Tim Ross discovers Melbourne architecture on new ABC documentary Designing A Legacy

Design enthusiast, comedian and presenter Tim Ross wants you to know that good architecture can keep a conversation buoyant for hours; and it’s one he’s happy to get started. His new ABC TV documentary Designing a Legacy focuses on mid-century Australian architecture and explores why our retro past is so significant.

From iconic modernist architects like Melbourne-born Robin Boyd and Esmond Dorney to Queenslander Gabriel Poole and Sydneysider John Andrews, Ross takes us on a journey that’s far from obvious.

He reaches out to the architects’ families to see how these homes shaped their lives and why they’re still sentimental all these decades on.

Designing a Legacy explores beyond the bricks and mortar exteriors of these iconic homes to find the deeply personal stories that helped build them. Ross’s own interest in modernist architecture stems back to his childhood after discovering a Robin Boyd-designed home on the Mornington Peninsula.

“I remember being in the car with Dad as a kid on the Nepean Highway in Frankston and seeing the McClune House [built in 1969] a thousand times before realising it was built by a legend,” he says.

“It had an open day around 15 years ago, and Dad and I took a walk inside. To see it was a wonderful experience. It really planted the seed to know more, explore more and to do the sort of storytelling I do.”

It’s Ross’s passion for architecture and design that makes watching a documentary about it feel even more personable. He’s less about the technicality and more about what modernist architecture adds to our lives. “Robin wanted to remind us that better architecture is better for all of us,” he says of Boyd.

His interviewees have become friends; it’s one of the perks of deep-diving into the past.

“They’re really personal stories where I’m trusted to tell their family story,” he says. “I felt privileged to see inside the homes and have the families speak so candidly about the memories made there.”

While Ross’s mission is to demystify architecture by making it about people, including the story behind the McCraith House in Dromana [also known as the Butterfly House], he clings to nostalgia as much as he asks the bigger question of why it matters.

Ross travels from Queensland to Tasmania to find out what makes our architecture uniquely Australian, and why modernist homes, in particular, have become highly sought-after in recent years.

“Six years ago there were few real estate agents who understood the mid-century era, and now they seem to get it,” Ross says. “They understand that value of it and these homes are in huge demand. I have had many ask me to put up images on Instagram to see if there’s interest in a home from that era, and I am amazed by how much passion there is for it out there today.”

His live show Man About the House sees Ross performing a mixture of comedy and storytelling in architecturally significant buildings and homes while his musical partner Kit Warhurst provides the soundtrack to his musings. The shows have consistently sold out and there are plans for more to come this year.

Designing A Legacy is available for streaming on ABC iView.