The business of architecture
On Friday evening ArchiTeam held its annual debate at No Vacancy, the gallery also exhibiting the 2017 ArchiTeam awards. The debate topic was, "Architecture... The smaller the better? Is the future of architecture small? Small living, small buildings, small practice... Debate!" Zoë Geyer of ZGA Studio, who facilitated the debate, journeyed across the world into... Continue Reading →
This is the 11th of twenty-one lessons for design students, gathered from the combined experience of being a student, and teaching students. I will published one lesson each weekday until they're done. 11. Sweat the small stuff In the architecture studio I run with my wife, we believe that design doesn't stop until the builder hands over the keys. I... Continue Reading →
Safari Roof House What was it? A national lecture tour held last week for the Australian Institute of Architects by Malaysian architect, Kevin Low, and hosted in Melbourne by the ever-entertaining Stuart Harrison. Small Projects is also the name of Low's studio, which has an almost exclusive focus on buildings of residential scale or smaller.... Continue Reading →
Bruder Klaus Chapel by Peter Zumthor What is it? A number of years ago, Peter Zumthor presented a memorable lecture in Melbourne. Among the projects he discussed was the Bruder Klaus Chapel, as yet unbuilt, a chapel he was designing for a small community in Mechernich, Germany. Zumthor explained that the community was to fell... Continue Reading →
The process of writing How to steal like an architect last year, a series of 10 articles based on Austin Kleon's How to steal like an artist, made me consider other lessons learned over the years. What further lessons would I teach my younger self, given the opportunity? 13. Seeing is believing Architecture, of all the arts, 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 →
A selection from my list of 100 things to do before I die: 5. Visit space. 15. Design and build a synagogue. 21. Live near the beach. 27. Have a conversation in Italian with George Clooney. 31. Teach architecture at a university [done]. 44. Own and develop a property. 68. Visit the Vals Baths by... Continue Reading →
What are they? Thermal baths located in the remote Swiss alpine village of Vals, designed by Swiss architect and Pritzker Prize winner, Peter Zumthor. The building programme is organised via an interconnected series of open baths wrapping around large "stones" containing smaller, more intimate bathing rooms. The walls of the baths are built from precisely cut... Continue Reading →