[1] A vacant block of land on a southern slope in St Lucia was acquired by Karl and Gertrude Langer in 1950 as the site for their new home.

Karl studied architecture in Vienna most notably in the Master Class run by Peter Behrens at the Viennese Academy graduating in 1926.

In 1928 he was appointed the architect in charge of Behrens Vienna office where he designed and supervised important works such as the tobacco factory in Linz, Austria.

At this time he also commenced studies in Art History at the Vienna University graduating as a Doctor of Philosophy in 1933 with a thesis entitled "Origins and Development of Concrete Construction".

She commenced study in the History of Art at Vienna University in 1926 being taught by Professor Josef Strzygowski and later attended lectures by Henri Focillon at the Sorbonne.

[1] Karl became well known throughout Australia shortly after his arrival when his appointment to the position of Assistant Town Planner with the Brisbane City Council in 1944 resulted in a Parliamentary Enquiry.

He worked throughout Australia and was the initiator of many influential urban design ideas such as the site for the Sydney Opera House and the pedestrianisation of Queen Street.

Research carried out when he first arrived in Brisbane pioneered the field of climatic design and resulted in 1944 in the publication of an influential booklet called "Subtropical Housing".

[1] The house, a three storeyed masonry and timber structure, is located in a well known suburban street on a small rectangular block with a narrow frontage.

The walls are constructed of brickwork which has been rendered and painted, floors are built of timber and skillion roofs are sheeted in corrugated asbestos cement.

Openings, primarily timber casement windows, are concentrated in the longer northern and southern elevations facilitating illumination and ventilation of the interior while maintaining privacy.

A long room, originally divided by a timber screen into living area and study, extends across the back of the house with a fireplace on the eastern end.

[1] The upper level consists of two small bedrooms, a bathroom and a large roof terrace which overlooks the densely planted rear garden.

Through the decorative restraint evident in the facade detailing and composition, and the efficient but spacious planning of the house, Langer introduced to Brisbane aesthetic ideals and social concerns drawn from his experience of European modernism.

The home of Gertrude and Karl Langer from 1950 until their deaths, the house and garden are the creation and embodiment of a partnership which had a significant impact on cultural life in Queensland.