In 1957, a single house became pivotal in redirecting Australian architecture. The Jack House – designed by young architect Russell Callum Jack with his wife, Pamela, as their family home – won the Sir John Sulman Medal, marking a turning point in postwar modernism.

Architect Russell Jack and his dog Toby at the 1972 Forsaith house in Pymble, which he designed. Credit: Photo: Matthew Jack

Drawing attention from Melbourne’s pioneering movement to Sydney, it paved the way for an architectural style known as the Sydney School.

That same house transformed Jack’s life, propelling him to national prominence as one of Australia’s most innovative postwar architects. Half a century later, the Jack House changed mine too, when I had the rare privilege of purchasing it from him. I gained my dr

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