Blue Archive: Early Release Material

The Blue Archive is under development. Early release material includes a talk David Weir, of David Weir Architects, at the 2014 edition of MERGE Emerging Architects 'On Impact', and a 'project portrait' of Jonathan Lake's North Perth House, which was a popular site at Open House 2014.

The archive project has seen speakers and event organisers including MERGE, Curtin University, CODA, the Office of the Government Architect, CODA, the DIA and Gresley Abas generously allow us to film their talks, and video documentation of a number of exhibitions, installations, and built projects. We hope this will contribute to the strengthening of architectural culture in Perth through the availability of quality, engaging, primary source information delivered with high production values. The intent is to assist with the discovery and sharing of good ideas through the cataloging and of the work, thoughts and personalities of architects and allied practitioners, to allow well informed conversations and creative works.

In due course a website will be launched, with fully catalogued metadata on the speakers and events. Material will be progressively added as editing is completed and permissions received.

In the meantime, we hope you enjoy these first two videos:

David Weir (David Weir Architects) - 'On Impact'

Project Portrait: Jonathan Lake Architects - 'North Perth House' 

PS14.02 Design for Learning #3

Notes on the Perth Samplings held by the Office of the Government Architect, in this case in collaboration with CEFPI.

Governor Stirling High School by Donaldson + Warn
High school for 1000 students on a small (aprox half size of usual) site. Replaced multistory buildings built in the 50's, key design drivers were responding to geographical context of river and historical (both indigenous and European) Guildford, build programming (proposed staged construction was challenged by design team) and accommodating an existing school community with established teaching programs and social contexts. The buildings have a strong civic character (as you can expect from D+W), sharply lined forms and appear generous in spatial diversity and finessed forms at the level of interaction - i.e. building elements forming seating, operable walls being deployed in carefully thought through scenarios. Materials included reduction fired bricks, which I knew about but was unsure why this firing process is employed - now I know it brings more variety of colouring with blues and purples. Brad Day presented in detail, and talked about difficulties as well as successes, which is important.

JSR Kindergarten
Innovative timber building techniques, efficient 18 x 18m square plan, simple structure. Resourceful and clear approach, without complication appears to have delivered a fun and successful outcome which was not an obvious solution but performs well (by Tom Brooking's account, and it sounds as though post-consultation has been worthwhile). Interior of building appears a great place to inhabit, particularly for young children.

HG and FJE were there documenting for the video archive.

Peter Wilson (Bolles+Wilson) 2013 RAIA Gold Medal Presentation.

Fragments from Libraries / Small Buildings / Zombies.

07.10.2013  State Library of Western Australia.

"It seems that to receive an RAIA Gold Medal one must leave Australia and stay away for 40 years."

"I am nervous of belonging. I am required to be able to continually step into new cultures which develops skills of assessing what is actually at work."

"I have 40 minutes to present this talk. In Sydney I recall Buckmiester Fuller once spoke for 4 hours. The students left to get pizza and when they got back he was still talking." 

"I am a product of the AA (Architectural Association): Dealing with an Architecture of incident, complexity and urban context...

…a sensibility developed within a generation of contextualism - the study of the city - contextual but with a language of the time."

"We don't have a style."

"An architecture that gets up the nose of German Architects who ask, "What is your rule system?", our reply," It depends what day of the week it is!"

"Muenster Library is somewhat our signature…and a dangerous yardstick"

"A building of many small narratives…a long story but one which is a joy to tell."

"We were given 3 years to plan…in the end we detailed, detailed and detailed. The fees ran out after 1 year. Other competition wins paid to keep us going. In the end it was built under budget…which surprised everyone. For the last 20 years it has been ranked 1 or 2 in the list of best public libraries -  a validation of some sorts. It suggests that good architecture is not about money but a the amount of time willing to be given to it."

"I advise students to visit a site at night. To not be distracted by detail and to see only the morphology."

"There is precedent in our work. But architecture of a different time and building method prevents direct references. One must think on your feet for a project specific strategy."

Dutch Competitions: "To get around strict EU competition rules the Dutch process sometimes asks for a 'vision'. The vision could be 'purple'…or a sketch. A german Architect once submitted a written statement. He proposed for a participatory scheme whereby he would engage and work with the local Dutch community. He won…but he then had to learn how to speak Dutch."

Dutch Language. "We called our scheme a 'blob'. This was before the word was degraded by parametric geometry. The Dutch however didnt call it a blob. They kept calling it a bloop! (We which also liked)."

Dutch Context: "Having being designed to a context a fire then burnt down the adjoining building and the context disappeared" 

21mins 15seconds: "I apologise for racing through this but I must get to the zombies."

Suzuki House: "We recently met the daughter who grew up in the house. We wanted to know if she had psychological damage."

"How did she describe the black blob to her Japanese school girl friends?"
"Oh thats easy: the house is a Panda!"

"We can't actually describe where this building is…it is floating somewhere in the Tokyo soup."

"There appears to be no need for proximity in a modern city anymore. Germany is like Tokyo…but spread out over 100's of kilometres."

Sustainability Regulations: "Typically one is required to make a building airtight…it is almost a crime to open a window in Germany."

Luxor Theatre: "Theatre is about the event. Its not about the Architecture. The building should work best when the lights go out and everyone focuses on the stage…but moments before the lights go out when the theatre is buzzing architecture has a foreground role."

A showroom to test jacuzzis: "An interesting sociological experiment. People go into a public building and take their clothes off…this is not something we do everyday. A discovery was made that Germans required freshwater to be refilled into each bath tested however if a busload of Belgians arrived…"

"I think our architecture is made up of solving these sorts of pragmatic problems. We don't sit there everyday discussing formal, theoretical or compositional problems. We basically discuss how do we solve each problem (as the brief and project limits shift in time)."

"In this building it is possible to put on your gumboots and wander out to the end of the lake. A surreal moment like a flat-earth view (looking off the edge of the world). What one actually sees though is German suburbia."

"If you designed the building below ground you killed all the trees. We designed the building to sail between the trees - the judges didn't share the same 'sublime' logic - we are sensitive architects."

"A german fundamentalist thinks our architecture is irresponsible. As a jury member he pushed our building from first to second place. I found a eucalyptus tree last time I visited London. I collected its seeds and now I have my own gorilla gardening campaign throwing eucalyptus seeds over his fence."

"A sketch which looks naive can get past every committee. A trick: Stay childlike!"

"It can be a very painful process. I think one doesn't do architecture to make money. A friend always laughs at the amount of unpaid work we as architects do. But there is a pleasure in doing a scheme….and finally seeing it get built and occupied by people." 

Zombies: "Lost competitions and the unbuilt. The undead that never reach closure."

Unbuilt Milan: "It took 10 years to complete the design process…it now sits on a shelf somewhere. It is the story of an Architect's life: So much effort and the project can still become a zombie."

"A mobile showroom. An inflatable skin. A building so light it needed 40 tonne of ballast just to hold it down. The transport costs of the ballast made it uneconomical. Sometimes you can do your job to well…Zombie."


"Theoretical projects are an exploration of the poetics of architecture. An engineer once told me (regarding The Waterhouse Project) that you wouldn't have the head of water required to get the fountains to do that…but thats not the point of narrative architecture…its a statement."

Peter Wilson. http://bolles-wilson.com

Talk Notes: PS12.03: design and community; creative outcomes in Fremantle

transcribed from my notebook; a few brief notes

Fremantle Bike Trees
buttress roots [link to MO, fairy lights, tree socks].

Bernard Seeber
Fremantle Train Station, Hilton Community Centre. Using existing fabric, putting things together the wat they were designed in the first place (because it's cheaper, easier to maintain and helps with continuity of community - but mainly cheaper). Adding to existing value.

Michael Patroni
Knutsford Consortium, development of a Knutsford (Brownfield development inland from Fremantle) lot. Managed to deliver sophisticated material outcomes and a 4.5M wide back lane (hard to convince State Planning), which would achieve a proper second order realm. Fremantle successful because of pre-car streetscape (among other factors).

As ever, thanks to the team at the Office of the Government Architect for all their hard work organising and curating this talk series, and the speakers.

PS12.03 design and community

Interior: A State of Becoming

Interior: A State of Becoming Public Events are now open for registration! Come see the exhibition, watch keynote presentations by Beatriz Colomina and Charles Rice, attend a master class with Jon Goulder, or enjoy a Sunday sesh of seven significant local design practitioners. The symposium itself will host 35 national and international speakers presenting and discussing research that examines significant issues in relation to Interior Architecture. 


An Interior Affair: A State of Becoming (exhibition opening)
Thursday 6 September, 6 pm at FORM.

An international exhibition exploring the world of the interior as a state of constant and dynamic 'becoming'.  Guests are invited to preview the creative works that challenge our preconceptions of 'the interior' through a diverse range of research projects prior to official speeches beginning at 6:30 pm.

Entry free of charge.  RSVP by 5 September to rsvp@form.net.au or (08) 9226 2799


Interior: A State of Becoming (symposium)
Friday 7 & Saturday 8 September, 9 am to 5 pm at State Library of Western Australia.

The two day symposium on Friday 7 and Saturday 8 September consists of a series of presentations and forums that draws on national and international research to exam significant issues in relation to Interior Architecture.

One day registration: $250 or $135 unwaged/concession, two day registration: $550 or $270 unwaged/concession.  Registration includes morning & afternoon tea, lunch, two keynote presentations and pre-event drinks.  Proof of concession required.  Register online here before 31 August.


Charles Rice presents Atrium Effects with Bob Stewart from Zenith (keynote address)
Friday 7 September, 5:30 to 8 pm at State Libary of Western Australia Theatre.

Charles Rice, an architectural historian, theorist and critic is Professor of Architectural History and Theory and Head of the school of Art and Design History at Kingston University, UK. His speech: 'Atrium Effects: John Portman and the Emergence of Interior Urbanism' looks at the experience of being 'inside' a city, in particular being in atrium spaces which Rice finds compelling not simply because they can be so spectacular (and also incredibly banal) but because they defy the terms by which urban space is normally critiqued. For Rice, Interior urbanism is a new kind of spatial development in the city.

Entry: $40 or $30 unwaged/concession.  Register online here before 31 August.

Beatriz Colomina presents Unbreathed Air with Bernie Tan-Hayes from Mondoluce (keynote address)

Saturday 8 September, 5:30 to 8 pm at State Libary of Western Australia Theatre.

Beatriz Colomina is Professor of Architecture and Founding Director of the Program in Media and Modernity at Princeton University. Her speech 'Unbreathed Air, 1956: Alison and Peter Smithson's House of the Future' looks at this playfully seductive house that takes advantage of all the latest technologies to deal with the most basic of all emotions – fear.

Entry: $40 or $30 unwaged/concession.  Register online here before 31 August.

Master Class with Jon Goulder

Sunday ‎9 September, 8:30 am to 5 pm at Midland Atelier.

Jon Goulder's Master Class is the opportunity for those interested in working hands-on alongside design practitioners, academics, students and with technical support, to collaborate in the processes of design and making from concept development to prototype and full scale construction.

Limited to first 20 registrants. Entry: $220. Refreshments provided.  Register online here before 31 August.

7x7 Practice: A State of Becoming

Sunday ‎9 September, 6 to 9 pm at State Library of Western Australia Theatre.

Seven significant designer practitioners with local, national and international experience across a breadth of design disciplines including architecture, furniture design, interior architecture and graphic design have been invited to speak for 15 minutes. Each presenter will use a series of slides as a vehicle to discuss their work, key inspirations, key projects as they address the theme: 'Practice: a State of Becoming'. The Bar and breaks between speakers will provide opportunities for questions, discussions and mingling.

7x7 SPEAKERS:
LEE JACKSON - extraordinary design practitioner
EVAN REEVES - Associate and Senior Designer (Award winning Venn) at Geyer
FELICITY LAM - Senior Interior Designer at Schin Architects
PENELOPE FORLANO - Academic and award winning furniture designer
JON GOULDER - Award winning designer and maker at FORM and Midland Atelier
SIMON PENDAL - Award winning architect and co-founder of Pendal and Neille
TANYA SIM - Award winning Managing Director Block Branding

Entry $10.  Register online here before 31 August.

Registration information: if you are NOT ATTENDING THE SYMPOSIUM but would like to attend the PUBLIC EVENTS, please select 'not attending symposium, take me to the other events' and make your event selection there.

PS12.02 Green Tactics

Talk on a Practice: Formworks

Kelly Rattigan and team from Formworks gave a great Talk on a Practice for MERGE- here is a summary.

After meeting in the Formworks offices, in a blended old/new building on a back lane in North Fremantle, the talk proceeded at nearby Mojo's, the slide show given a slight crazed edge by being projected onto an artwork of a slavering naked man holding a rose. Kelly Rattigan presented, but invited all her staff, from students through to senior project architects to present their responses to questions she had asked them earlier in the day - a nice touch which included the practice as a group, not just Kelly Rattigan and Co.

Anyway, Kelly began with the origins of the firm, as a small residential practice (Kelly Rattigan Architects) which grew from an initial residential commission (which displayed some great use of blockwork) to become a small firm of 4-5 people with close teaching links to UWA. She described the breakthrough project for the firm moving to large scale architecture proper after some small commercial works; a speculative university studio project, St Bart's Lime Street, which captured the imagination of Allanah MacTiernan and went on to become reality with land and money grants from the government. The practice then merged with the practice of a retiring architect to become Formworks, a larger proposition focusing on commercial work, with a strong regional bent.

Read more >>

LOW CARBON, LOW COST HOUSING: IS IT POSSIBLE? a Dutch answer from the field.

Presenter: Rein Buur
Date: Thrusday, May 31
Time: 11:30-12:30pm. Please join us for morning tea at 11.00am
Venue: CUSP Shed, CUSP Office, 3 Pakenhan Street, Fremantle

The financial crisis is hitting hard in Europe, especially affecting the building sector. Consumer confidence is low and lending criteria for home loans have become very strict. The economy is stagnating while the ambitions for sustainability are still high. One of the biggest challenges in the Netherlands is thus to make sustainable houses affordable.

Solutions are not only to be found through technological innovation, since most of the technology is already available. It is important to incorporate green technology into the design from the start. In addition, supply chain integration and applying Lean principles contribute to a more efficient building process. This can be achieved by offsite production, using BIM to reduce failure costs, and the willingness of companies to share knowledge and profit.  These ingredients are the key to create a budget for sustainable houses.

An example from the field is a residential project in Amsterdam (460 houses), called ‘Co-Green, Stadstuin Overtoom’. The focus of this project is more than low carbon low cost housing alone. Another aspect is closed-loop design, meaning that demolition material is re-used. Finally, the transition of a post-World War II suburb with social problems brings the challenge to create a better living environment.

All in all an interesting answer from the field to make cities more resilient.

About the presenter:

Rein Buur

Rein is an architect from the Netherlands. He has over 12 years experience in designing residential projects. First at KOW Architecture in The Hague, as senior architect responsible for the business unit residential buildings, and now working at Groosman Partners in Rotterdam. He is currently visiting Western Australia with his family, having a sabbatical leave.

Talk on a Practice: Cameron Chisholm Nicol

Friday 11 May, 5 pm at level 3, Sheffield House, 713 Hay Street, Perth.

CCN will be discussing their current office space at Sheffield House and the design considerations that they took to refurbish it as a Green Star – Interiors rated office, amongst other projects, and their office philosophy and structure including their sustainability initiative, professional development measures and their social/cultural agenda.

RSVP required. Please email merge@raia.com.au

PS 12.01 - Richard Weller and Anthony Duckworth-Smith present Macro/Micro Cities: Summaries and Reflections

Prof. Richard Weller expands the remit of his 'Boom Town' research to a federal level, and suggests Australian organisations (primarily government) need to plan effectively for the global population expansion which will, according to Weller's sources, see the world population plateau at 10 billion people as the population increases, becomes urbanised (for economic reasons) and reproduction lessens as a priority.

Read more >>

PS12.01 Macro / Micro Cities - Liveblog

17:44 Perth Samplings 12.01 tonight, Richard Weller & Anthony Duckworth-Smith presenting 'Macro/Micro Cities'.

18:25 Gently rousing intro from Melinda Payne, Richard Weller off to a start at 6.20. 

18:27 Richard seems to be working on Boomtown on a global scale. He's just back from China - "in a way, apocalyptic".

18:30 New discipline: urban ecology. Cities as living breathing entities.

18:32 No, it's actually a Boomtown for the whole of Australia.

18:36 24 new Perths needed this century(ish), cities will get too big & too dense - do this to max, then find sites for new cities.

18:36 Polycentric - "you want to make a fruitcake, not a loaf of bread."

Read more >>

PS12.01 Macro | Micro Cities

Read more >>

WA Architecture Awards: Presentation to Juries - Live blog

We 'live blogged' the event on our Facebook page.
Here it is, as it happened:
  
9:06 Interior 9am - starting the Presentation to Juries liveblog.

9:19 Interior LM "what are you two vegemites doing here?"

9:21 Interior Bollig Design Group - Augusta Margaret River Shire civic administration (interior category). Smooth presentation to start the day, building had strong regional elements.

9:24 Interior PDFs need ctrl+L-ing.

9:27 Interior DMG - Crown Mansions: Opulence is the theme.

9:28 Interior presenting 'the shots'.

Read more >>

WA Architecture Awards - Presentation Day

 

PS11.05

Talk on a Practice #3: Hames Sharley

3 Over 4 Under (2011)

Here are some photos from this year's 3 Over 4 Under at the Bakery.

We also made an audio recording of the lectures, so check back later for this!

Read more >>

Lindsay & Kerry Clare: Making Buildings

Wednesday 28 September

12pm

201 - 706

From the Architecture Building With Love