The architecture lovers who bought not one, but two, homes on the same block

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PHOTO: When Peter and Mary-Ann Mitrakas bought two mid-century dwellings by renowned architect Robin Boyd at auction, it was the beginning of a mission to preserve the historic homes. Photo: Greg Briggs

Owners: Peter and Mary-Ann Mitrakas
Address: 305 & 307 Long Forest Road, Long Forest, Victoria
Type of property: A heritage-listed mid-century home by renowned architect Robin Boyd
Price guide: Boyd Baker House: $1.9 million-$2.09 million; Dower House and Roy Grounds-designed library: $1.25 million-$1.375 million

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For fans of Australian mid-century design, the name Robin Boyd registers as one of the greats.

So, when lawyer and self-described “architecture lover” Peter Mitrakas heard that a duo of homes by the renowned architect was set to go to auction in 2006, unprotected by heritage controls, he decided to take it upon himself to preserve them.

305 Long Forest Road, Long Forest VIC 3340

“I bought them on a whim. I didn’t know what I was going to do with them but I wanted to make sure that if I carked it one day, these assets were protected,” says Mitrakas, who set about getting them heritage listed soon after buying them.

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The two Boyd-designed dwellings sit among 14 hectares of bushland in Long Forest, 50 kilometres north-west of Melbourne, alongside a library by fellow modernist architect Sir Roy Grounds.

Domain BTL Long Forest — **Mitrakis set about getting the homes heritage protected as soon as he bought them. Photo: Greg Briggs**

Built in the mid-1960s on commission from Dr Michael Baker, an English mathematician and academic, the original residence, known as the Boyd Baker House, was conceived as the “modern version of an Australian bush home”, says Mitrakas.

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“[Baker] wanted it to have an organic, back-to-nature sort of feel.”

Behind the Listing Long Forest — **The square Boyd Baker House is designed around a large central courtyard. Photo: Supplied**

Constructed from stone sourced from the local quarry in Bacchus Marsh, with concrete flooring and floor-to-ceiling windows that offer panoramic views of the surrounding bush, the square house is designed around a large central courtyard that evokes atriums seen in ancient Greek architecture.

“It takes me back in time,” says Mitrakas. “When you’re sitting in the central courtyard, you think you’re sitting with Aristotle or Plato or Socrates.”