Melbourne talk—Roy Grounds, Experiments in Minimum Living

Join author Tony Lee in Melbourne for an in-store presentation of his new book Roy Grounds: Experiments in Minimum Living.

Experiments in Minimum Living explores the early work of renowned Australian architect Roy Grounds (1905-1981) . While Grounds is best known for the Australian Academy of Science in Canberra and the National Gallery of Victoria, this book presents some of his early designs for small, efficient and engaging flats. These buildings are very relevant today—a time when Australia is grappling with a housing crisis and the need for small, efficient and affordable housing is unmatched.

In this talk, author Tony Lee will discuss his experience renovating one of Grounds' early flats and how it eventually lead to his creation and publication of Roy Grounds: Experiments in Minimum Living.

Lee will then be joined by architect and writer, Michael Roper, for a short conversation and Q&A.

NOTE: Tickets strictly limited—ticket price redeemable as a discount from book purchases on the night.

About the speakers

Tony lee is an architect and historian. While working withthe National Trust of Australia (Victoria) he introduced the Trust to the work of Robin Boyd. This steered Tony to more than 20 years of research into Boyd’s work and led to his founding the Robin Boyd Foundation and appointment as its inaugural director. Roy Grounds taught, mentored then later worked in partnership with Boyd, and their careers are inextricably entwined. Tony Lee’s purchase and subsequent restoration of a flat at Moonbria stimulated this book, the first of severalbooks he is preparing on the work of Grounds and Boyd.

Michael Roper is a founding director of Architecture architecture. He has taught extensively both in Melbourne and abroad and was the founding Program Manager at the ANCB Metropolitan Laboratory in Berlin. He is chair of the University of Melbourne’s Architecture Advisory Board, serves on the AIA Victoria Awards Committee and was a founding member of Nightingale Housing. He has written for architectural journals, served on several juries for the Victorian architecture awards program, and is a regular guide for Open House Melbourne. Michael is a co-author of Among Buildings, reflecting on significant Melbourne architecture through photography and poetry. His latest book collaboration, Paul Couch, Field Studies, is due for publication in 2025.