Prestige Property: 20 Linlithgow Road, Toorak, VIC
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Prestige Property: 20 Linlithgow Road, Toorak, VIC

Step inside one of Melbourne’s architectural masterpieces.

By Terry Christodoulou
Fri, Apr 23, 2021 10:50amGrey Clock 2 min

 Toorak, Melbourne’s blue-chip locale is filled with a heady array of historic homes and modern mansions, yet few compare to the 950sqm contemporary masterpiece listed here.

Sprawled across a 1270sqm block, replete with low maintenance garden, the Stephen Jolson designed residence boasts 4-bedrooms, 3-bathrooms, 6-car parking across three levels in one of Toorak’s most prestigious positions.

The striking sculptural façade of cantilevered solid concrete ‘blades’ and tall window walls are the most salient features of the home.

Inside, it conceals lavish interiors highlighted by Australian Bluestone walkways, American Oak floors, and a hydronic underfloor heating system.

Arriving via the circular drive and grand bronze porte cochere entry one emerges into voluminous gallery-like spaces that provide sophisticated living, dining, and entertaining.

A central light atrium extends throughout all three floors while northern light pours in through walls of glazing that unfold to the entertaining terrace.

Elsewhere, the Statuario marble kitchen with separate scullery and bar is fitted with Miele appliances, three Vintec wine fridges and a Sub-Zero fridge and freezer.

The casual open living and dining areas include a hidden home theatre, descender TV and gas fire.

The first floor finds a library with yet another kitchenette, study or fifth bedroom while a central bathroom accompanies four retreat-style bedrooms including the palatial master suite with twin deluxe walk-in robes. Also here, a study, stunning open ensuite replete with marble benchtops,  a freestanding stone bath and private terrace all enjoying panoramic valley views.

Downstairs sees a lounge with granite bar, concealed kitchenette, gym, steam room and bathroom complementing the jaw-dropping 20-metre indoor lap pool.

Throughout the home is fitting with smart technology including full CBUS home automation, enjoys access via private lift, boasts an oversized three-car garage (with parking for a further three vehicles) while enjoying Toorak’s conveniences moments from Toorak Village, High Street Armadale and Melbourne’s most esteemed private schools.

The listing is with RT Edgar’s Antoinette Nido (+61 419 654 856) with a price guide of $15.5m-$17m; rtedgar.com



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A five-bedroom Palo Alto home designed by Steven Ehrlich is listed for $44 million, making it the city’s most expensive listing. Built around a dramatic concrete spine, the home features four courtyards and a pool.

By E.B. Solomont
Thu, Sep 24, 2026 3 min

For years, tech entrepreneur Asher Waldfogel and his wife, Helyn MacLean, dreamed of building a modern house in Palo Alto, Calif.

The couple, however, worried about clashing with the Mediterranean-style architecture typically associated with their neighborhood of Old Palo Alto.

So they tapped architect Steven Ehrlich to create a design that paid homage to its surroundings with stucco, mahogany and titanium zinc cladding. They spent $20 million over several years building the house, completed in 2005.

Designed for indoor-outdoor living, the house has matching mahogany paneling and limestone both inside and out.
Designed for indoor-outdoor living, the house has matching mahogany paneling and limestone both inside and out. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

The dining room is between an outdoor garden and the staircase.
The dining room is between an outdoor garden and the staircase. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

Now looking to be closer to their adult daughter on the East Coast, they are putting the five-bedroom home on the market for $44 million—the most expensive listing in Palo Alto.

Waldfogel is an angel investor who co-founded Redback Networks, a telecommunications-equipment company. MacLean previously had a career in fundraising.

The kitchen and family room open to the garden and pool.
The kitchen and family room open to the garden and pool. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

Cast alcoves and mahogany shelves house the couple’s books and ceramics.
Cast alcoves and mahogany shelves house the couple’s books and ceramics. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

The couple purchased the roughly 0.4-acre site for $7.1 million in 2000 and demolished a circa-1930s Spanish Colonial home. The house they built pinwheels around a central staircase. It has 7,900 square feet of livable space, with four distinct courtyards and a pool.

A key feature of the home is a cast-in-place concrete wall, or spine, that is two stories high and about 80 feet long. “There’s a little bit of controlled chaos in what comes out of the form,” unlike a perfectly uniform surface, Waldfogel said. “If you want that, you do it in plastic.”

Ehrlich said it took a few tries to get the concrete wall right.
Ehrlich said it took a few tries to get the concrete wall right. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

‘It’s a really hard material to tame,’ Ehrlich said of concrete. Workers learned as they went, and Waldfogel and Helyn grew to appreciate the imperfect material.
‘It’s a really hard material to tame,’ Ehrlich said of concrete. Workers learned as they went, and Waldfogel and Helyn grew to appreciate the imperfect material. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

A central staircase is housed in a glass tower.
A central staircase is housed in a glass tower. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

Waldfogel said he and his wife are thinking about the next phase of life now that their daughter is grown, although they have not decided where they will move. They also have a home in Sun Valley, Idaho.

“Right now we’re just trying to emotionally let go and decide what to do next,” he said.

Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

Two wings of the house are connected by horizontal planes.
Two wings of the house are connected by horizontal planes. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

Palo Alto, an epicenter of venture capital and tech startups in Silicon Valley, is home to some of the country’s biggest tech titans. Sales volume and prices are rising, with a median sale price of $3.5 million for the three months ending in August, up 5.8% year-over-year, according to real-estate brokerage Redfin.

Arthur Sharif of Sotheby’s International Realty—San Francisco Brokerage has the listing.