While the ‘bush idyll’ is the most recognised historic reference point for Australian architects, their more contemporary urban sensibilities are now being acknowledged by their American counterparts.
This evolution of Australian architecture will be celebrated in an international exhibition, OUT FROM UNDER: Australian Architecture Now, to be held in San Francisco from the 8 March to 25 April 2007, at the invitation of the San Francisco Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).
Curated by University of Technology, Sydney’s Director of the Master of Digital Architecture course, Anthony Burke, OUT FROM UNDER explores spatial and material innovation unique to Australian design through the work of 16 ground-breaking Australian practices.
“While remaining intimately aware of the impact of Australia’s unique environment on the design of buildings and spaces, our leading architects position their work in a definitively urban and exploratory landscape.
“The sixteen practices presented in the exhibition show an alternative and perhaps more relevant view of contemporary architecture in Australia than the nostalgic metaphors of bush and beach,” said Burke.
Significantly, the exhibition signals a release from the grip of that mythic bush ethos that has dominated Australian practice for several generations, and it recognises and celebrates the reality of a developed urban consciousness – less McCubbin and more Smart in many respects.
The AIA approached Burke to curate an exhibition of Australian architecture due to an American interest in the way Australian architects handle the environment within contemporary design practice.
In response, Burke saw this as an opportunity to celebrate a uniquely Australian form of design research, which combines a strong sense of process and exploration with a tradition of high quality building.
According to Burke, the 16 exhibited practices share a commitment to a critical and exploratory edge that is active on the building site and in the design studio. In recent years this commitment has evolved to distinguish a new breed of Australian practice concerned with engaging design in an ongoing, public and experimental manner.
“The exhibition may also travel to the other design hubs in the US, such as Chicago and New York, raising awareness of the depth and diversity of Australian design practice,” said Burke.
The exhibition features Terroir, Tony Owen NDM, Dale Jones-Evans Architecture, McBride Charles Ryan (MCR), Neeson Murcutt Architects, Chenchow Little, Sean Godsell Architects, John Wardle Architects, Kerstin Thompson Architects, Chris Bosse of PTW Architects, Gary Marinko Architects, Staughton Architects, m3architecture, Offshorestudio, Andrew Burges Architecture and Minifie Nixon Architects.
Anthony Burke recently returned to Australia from San Francisco to take up the position of Director of Master of Digital Architecture at UTS. He has taught in Australia and the United States for the past ten years, and has a special interest in the intersection of advanced architectural design and technology.