The Pines [House]

This was both one of the most dilapidated and the most interesting Victorian-era houses we’ve ever worked with. Located in Brighton, ‘The Pines’ is a concrete house - perhaps the first in Victoria - constructed in 1866, and is included in the Victorian Heritage Register [place number H2364] for its historical and scientific significance to the State of Victoria.

The concrete mix used sand from the nearby Brighton foreshore and was formed and rammed in layers, then subjected to a rendered finish. Where this finish has eroded or otherwise failed, the layers can clearly be seen. Interestingly, Victorian detailing such as architraves and mouldings are all cast into the concrete.

The house has been acquired by the adjacent Firbank Grammar School and will hopefully be subject to a comprehensive suite of conservation works to enable its adaptive reuse into a school building. The house has received no discernible maintenance or repair work for several decades and this means that ultimately much of the original fabric may have to be replaced. However, the formed concrete walls, arguably the defining feature of this place, are in generally good condition and readily repairable, albeit soaked from rising and falling damp.