We received an email today friom Helen Curtis at the City of Perth showcasing new seating recently installed in the Murray Street Mall here in Perth.

16 seats in total are being implemented. The artist is David Walker and the project was managed by Amanda Mannolini. Well done.

(Images courtesy Helene Curtis)

I came across this very interesting final year student project this morning. The project, by Kukame McKenzie is the installation of a temporary exhibition pavilion adjecent the Perth Town Hall. It will host a photographic exhibition of architectural and urban characteristics of the city. The most interesting aspect to me will be the documentation of the impact of the insertion into this public space.

Check it out. Big thumbs up from me! I look forward to see how it develops.

The Receptacle is a temporary architectural intervention into the urban environment of Perth, Western Australia.

The Receptacle is the name for my Independent Design project for my Higher Award in the Master of Architecture at the University of Western Australia. This website will document the process and development of the project as it happens, from initial ideas to final product. My hope is that you, the reader of this website will take interest and interact with the project, both online and in the real world.

Kukame McKenzie

via The Receptacle

The highlight of 2008 for me, and in fact one of the highlights of my life, was the 7 days i spent at Awaroa Lodge in the Abel Tasman National Park on the south Island of New Zealand for the Ozetecture 08 Masterclass with 4 inspirational architects – Richard Leplastrier, Ian Athfield, Lindsay Johnson and Peter Stutchbury…and 23 other architects from all over the world.

It was isolated, beautiful, exhausting, inspiring, challenging, awakening, and i didnt want to leave. I would highly recommend it.

Scott, a hilarious guy from Denver who was part of our group summed it up very well…..

“The entire experience was perfect. The lectures, conversations, project, place, friendships, family, all were amazing in a way that I was not prepared for in really any way. In one of the first emails we exchanged, you mentioned something of the “impact” of the class. I know a little what you meant now. For the moment, I am a little dizzy with it all. The week in Awaroa was an education unto itself, and ultimately, unlike anything I expected it could be. There were several moments each day where different class members would exchange a look that summed up the whole experience. In part, it was a look of disbelief at our good fortune to be a part of it all. It was also a sense of awe at the conversations we were having and listening to. I didn’t know there were other people that felt and thought the way I do about architecture, design, or even life. It was invigorating to speak to them, and hear new ways of looking at the challenges I think about at home in Denver. The looks we exchanged had a lot of joy in them. Not got-the-big-project joy, or I’m-on-vacation joy, it was deeper and more pure than that. More than anything else, though, our shared glances, and the conversations that came out of them were filled with gratitute. Personally, I am so indebted to you, Peter, Richard, Ath, and the other students, that I can’t fathom repaying what I owe. I can only promise first, to use, and pass along what I have learned, and second, to throw myself openheartedly at other opportunities to expand on the lessons of Awaroa. Thank you again. You have put together something magical.”
Scott Lawrence, Colorado, USA

Czech architect Jan Kaplický of Future systems whose free-form designs revolutionised British building passed away recently. Deyan Sudjic comments on his extrodinary contribution to architecture.

via The Guardian.

“Festival of the Wind”

Esperance on 6th to 8th march.

http://www.festivalofthewind.org.au

The weekend is full of performance and all things to tantalise any palette……….

Take the traditional Chinese courtyard housing model and passive solar design princples in Inner Mogolia and voila…

The relationship of the house to the sun is critical. In a climate such as Ordos’ which experiences hot summers and cold winters, it is the architectural form which integrates the effects of the sun’s light and heat with the comfort of the occupied spaces. The house controls heat and light through two primary aspects: window placement and the solar chimney.

A lazy look at Google Maps makes me wonder how they will fit into the inherent settlement patterns of the local area…

Construction begins this year, so watch this space.

thanks Arch Daily

Tome has arrived back from a 3 week trip to Portugal, with a brief few days in Brussels.

Some great pics of the Calatrava’s Oriente Station in Lisbon and the steap city of Coimbra…

Ahmad is back from his trip to the USA where he visited New York and Los Angeles.

Some great pics of the great architecture the US has to offer…

Phil and Alex travel to Melbourne for CEFPI Conference. Discussions centred around the sense of urgency with regard to climate change and the need to provide progressive education models (both pedagogy and facilities) to facilitate kids highly adaptive to change.

Soaking up Melbourne with golden bees at Eureka Tower and some great precast off Brunswick Street.

Phil visits Caroline Springs to see the new community based shared education facilities including this Leisure Centre by SPC Architects.
Suters Prior Cheney Architects

and… Alex meets Danny Green at Crown Casino!!!!