The exhibition Modern Times, currently at the Powerhouse Museum, reveals how modernism transformed life in Australia across five decades from 1917 to 1967. Given that a major outlet for modernism has been the built environment, there exists an opportunity to extend the reach of this … Read More →
Author Archives: martin
A new house profile — 17 Meredith Circuit, Kambah
I’ve developed a new profile for the house designed (and substantially built) by architect Laurie Virr at 17 Meredith Circuit, Kambah. The house is an energy efficient, complex geometric design from the mid 1970s and an outstanding example of the late twentieth century organic style … Read More →
17 Meredith Circuit, Kambah
The house at 17 Meredith Circuit, Kambah was designed by Laurie Virr for his family in 1975 and substantially built with his own hands. It is a rare Canberra example of the late twentieth century organic style of architecture based on a hemicycle. Laurie Virr … Read More →
UC Student Residences among latest additions to ACT Heritage Register
More recent activity at the ACT Heritage Unit, as several places have been provisionally registered under the Heritage Act 2004. Among buildings included in the latest batch are works by Frederick Romberg, Enrico Taglietti, Ken Woolley and John Andrews. The latest provisional registrations are for: … Read More →
Canberra’s top twenty modernist houses
Over at my Flickr photostream I’ve put together an image set called Canberra’s Top Twenty—a list of Canberra’s most important modernist houses. The images are geo-tagged, and I’ve created a KML file for you to play in Google Earth. While some may argue that the … Read More →
Brisbane Modern — independent content from Chris Osborne
Independent content publishers deserve all the help and support they can get. Issue 2 of the excellent Brisbane Modern: mid 20th century design magazine was released in June. It’s a recently established publication which examines that city’s architecture, art and design from the mid twentieth … Read More →
Modifications to the Edmund Barton building
Disturbing news report from the Sydney Morning Herald about the fitout of Harry Seidler’s heritage listed Edmund Barton building on Kings Avenue. It seems like the consultation with Seidler and Associates promised by the owners of the building, Stocklands, isn’t working out so well. The … Read More →