noosa-heads

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6.8                   NOBLE HOUSE
LOCATION                    19 Bayview Road, Noosa Heads

TENURE                      Freehold. 6RP91188

DATES                       1985-6

DESCRIPTION                 A two-storey steel family residence built using the unique quadropod system invented by
                            Gabriel Poole. Poole’s intention with the construction method was to minimise
                            disturbance to the ground and Poole comments ’...this house was built without recourse
                            to mechanical digging equipment or formal scaffolding.’ 50 His solution was the unique
                            steel quadropod system, which consisted of any number of towers each of four steel
                            pods anchored into the ground and braced together. Each pod branched out with four
                            arms (like the branches of a tree), which supported the floor frame and the super-
                            structure.51 In the Noble residence the towers were separated into two freestanding
                            towers leaving free space in between that allowed for the installation of internal
                            staircases.
                            Unlike the Gloster House where one level was built into the quadropod, this residence
                            had two levels built above the quadropod. The steel framework was prefabricated and
                            then erected on the site. The main level consisted of living, kitchen, dining, bathroom
                            deck and two bedrooms. Above was built the master bedroom and ensuite. Timber stud
                            walls were externally lined with Colorbond corrugated sheeting and internal walls
                            consisted of plasterboard and with the exception of minimal walls for privacy, the building
                            is basically glass.




6.8.1       BRIEF HISTORY
The house was designed for a local businessman on an extremely steep and difficult site perched high on top of Noosa
Hill. It was designed by Noosa architect Gabriel Poole, and was built in 1985-6. Poole is an internationally respected
architect and a winner of the Queensland Robin Dods Award in 1991, the National Robin Boyd Award in 1991 and the
National Gold Medal Award ‘for his lifetime contribution to Australian architecture’ in 1998.
6.8.2        HISTORICAL THEMES
This place illustrates the following historical themes in the Noosa Shire based on the Environmental Protection Agency’s,
Guidelines for Historical and Indigenous Cultural Heritage Management, dated 2001 -
4 (f) Establishing and developing towns - developing a regional style of architecture; residence (house); and
4 (e) Establishing and developing towns - housing urban populations




50
     Quoted in Peter Hyatt, Local Heroes Architects of Australia’s Sunshine Coast, Craftsman House Sydney, 2000 p. 70.
51
  For a complete description of the system see Walker, B Gabriel Pool Space in which the Soul can Play Noosa Visionary Press, 1998,
pp. 19-20.