While it is hard to discern the mint-green Chalet Sonnenhof through the Snow Gums of Kosciousko National Park, it is one of the many distinctive modernist ski lodges that are dotted across Perisher Valley. Typically constructed of a solid stone base with a light-weight vertical timber clad first floor. They epitomise a modest optimism in construction and a sense of Australian Identity uniquely formed by this landscape and climate at a certain period of time.
Most of the lodges in Perisher were built in the 1960's, a time in Australia where the strong influences of the international style of modernism were being felt. Architects like Harry Siedler and Ken Woolley, to name a few championed a new form of housing as a departure from the traditional Federation and Californian Bungalow that had evolved following the Garden City movement in the United Kingdom and America. These modernist houses typically opened up the interior rooms to create an open plan style of home with a stronger connection to the landscape to respond more to the local environment and the changing social and economical state of Australia following the war.
Streets of your town hosted by Tim Ross @modernister is a fabulous series produced for the ABC that documents the evolution of modernism in the Australian suburb. Larger residential projects that followed in the 70's , including apartment buildings designed in the modernist style presented a more comfronting and uncompromising version of the International style. The brutalist apartments of Harry Seidler and Tao Gofers, again to name a few Architects followed the ideals of Le Corbusier and other proteges of the Bauhaus school in Dessau. Where form followed function the focus was not so much on stylistic convention and more on the social aspect of housing, encouraging equity for all.
Siedler's Blues Point tower was one of many apartment planned to line Sydney Harbour as both visual markers along the skyline as well as providing small apartments that enabled the views of the water and the city to be enjoyed by many, not simply the wealthy. Tao Gofer's Sirius building for the Department of Housing came about following the Green Ban placed on the Rocks in the early 70's. Designed and built for purpose as social housing, the history of this building and it's people is well documented in the excellent book Sirius produced by the Save our Sirius Foundation.
In 2016 the Sirius building was recommended for State Heritage Listing by the NSW Heritage Council, however this was overturned by Heritage Minister Mark Speakman for various financial reasons and the site is currently for sale. Without wanting to completely over simplify the process all parties involved have undertaken to this stage, I wanted to use this as an example to briefly examine how we define Heritage in our Country.
I live in a Heritage Conservation Zone and may of our projects are within areas defined by this zoning. These areas in Sydney are typically filled with Victorian Terrace housing ( 1800's - 1920 ) or early Federation Bungalows. (1920's-1950's ) While work can be done to alter these homes the controls are often considerably stricter. This is a good thing, to a certain extent as the streetscapes are retained and the heritage character intact, yet is does raise the question of how we value heritage architecture as it shapes our city, both as a reflection of the social story of a suburb as well as an aesthetic one.
As the fight to save Sirius became one of the people, similar groundswells are happening to recognise the residential architecture of the 1950's and 60's worthy of Conservation. The Melbourne suburb of Beaumaris has formed it's own action group to recognise the unique collection of Architect designed modernist homes.
"In Beaumaris, architects were using new materials including the Boyd-designed Stegbar Window Wall, to let in light and garden views. Carports were placed at the front of the house to allow for the garden views, houses were placed on the block to gather northern light, and roofs were often flat or skillion, with large eaves. Inside, houses were open plan, full of colour and modern patterns and often featured Becco light fittings and Featherston furniture. But remarkably, none of this was seen as significant enough to consider these homes for heritage listing." Beaumarismodern.com.au
As Sydney becomes a truly multicultural city it is important not to take for granted the impressive contributions of Architects to our built environment from the second half of last century as they shaped the suburbs physically with housing that was modest, fit for purpose and well designed in response to the environment.
The creative process of design has many influences. One of the most powerful comes from our experiences that are somehow contained as memories in our psyche. How these memories are drawn upon to create a concept remains something of a mystery, however it is clear they do play a role in the decision making process.
"Designers and architects are optimists," says Brandon Gien, chief executive of Good Design Australia who organise the annual awards. "We look at design as a way of creating a better future. "We're living in a volatile, topsy-turvy world. If we are going to provide a better future for our planet, it requires imagination. Design is one of the ways we can make it happen."
Design can be a very pragmatic process, yet there is always an element of mystery in elevating a design to something that is considered good. People’s opinions of what constitutes good can vary greatly, however there is now a general consensus that good design in the built environment can be defined, even to the point that it has been included as an objective in the NSW Environment and Planning Assessment Act “(g) to promote good design and the amenity of the built environment”.
The Office of the Government Architect and the Department of Planning have produced a policy called Better Placed to help assess Good Design.
“Good design is not just how a place looks, but how it works and feels for people. Good design creates better places that in turn maximise public value and contribute to the wellbeing of individuals and the community. Achieving better places relies on the energy and contributions of many people from different walks of life and with different expertise.
Evaluating projects against the Better Placed design objectives will provide a holistic understanding of the components that make up good design.”
The seven criteria in the Better Places Policy could apply to every form of design, from the Built Environment to Interiors, Furniture and Lighting. The No. 18 Thonet Chair was designed by Austrian Michael Thonet in 1859. I absolutely love this chair and am so pleased to be specifying it for a current project. I am interested in timeless design, at every level. Spaces that are not just beautifull and feel good for now but will adapt over time.
Walking to work last week after days of rain I was welcomed by a shaft of sunlight streaming through the rainforest. In contrast to the dark verdant foliage the rays not only lit up the delicate fern lying in it's path, my heart felt overwhelmed with joy.
At University I wrote an essay titled "in Praise of Light ". I was interested in the philosophy of Phenomenology in relation to the experience of Architecture, in particular how a space can influence the emotions of the person experiencing it.
The use of sunlight in Architecture is well documented. Typically places of worship used sunlight to represent the light of the divinity. Through the oculus of the single domed Pantheon in Rome to the Haggia Soffia in Instanbul, the power and the glory of the almighty is symbolised by the overwhelming experience
of daylight shaping the built form.
It can be uplifting and transformative through it’s physical appearance and symbolic meaning.
When considering how we design our projects it is always with sunlight in mind. From a sustainability / comfort consideration, sunlight is the natural way to heat a space passively. A well oriented living room that captures the Northern light in Winter requires less active heating, making good economic and evironmental sense. However, this is often overlooked now that HVAC systems are almost commonplace in a new home.
Even more effective in heating a space passively is with Thermal Mass, yet this can be quite costly and often very difficult to achieve with orientation and site constraints. Our first house project, the Courtyard House/ Five Dock House was designed to optimise thermal mass in an attempt to achieve a NATHERS rating of 8 stars, on a very tight budget. Sunlight is bought into all rooms of the house through the device of two paired courtyards.
The heat is retained in the concrete slab and concrete walls. The house stays cool in Summer and warm in Winter with no Air-conditioning. Given the many challenges faced designing this house it was a well deserving finalist in the Sustainability Awards 2014,
Where possible, we like to combine the principles of sustainability with a design that uses sunlight to also heighten the emotions and create an amazing sense of space. The Slot House and the Highlight House
are modest additions to Federation Semi-Detached houses intended to not only create a wonderfull connection to the rear gardens but to create a dramatic sense of space through the control of overhead daylight using skylights and clerestory windows.
Both projects were finalists in the 2015 and 2016 Sustainability Awards.
The houses of Japanese Architect Shunri Nishizawa in Vietnam interpret the cultural traditions in a subtle contemporary manner while introducing light and shadow to the rooms. The journey through the house becomes a spiritual experience influenced by Shintai, with connection to the exterior punctuated throughout the vertical levels with voids and internal gardens creating an incredible sense of space and privacy within the home.
We are exploring ways to introduce daylight and greenery into our new projects through subtle and diverse ways in the manner of Nishizawa Architects, elevating the daily rituals of living into celebrations of sunlight and the joy it brings.