Nationalism and Regionalism of Modern Architecture in Australia - Term Paper Example

Topic: Nationalism and regionalism of Modern Architecture in Australia Name: Student Registration No. Institution name: Tutor’s name: Due date: 1. Introduction Most architectural works have been observed to demonstrate the themes of nationalism and regionalism in the production of buildings that are a representation of national, regional or indigenous conditions or elements. The buildings have also been observed to have an adaptation of architectural principles that demonstrate regionalism and nationalism (Callister, 2007). These include demonstration of features observed within the region or the nation and putting more emphasis on understanding of these themes.The intentions of the architects in using these themes is to communicate certain issues that need consideration in the society by emphasizing on the need to be concerned about certain regional and national issues. This paper provides an examination of architectural works of Robin Boyd and Robin Dods and the ways in which their works had national and regional ideas in responding to local conditions and requirements for Australians. 2. Architectural work of Robin Boyd There are a number of architectural designs that were made by Robin Boyd that were mainly made using bricks, timber and glass. An example of a ground-breaking design by Robin Boyd was the Ivanhoe home of the designer Mary Featherston, built for her and her husband that incorporates new ideas about the nature of surrounding conditions of the house (Riddel, 2012). Regional aspect of the people was expressed in the design of the building as well as national themes. Figure 1.An architectural design of Robin Boyd.Adapted from Hamann, Conrad. “Modern Architecture in Melbourne: The Architecture of Grounds, Romberg and Boyd, 1927‐1971.” PhD Dissertation, Monash University, 1979. The design of the building showed regional culture of building houses in Melbourne such as construction of houses with towering wall of windows that frame the surrounding bush land and consisted of internal garden and additional platforms and the general appearance of the bedroom in a manner that resembles a nest. Generally, the house was responsive to the regional environment in Melbourne (Mamann, 1979). Another regional aspect that was represented in the design of the building is that the houses was designed with conditions such as response to wind, light and the sun by creating conditions which prevent the impacts of these weather changes. The design also showed the regional aspect of responding to rain by construction of a rain-proof roof for the house. The designs of houses made by Boyd were also focused on attacking ‘Australian Ugliness’ in terms of fecklessness of most cities in Australia. He designed the building with land subdivisions and boring buildings that were placed in boring manner for the purpose of criticizing the regional culture in Melbourne of constructing houses in this manner. This was focused on criticizing the existing designs and proposing that there is the need to change the ways buildings were designed. In addition, the house expressed his interest in the national themes for instance; the house was single-roomed to show his love for Australian design with the inclusion of natural air-conditioning suitable for Australian climate (Metcalf, 2008). The other national feature that was included into the design is a raised platform in the living room that also served the functions of a dance floor during parties and also provided a source of air-conditioning during summer. The design also shows the Australian national culture of constructing flaps in the sides of the platform that can be opened to draw air from a coolroom dug into a hillside. 3. Architectural work of Robin Dods Dods architectural work mainly conveyed regional traditions and climatic concerns. An example of Dods’ impressive creation was his design of the Webber House that was constructed in Brisbane. This design had the regional ideas obtained by Dods when he visited Brisbane (Riddel, 2012). This involved designing the house with the use of natural air-conditioning and venting systems. Due to frequent sun and breeze that were experienced within Brisbane, Dods designed vertical adjustable louver that is now a common factor to consider in architectural designs. Dods also observed that most people in Brisbane designed houses that had stumps of bare poles under the houses. He tried to address this problem by providing a design that hid these stumps by creating boarding system that matched external sheeting of the house (Riddel, 2012). This resulted into a design of houses that were beautiful in appearance and could offset an overpowering roof. Most Australian houses in Brisbane were also constructed by use of timber and houses that were designed in this manner illustrated the culture of Australians (Goad, 1992). The design also showed a number of national themes that were used in many parts of Australia. This included the use of brick walls, wide doors and inclusion of windows during design for ventilation purposes. (Walker, 2008). The Australian style of designing high-pitched roof was also applied in the design of the house. Webber House, 439 Ann Street as in its present appearance was designed by Robin Dods. 4. Comparisons, Critics and Comments concerning the analysis The two architects tried to follow certain design procedures that were common in Australia. These analyses show that Australians are more concerned with regional and national issues that the designs of their buildings need to address. Thus, architects in Australia must put more emphasis on regional and national themes in the design of buildings. For instance, most regional people in Brisbane preferred houses with brick walls and wide windows and doors. Thus, Robin Dods observed this need and designed the Webber house with the incorporation of these features in the design. Thus, both the buildings were designed with ventilation and air-conditioning systems to enable control of these weather conditions. The designs of the buildings also created conditions that enabled control of weather conditions that were experienced nationally in Australia. This is shown by Robin Dod’s design of the Webber house with louvered doors and windows for ventilation purposes. Similarly, Robin Boyd’s work also showed a towering wall of windows that allowed ventilation functions for the purpose of controlling flow of air into the house. However, there are regional differences between the people of Melbourne and the people of Brisbane as has been shown by the differences in the two designs. Differences in regional themes are observed in that Robin Boyd Concentrated on his love for nature by including vegetation in the design. On the other hand, the design of the Webber house in Brisbane was focused on methods of controlling the conditions such as rain and sunshine in the houses This shows that the people in Melbourne were more in love with nature than the people in Brisbane who are more interested in methods of controlling weather conditions such as rain, wind and temperature. 5. Conclusion The analysis of the two architectural designs of Dods and Boyd shows that modern architecture in Australia is focused on addressing a number of regional and national themes. This acts a a guide for presents architects to address regional and national issues when designing buildings in Australia. The regional and international themes demonstrated in architectural works of Boyd and Dods provide the basis on which new homes Service in Australia needs to work to clear the ‘Australian Ugliness’ experienced in the 1950s. In design, present architects can follow the same direction by observing issues both regionally and nationally that need to be addressed and incorporating them in design. Generally, the designs of the two architects show that there is the need to step out of the design roles and invest in political and regulatory changes that create awareness among the public regarding the significance of architecture. 6. References Callister, Winsome. “The Dialectic of Desire and Disappointment: Robin Boyd and Australian Canizaro, Vincent, ed. Architectural Regionalism: Collected Writings on Place, Identity, Modernity and Tradition. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2007. Colquhoun, Alan. “The Concept of Regionalism.”In Postcolonial Space(s), edited by G. B. Nalbantoglu and C. T. Wong, 13-23. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1997. Edquist, Harriet. Pioneers of Modernism: The Arts and Crafts Movement in Australia. Carlton: Freeland, J. M. Architecture in Australia: A History. Melbourne: Cheshire, 1968.Goad, Philip, and Julie Willis, eds. Encyclopaedia of Australian Architecture. Port Melbourne: Cambridge Goad, Philip. “Robin Boyd and the Design of the House 1959-1971.” Transition, no. 38 (1990): 161-187. Goad, Philip. “Robin Boyd and the Post-War ‘Japanization of Western Ideas’.”Architectural Theory Review 1, no. 2 (November 1996): 110-120. Goad, Philip. “The Modern House in Melbourne, 1945-1975.” PhD Thesis, University of Melbourne,1992. Hamann, Conrad, and Chris Hamann. “Anger and the New Order: Some Aspects of Robin Boyd's Career.” Transition, no. 38 (1990): 17-42. Hamann, Conrad. “Against the Dying of the Light: Robin Boyd and Australian Architecture.” Hamann, Conrad. “Modern Architecture in Melbourne: The Architecture of Grounds, Romberg and Boyd, 1927‐1971.” PhD Dissertation, Monash University, 1979. Houses Trust of New South Wales, 1997. Johnson, Donald Leslie. Australian Architecture, 1901-51: Sources of Modernism. Sydney: Sydney University Press, 1980. Lund, Neville H. “Robin Dods.” In Architects in Australia, edited by Howard Tanner, 86-95. South Melbourne and Artarmon: Macmillan, 1981. Metcalf, Andrew. Architecture in Transition: The Sulman Award 1932-1966. Sydney: Historic Miegunyah Press, 2008. Riddell, Robert. Robin Dods, 1868-1920: Selected Works. Melbourne: Uro Media, 2012. Saunders, David. “Retrospective: Robin Boyd.” Architecture in Australia 61, no. 1 (February 1972):90-98. Stephen, Ann, Andrew McNamara and Philip Goad, eds. Modern Times: The Untold Story of Modernism in Australia. Carlton: Miegunyah Press & Powerhouse Publishing, 2008. Stephen, Ann, Andrew McNamara and Philip Goad, eds. Modernism and Australia: Documents on Art, Design and Architecture 1917-1967. Carlton: Miegunyah Press & Powerhouse Publishing, 2006. Taylor, Jennifer. Australian Architecture Since 1960. Sydney: Law Book Company, 1986. Transition, no. 29 (Winter 1989): 9-26. University Press, 2012. Walker, Paul. “Kenneth Frampton and the Fiction of Place.” In Shifting Views: Selected Essays on the Architectural History of Australia and New Zealand, edited by Andrew Leach, Antony Moulis and NicoleSully, 70-80. St Lucia, Queensland: Queensland University Press, 2008. Willis, Julie and Philip Goad. “A Bigger Picture: Reframing Australian Architectural History.” Fabrications.18, 1 (June 2008): 6-23. Read More