Murcutt and Company

摘要

Any quest for an Australian architectural "style" is a formidable project, as the island continent is the sixth-largest nation in the world, with diverse climatic conditions and significant cultural dialects in its main cities and regions. Yet, there is an identifiable Australian way of thinking about architecture that appears to set it apart from the rest of the world. This way of thinking has been celebrated internationally by the award of the 2002 Pritzker Prize to Glenn Murcutt, who has been largely responsible, through his singular practice and guiding principles, for forging a brand of Australian architecture that emanates from Sydney and rural New South Wales in the southeast of the continent. Murcutt's contemporaries in this branch of critical regionalism include longtime friend Richard Leplastrier-both are recipients of the Gold Medal of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA)-and Peter Stutchbury, one of their leading disciples who heads a younger generation of kindred practitioners. All three are strongly influenced by their early lives and exposure to vernacular buildings. Murcutt's early experiences living as a child in New Guinea shaped his perceptions of climate and the natural environment. Stutchbury refers often to his childhood on the family farm in outback Cobar, New South Wales, the vagaries of the harsh climate, and the honesty of robust industrial-agricultural structures. Leplastrier has been particularly influenced by his passion for sailing and boat design, having built and raced lightweight skiffs.