History of Australian Architecture (Essay Sample)

The history of Australian architecture
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The architecture of a place is the true representation of ideas and innovation which sets a state or region at par with the world. It is an expression of beliefs, cultures and traditions of a particular group of people or an entire society. Nations around the world are differentiated in many different ways and architectural designs are part of it. Australia is one of the richest countries in terms of architecture and architectural designs. It has for years set a pace of many other nations through their innovative architectures and marvelous designs. There are many pioneers of the Australian architecture who set the pace for other generations of architectures during the post war period. Chancellor and Patrick together with Glenn Murcutt are some of the most renowned architects in the history of Australia. Although they had different ways of interpreting and understanding their designs, they remain true icons in the history of architecture in Australia.[]
The modern architecture in Australia is founded and understood on two perspectives. Regionalism and nationalism are the two themes which the above architects differed on. Glenn Murcutt strongly believed on nationalism and environmentally friendly architecture. The chancellor and Patrick who worked as a team believed on regionalism or internationally where they borrowed a lot from other countries architectural understandings. This essay aims at arguing out the different perspectives and believes on architecture between Glenn and the collaboration of Chancellor and Patrick.[]
Nationalism understanding of architecture is based on borrowing from other designs or architects in other states. Architects such as Chancellor and Patrick believed in international styles as a way of introducing modernism in Australia. Modernism perspective was based on what the other parts of the world were practicing during the post war period. Regionalism on the other hand was purely indigenous architectural designs. Glenn was famous for supporting local designs in Australia. He founded his belief on the understanding that Australia needed to be independent in their designs based on their traditions.[1 Johnson, Donald Leslie. 1980. Australian architecture, 1901-1951: sources of modernism. [Sydney]: Sydney University Press, p. 123- 212]
Glenn Murcutt advocated for the conservation of the natural beauty of Australia through local heritage in designs. The environment was his priority in his designs and wanted all the architects to embrace that. He insisted on designs that valued the future of nature and the wellbeing of the environment. Murcutt’s designs were designed in a way that they used very little materials from trees. He criticized the international styles of architecture which was based on the fact that they destroyed what distinguished Australia from the rest of the world. Nature is diverse in landscapes, forests and water masses which is different in every state. States use their natural heritage to showcase their motherland which represents them to the world. Glenn therefore used his architectural designs to proof that nature could accommodate houses if well incorporated.
Glenn Murcutt’s designs stood out as true representation of nationalism. He used designs that did not have any influence from any other place in the world. It is obvious that other nations had their own designs which expressed their traditions. Australia had well distributed forests and good landscapes which needed to be expressed by making designs that favored this heritage. He preached this to anyone who intended to be an architect. The believe that nature could not tolerate pollution or any form of destruction was based on the fact that nature had its way of proving its point.
During the post war period architecture in Australian started to take shape in some areas such as the suburb of Frankston. In as early as 1954, different architectural designs started peeking from areas there were made of forests and thick shrubs. Architects such as Chancellor and Patrick based their designs on open plan and outdoor experiences. One of their famous architectural designs was the houses developed in the peninsula which had a great ocean view and good landscape. McCraith house, commonly referred as the butterfly house is one of the most famous designs build on a wall of stone overlooking the Port Philip Bay. It is a national heritage design in Australia because of its way in expressing both interior and exterior designs, decorations and use of space. This house was loved and hated by many in equal measure. Some found its location to be the best view while others saw it as an expensive modern structure.[Bingham-Hall, Patrick, and Philip Goad. 2005. New directions in Australian architecture. Singapore: Periplus, p. 343-401]
The traditional Australian buildings were made of red bricks, unbroken roofline, the brick chimney and large areas of timber. However during the post- war period regionalism affected these designs with architects such Chancellor and Patrick copying from the American designs. They believed that American architectural designs were the epitome of modernism in architecture. American designs consisted of smooth walls made from brown bricks, carport roofs and a lot of glass ware with steel. This influence killed the traditional old buildings in Australia which Glenn advocated to be conserved. His main point was improving them with new modern ideas that are originally from Australian architects. Designs with gardens surrounding them and use of local materials such timber and red bricks was what traditional designs needed to capture and present to the rest of the world.
Patrick and Chancellor made their designs unique by capturing their architectural designs in exposed bricks and timber. Their designs had extended balconies and cantilevered roofs. They believed in space and the importance of a lot of natural light. This was very much evident in the McCraith House (butterfly house) which was constructed in the period of 1995. It was constructed on the hillside of Dromana suburbs. This steel house with a lot of glass on it remains a very unique design by the two architects in the post war period. It attracted a lot of attention globally together with other designs constructed by the duo. Some of their famous designs included; The McCraith house and the former ES&A Bank building which still exist up to date. However their designs were seen by architects such as Glenn as an imitation of other architects work from other regions. They did not express their originality and innovation to the Australian people in the quest for modernism.[2 Goad, Philip. "Robin Boyd and the Design of the House 1959-1971." Transition, no. 38 (1990): p.161- 181]
As stated herein, Chancellor and Patrick borrowed a lot of their architectural designs from international styles. Glenn on the other hand thought it would be better with practicing nationalism as maintains the local heritage. Chancellor and Patrick’s architectural designs saw the destructions of forests in many places where their designs were constructed. The many suburbs developed around coastlines destroying the thickest found there in order to enhance the view of the spacious house designs. This was so because their designs were more of outdoor motivated in need of big space in and outside the designs.
All architects were seeking to embrace modern designs in Australia through various modern and new designs. Their ideologies were inspired by different things and happenings around the world. Innovation was the pride of any architect at the time and they all sought to come up with designs that would put them on the same level with other famous designs in the world. After the world war, many regions were getting industrialized and economies had started to peak at a very high pace. To keep up with these other regions, things and perspectives of doing things in Australia had to change and architecture was one of them. This was evident in both Glenn Murcutt together with Chancellor and Patrick’s designs. Although on different modernism perspective they designed world class standard houses which reflected modernism received both credit and criticism in same measure. Chancellor and Patrick’s designs were blamed for altering the local designs and heritage of Australian and been too much of unoriginal (Regionalism) design. Murcutt on the hand was seen as a more conservative architect who strived to do more original designs with influence from the old heritage. However some architects saw this as a selfish way for not working with other architects from the other parts of the world to advance modernism.
The two architects bring out a very sensitive debate on conserving the architectural designs of Australia. Modernism is the major argument from both parties in their architectural designs. Glenn Murcutt felt copying from other nations did not make architectural designs modern but rather a duplicate of someone’s ideas. By embracing regionalism, the traditions and the natural beauty of Australia would be corrupted. Nationalism was his major point of argument and he strongly believed in designs that depicted the traditions of the people. Therefore, if they destroyed local heritage future generations would not enjoy the true beauty of their country. Some of Murcutt’s most famous designs include Laurie Short House, Marie Short House and the famous Berowra Waters Inn . The Marie Short House for instance is one of the buildings that exhibited nationalism in the way Murcutt designed it. It was made from inexpensive material gotten from the landscapes of Australia. He used timber corrugated metal sheets and steels to make the window louvers.[3 Drew, Philip. Leaves of Iron: Glenn Mur...