Tate House

Architect: Esmond Dorney (1958) Preston Lane Architects (2021)

Dorney on the Derwent

What happens when a house is designed to capture the river, but still needs to protect the people who live inside?

Step inside Tate House, one of Esmond Dorney’s remarkable mid-century houses, and discover a home shaped by its relationship with both the landscape and the changing suburban neighbourhood around it.

Sitting above the edge of the Derwent, the house opens towards the water with sweeping 180-degree views across the estuary to the hills and bays beyond. Look closely, though, and you’ll see that the house was never simply about making the most of the view.

Designed for a site with immediate street frontage, Dorney needed to find a different response to privacy than in his nearby Dorney Shack of 1957 and Young House of 1958. Here, the glazing is set further back behind the garden, with solid panels providing additional privacy from the street while allowing the house to open generously towards the river.

The result is a fascinating play between openness and enclosure. From the water, the house embraces the landscape. From the street, it presents a more protected face, including a striking curved form that echoes the hills on the eastern horizon.

The architecture continues Dorney’s exploration of lightweight construction and structural technology, while responding specifically to the character of this suburban site. Originally, the foreground was much more open, with a beach and boat sheds at the water’s edge. Later development has changed that relationship, adding another layer to the house’s story.

In 2019, the current owners asked Preston Lane Architects to carefully restore and update the house. The work respects the essence of Dorney’s original design while adapting the interiors to meet contemporary needs, allowing the owners to continue living in the house and age in place.

Come and have a look, experience the extraordinary relationship between house, garden and river, and discover how one of Tasmania’s great modernist architects designed a home that continues to evolve without losing its original character.

Open: Sat 7 Nov, 10.30am – 12.00pm