Crescent Head's Marie Short Farmhouse has been recognised for its heritage significance by the NSW Government and listed on the State Heritage Register.
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Designed by renowned architect Glen Murcutt, the farmhouse has been recognised as an early example of an environmentally responsive building.
Executive Director Heritage NSW Sam Kidman said that it today more than ever we need this type of architecture that can adapt and respond to changes in climate.
"Built in 1975, Marie Short Farmhouse's dynamic architectural elements include a curved roof, glazing and louvre system, allowing inhabitants to adjust interior air movement and light as seasons and weather demand," he said.
"Congratulations to Mr Murcutt, it's an honour to have his ground-breaking building in Kempsey, to help educate and lead the way in designing or remodelling future homes to better harness in-built methods for heating and cooling."
Mr Murcutt has received wide acclaim for his ecologically responsive and socially responsible Modernist buildings.
He is the only Australian to win the international Pritzker Architecture Prize and has designed several iconic buildings including the Kempsey Museum.
His motto 'touch the earth lightly' ensures minimal disturbance to the environment and ensures his work fits into the local landscape.
The Marie Short Farmhouse is built from locally reclaimed timbers with key design elements responding to and taking into account local climate conditions such as wind, rainfall and orientation.
The building was designed so that it could be disassembled and reassembled to allow for the possibility of relocating the house.
Mr Murcutt said that on a personal level it was a great privileged to have this important acknowledgement of his work made within his lifetime.
"At a public level its registration and protection is a pleasing and important recognition of this building now and for the future," he said.
"The heritage listing speaks of the importance of architecture being of its place, its culture and its time and its time ahead.
The listing acknowledges that it is still relevant 50 years later!"
The Macleay River Historical Society (MRHS) who operates from the Murcutt designed Kempsey Museum, had put in a submission supporting the heritage order for the Marie Short Farmhouse.
"We were very pleased to learn that the heritage order had been placed," said MRHS president Phil Lee
The Macleay Valley has lost too many historically important buildings in the past."
The farmhouse is located on Beranghi Road overlooking the flood plain, grassland and Maria River.
It has received numerous awards including the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) Merit Award in 1976, and the Australian Institute of Architects 25 Year Award in 2004.
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Emily Walker
Reporter at Macleay Argus and Port Macquarie News.
Reporter at Macleay Argus and Port Macquarie News.
