McCraith House

The McCraith House is located in Dromana, Victoria, positioned atop a stone walled plinth over-looking Port Phillip Bay. Due to its unique geometric shape, this building is commonly referred to as the Butterfly House or Larrakeyah. In 1954, Gerald and Ellen McCraith commissioned emerging Melbourne-based architect partnership Chancellor and Patrick to design the beachside weekender, which was completed in 1956. Exemplary of structurally inspired modernist architecture in Australia, The McCraith house is national heritage listed and remains astonishingly close to its original state including “exterior and interior wall colours, furniture, crockery, even the bed linen.”DesignThe layout of the Butterfly house set a new standard for holiday houses in Australia. A stone plinth holds the main living and private spaces to emphasize the view of the bay. The Children Bedroom and laundry are located on the ground floor, allowing the main active spaces such as the lounge room to have priority access to the views. The connection to the exterior was strengthened through the open plan living, removing the strict separation of the traditional dining area, lounge and exterior lounge. This provides a more relaxed and free flowing movement within the house, complimenting the associated lifestyle of beach-side living. Due to the increased availability of family cars, a sheltered parking space is included underneath the cantilevered floor resulting in ease of access for residents.ConstructionThe Butterfly House is one of the earliest examples in Australia to use prefabricated structural steel in a domestic building. The structural core consists of two triangulated truss frames, bolted to large concrete footings at the inverted tip of the triangles. Steel ‘C’ section purlins and steel cross bracing form the base of the first floor, tying the triangulated truss frames together. The two dominant floor beams overlap the first floor truss supporting a series of timber floor joists that are cantilevered at each end forming the balcony and a portion of the living space floor. The ‘Butterfly’ roof is supported by a series of timber joists in a specific geometric configuration.