Join Professor Roger Benjamin's talk about growing up and later restoring the Round House - one of Canberra's most iconic mid-century buildings. Designed by Alex Jelinek for Roger's parents, Bruce and Audrey in 1956. It was named Australia's House of the Year in 1958.

Jelinek was a Czech refugee who studied and practiced Modernist Architecture in Prague before fleeing his homeland. Benjamin’s parents, philosopher Bruce Benjamin and his wife Audrey, commissioned the house in 1956 which included a glass cylinder down its centre, mahogany beams and handmade furniture by Schulim Krimper. Roger Benjamin bought the property back in 1999 and lovingly restored it.

In this talk, and the associated exhibition, discover how the Round House came to be designed, built and made into a home. The exhibition includes commissioned furniture by Krimper, original paintings and objects from the house, as well as archival material of the construction, public and industry response and the creative life of the Benjamin family.

ABOUT ROGER BENJAMIN

Born and raised in Canberra, Roger Benjamin studied Philosophy and Fine Art at the University of Melbourne and Bryn Mawr College outside Philadelphia. In 1984 Roger was appointed as Lecturer in Fine Arts at Melbourne where he worked until 1998. He has held positions as Research Fellow at the Centre for Cross-Cultural Research and taught at the School of Art at the Australian National University.

Following his appointment as Power Professor and Director of the Power Institute at the University of Sydney he became Professor of Art History at the University of Sydney. His visiting fellowships include the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (Paris) and the Clark Art Institute (Williamstown, Mass.). In 2013, Professor Benjamin was awarded the prestigious 3-year Discovery Outstanding Researcher Award (DORA) by the Australian Research Council.

Image: Benjamin House Gawler Cres, Deakin designed by Alex Jelinek photographed by the architect shortly after completion in 1957. Courtesy Benjamin Jelinek Archive