The business of architecture
Blue House by Neeson Murcutt What is it? The third of four annual open days run by the Robin Boyd Foundation. The 2012 winter event took place last Sunday on the Mornington Peninsula, with houses by Neeson Murcutt (Zac's House, 2011, and Blue House, 2012), Denton Corker Marshall (Emery House, 1999), Paul Morgan (Cape Schanck House, 2007), McBride Charles... Continue Reading →
Emery House from the west What is it? A holiday house for graphic designer, Gary Emery, by established Melbourne architecture practice, Denton Corker Marshall. Located in Cape Schanck on the Mornington Peninsula, the house was completed almost fifteen years ago yet boasts a timelessness that has preserved its elegance across a decade and a half... Continue Reading →
Predator What is it? A photographic series by Lithuanian artist and former architect, Tadas Černiauskas, who invited a hundred friends and strangers to his studio during Design Week in Vilnius last Friday where he blasted their faces with gale-force air currents and captured the hilarious, creepy and downright unnerving results. In spectacular modern fashion, this... Continue Reading →
What is it? Once upon a time, there was a dedicated team of medical researchers developing a new drug. To make sure the drug cured what it was supposed to cure, and was safe while doing so, the team subjected it to a battery of tests, first on animals then on humans. After many years,... Continue Reading →
What is it? Over recent months, the architectural fee has surfaced as a topic in a number of unrelated conversations, strangely arriving at us from varied directions, in varied circumstances and with varied foci. Nic Granleese advised that the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) are investigating the reinstatement of their architectural fee guide. We attended... Continue Reading →
What is it? A proposal is currently before the Victorian State government that recommends abandoning mandatory 6-star thermal efficiency requirements for housing as part of a broader agenda to cut government red tape. Documents obtained by The Age newspaper reveal state Treasurer Kim Wells has suggested that "consideration could be given to a voluntary thermal... Continue Reading →
What is it? One in a series of scale models by plastic brick toy maker, LEGO, as part of their LEGO Architecture line. Farnsworth House, by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1951), accompanies eleven other scale models including Fallingwater by Frank Lloyd Wright (1935) and the Sydney Opera House by Jørn Utzon (1973). Better understood as artistic interpretations... Continue Reading →
What are they? As part of the annual Australian Institute of Architects awards, architects gather in each state and territory for a day to present their projects to category juries. Though only 10 minutes are provided for each architect to woo his or her jury, the sheer number of projects means the entire day is... Continue Reading →
Interior looking through kitchen with cosy nook to right What is it? A house by Neeson Murcutt Architects for clients Jo Nolan and Luke Hastings, and the subject of the Our Houses architectural talk on Wednesday night. The series is unique in inviting both architects and their clients to discuss their projects, attracting not only... Continue Reading →
What is it? A crime novel by fascinating author, China Miéville, set in the fictitious Eastern European cities of Beszel and Ul Qoma. The driving narrative force of this novel, and the subject of the above drawing, is the relationship between these two cities. Beszel and Ul Qoma are unique cities, each with its own... Continue Reading →