BUSH MODERNISM
- Words Rosalind Jana
- Photography Sean Fennessy
- Styling Jessica Lillico
Rebuilding the legacy of desert architect Alistair Knox.
- Words Rosalind Jana
- Photography Sean Fennessy
- Styling Jessica Lillico
“People didn’t see the modernist elements of it. It felt quite heavy."
When photographer Sean Fennessy and art director and stylist Jessica Lillico began looking for a house, they knew it might take time. The Australian couple wanted to move on from their small Melbourne apartment and find a proper home that would hold a family of four. After many months and a lot of research they alighted on the work of Alistair Knox. The designer of more than a thousand homes between the 1940s and the 1980s, Knox developed an organic, angular style now dubbed “bush modernism.” Fennessy and Lillico’s home, known as the Fisher House, is 15 miles from Melbourne in the suburb of Warrandyte and has been sensitively restored, retaining the building’s earthy hues and mid-century spirit.
Rosalind Jana: Tell me more about Alistair Knox. Why did his bush modernism appeal...