GROWING UP MODERN: ALEX JELINEK AND CANBERRA’S ROUND HOUSE
with Robert Benjamin
6 NOVEMBER 2026
Wednesday | 1:00pm – 2:00pm
Canberra Museum and Gallery | 176 London Circuit, Canberra
Tickets | General Admission $10 | Concession/Student $8 | Bookings Essential
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Accessible bathroom, All gender bathroom, Seating available, Wheelchair accessible
SEE THE EXHIBITIONProfessor of Art History, Roger Benjamin grew up in, and later restored, one of Canberra’s most iconic mid-century buildings – the Alex Jelinek designed Round House. In this talk, and the associated exhibition, we discover how the Round House came to be designed, built and made into a home. Alex Jelinek was a Czech refugee who studied and practiced Modernist Architecture in Prague before fleeing his homeland. Benjamin’s parents, philosopher Bruce Benjamin and his wife Audrey commissioned the house in 1956. It includes a glass cylinder down its centre, mahogany beams and handmade furniture by Schulim Krimper. Roger Benjamin bought the property back in 1999 and lovingly restored it.
In this talk, and the associated exhibition, discover how the Round House came to be designed, built and made into a home including commissioned furniture by Krimper, original paintings and objects from the house as well as archival material of the construction, public and industry response and the creative life of the Benjamin family.
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Beth Sanderson (she/her) is a Melbourne/Naarm based artist and contemporary jeweller. Her practice examines everyday and mundane objects with the aim of finding poetry in moments often overlooked. Beth holds an Advanced Diploma in Jewellery and Object Design from Melbourne Polytechnic and completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) at RMIT in 2023. She was a finalist in Fresh! 2023 at Craft Victoria and received the Student Award for Contemporary Wearables 23 with Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery and was a finalist in Talente Masters of the Future Munich Jewellery Week 2024.
Image Credit: Alex Jelinek | Benjamin House, Deakin Canberra, 1957 | Photograph by Darren Bradley