St Kilda West’s “Pamela Anderson House” was once owned by infamous Australian Rules footballer/commentator from “The Footy Show“, Sam Newman. Situated at 270 Canterbury Road, on a former railway reserve, this post-modern style house was built in 2001 by Melbourne architect and interior designer Cassandra Fahey (born c. 1972).
- Fahey was given a fairly open brief including requirements for a sense of privacy, light and an overall ‘exoticism’.
- The house which is actually named ‘White Noise’ is inspired by Robert Venturi’s “Billboard Facade“, combining Post-Modernism with Minimalism architectural design.
Its façade consists of a 9×8 metre patterned glass mural of ‘Baywatch‘ star Pamela Anderson, built on commission for Newman. Fahey tested over 200 patterns to obtain a subtle yet confronting version of the pixelated image of Pamela Anderson. The facade itself is manufactured from laminated Digi-glass and digital film sitting on an aluminium plate grid frame. The garage door opens where Anderson’s mouth appears – and the project was completed with Anderson’s permission.
As a result, this three-storey town house design won a prestigious architecture award – for Best New Residential Building in the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) Victorian Architecture Awards in 2003. Although it is not listed on the Victorian Heritage Register, it offers three bedrooms, a gourmet kitchen, a north-facing terrace with lap pool, a private courtyard with pond and a two-car garage.
Although Newman never lived in the house, which he had built at the height of his playboy notoriety, its glass panel frontage made headlines across the world. Since then it has been sold on a few times. The house became a decisive point amongst the local community with many ‘fors’ and ‘againsts’, but despite its polarising affect on the community and drawing many local and overseas visitors, it still stands today.
- Fahey completed the Bachelor of Architecture at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in 1998 and since then has gained further qualifications.
- Her work has received a number of awards as well as being featured in many local and international publications.
- As Director of the architecture firm “Cassandra Complex” Fahey is also known for her works on the “The Smith Great Aussie Home” and the BHP Billiton Healesville Sanctuary “Platypusary“
Website | About | Facebook | Twitter
“Is It Art?”