhouse site, a medical centre, and now we are commencing the design on a 35-apartment site in Ringwood.'
It was 2023 when they first inspected Shere and 'immediately recognised the potential beneath its weathered surface', Mr Hart said.
The house was originally designed and built by architect Sir Roy Grounds, one of Australia's leading architects of the modern movement, in 1958.
It was a precursor to Sir Grounds' other, more well-known works including Melbourne's National Gallery of Victoria and the Victorian Arts Centre, now known as the Arts Centre Melbourne, plus the Wrest Point Hotel Casino in Hobart.
Sir Grounds was knighted for his significant contributions to Australian architecture in 1969.
It was the architect's accountant, Mr. M. Smith and his wife, who commissioned Shere.
Mr Hart said that when he and Ms Soleimani first saw the house, they noticed alterations that had been made over time that were not in keeping with its mid-century character.
'There were also visible signs of neglect to many of the original features,' he added.
'The timber eaves were worn and painted over, the aluminium roof was leaking, the copper gutters weren't maintained and the internal timber wall linings were in poor condition.'
In addition, stormwater and sewers blocked and retaining walls on the brink of collapse.
'The to-do list was long, but we saw this project as an opportunity to restore and preserve a piece of Melbourne's rich history of mid-century design,' Mr Hart said.
After purchasing Shere, the couple embarked on a deep dive into its history.
They were delighted to find Sir Roy Grounds' original plans through RMIT University's Design Archives, a resource of more than 350,000 objects related to Victorian design from the 1940s onwards.
As fans of mid-century architecture, they put plenty of thought into each decision they made on the house's months-long restoration effort.
Natural light was among the guiding principles of the project.
'Shere was always designed with the sun in mind, its peak aligned to true north,' Mr Hart said.
'We introduced Velux skylights to brighten the only dull areas, then layered in obscured glass bricks sculpting light and shadow while nodding to iconic modernist form.'
And in the bathroom, 'reflections dance from a red transparent resin bath, injecting a quiet playfulness and a surprising sense of space into an otherwise modest layout'.
Ms Soleimani said that her favourite feature of the completed project was the new entry staircase that leads up onto the terrace and front door under a timber eave.
'Incredibly, the redesign resulted in the addition of a master bedroom, ensuite, and separate laundry, all achieved without altering the existing roof line,' Mr Hart added.
The couple said they had no intentions of selling Shere just yet – especially after all the hard work they put into its restoration – but might consider doing so if they find another gem to restore.
In total, including the initial $2.94m they paid for the property, they spent $3.654m on Shere and its restoration.
A post-renovation valuation put Shere's value at $4.8m, an equity gain of $1.146m.
However, Mr Hart and Ms Soleimani said that financial reward had not served as their motivation for giving the house a new lease on life.
'Restoring Shere felt less like renovating a home and more like working with a piece of art or sculpture,' Mr Hart said.
'Homes like this are incredibly rare — there's a real feel to them, which is from a special cleverness to their design.
'We saw ourselves as caretakers of something special, something that deserved to be protected, celebrated, lived in, and loved – we hope to inspire others to renovate rather than to just simply knock down and rebuild.'