Ellesmere Avenue house

Kolos was one of many émigré architects trained in Europe and working in Sydney immediately after World War II. He arrived from Hungary in 1950 and after working as an employed architect, started his own practice around 1957. The Ellesmere Avenue house, which shows Modernist influences like large glass areas and open planned interiors, is one of the few known examples of Kolos’ domestic work. Frank Kolos, both with J H Bryant and in other later partnerships, developed successful practices responsible for numerous apartment blocks, motels, office towers, shopping centres and factories in Sydney and other parts of Australia.

The house was photographed shortly after the original owners had died and prior to the first ever sale. Much of the furniture had been sold and removed from the house before the shoot.

Photographer: Ross Heathcote

Date Photographed: February 2011

Original image format: born digital

Copyright: Caroline Simpson Collection, Photograph Ross Heathcote, © Museums of History NSW

Further reading: Rebecca Hawcroft, ‘Migrant architects practicing modern architecture in Sydney, 1930-1960’, Historic environment, Carlton Vic., vol 25 no 2, 2013, pp.38-47.