tectonics

Tectonics is a language or an art of construction used in architecture that is not always determined by the building’s materials and structure. Despite the fact that architecture has seen tremendous change in the last century, tradition has continued to play a crucial role in its growth without losing its significance. In this piece, I examine the work of two contemporary Australian architects, Strutchbury and Pape and Brit Anderson and Peter O’Gorman, to discuss the tradition’s continued relevance. Contrary to modern houses, their mechanisms use the timber framework, local materials and techniques that aspire for a temporary escape from the haste city to a more traditional natural environment. I explore the contributions of these architects towards the advancement of the tradition and the accompanying critic directed towards the same.

Modern Australian architect is a blend of European art and the climatic constraints of the country. The country is composed of varied climatic conditions which give a striking revelation of a deep tectonic tradition that is spread across the country. As Frampton puts it certain aspects of early millennialism in art were very place-oriented and they could generate, out of every presentation a very strong symbolic presence by responding to the life world and integrating it in the same concept.

Utilizing Timber Tectonics: Brit Anderson and Peter O’Gorman

Brisbane based architects; Brit Anderson and Peter O’Gorman have worked on various modern architectural designs and the pair demonstrates a continuous poetic tradition in their work which is the persistent feature of modern Australian architects. In judging the work of Brit Anderson and Peter O’Gorman and how well they utilize the functional and aesthetic qualities of their designs, we should acquit ourselves with the notion that architecture in its core is a balance of beauty and design implementation.

Tomsgate Way House

To properly understand the tectonic appeal of Brit Anderson and Peter O’Gorman we take a look at the Tomsgate Way House designed by the architects. In illustrating the tradition, the architects take advantage of hardwood timber to construct a building with an almost instant appeal. The Tomsgate Way House uses timber with dark, yellow-grey, soft ochre to give a hazy sheen the saw marks. In his review, Spence Jamieson gives a glowing critique of the house stating that the rich hardwood timber of the garage, all beautifully detailed with reversals of boarding were passed as the entry area was approached. He goes on to say that on leaving, one kept glancing as if to capture the magic unawares. The timber used in the construction is readily available in the surrounding environment.

Peter Struchbury, Green Building, Innovation 2004.

Gottfried (1981) summarizes the four essentials which are necessary to create a construction that has strong aesthetic appeal while maintaining the core purpose of a building-hearth, mound, roof, and enclosure. Having that in mind, we then understand the way Brit Andersen and O’Gorman have used the aesthetic appeal of hardwood timber to create a building that retains purpose and meaning. The pair explains that they harness the unique qualities of hardwood timber and use it in most of their designs to “explore the expressive capacity of construction and the potential for interaction with the natural environment.” Hardwood possesses many of the desirable qualities such as strength and color range that have been implemented to great effect in the history of an architect.

Implementing the Tectonic Qualities in the Tomsgate Way House

The building has a recognizable low galvanized iron hip roof and also has a rich red-brown single-skin timbered wall that is very Australian. The architects try to make the construction simple and recognizable. Vesley claims that architecture can be designed based on a structure’s formal purpose, technique, material used for construction and personal intentions. The building also has a stained glass leadlight window at the front, spacious interior and a glasshouse kitchen. The Tomsgate Way House has retained the basic tectonic traditions of Australian architect providing a rich blend of modernism that suggests possibilities and allows for potentials.

Tectonics in the Works of Strutchbury and Pape.

To further explore the tectonic relevance of modern architecture in Australia, another pair of contemporary architects, Stutchbury & Pape come into mind. The pair has worked on projects such as the cardboard house and most notably, the Birabahn house. Their houses are notable for the environmental and cultural considerations underpinning their designs which itself demands a delicate balance between the artists involved and the environmental /cultural considerations put in place.

Understanding the Technique behind the Birabahn House

The Birabahn is the Aboriginal and Straits Islander Centre at the University of Newcastle. The building has been described by John Lester, the Professor of Aboriginal studies as a design that transfers the ‘European building’ to a building that more adequately represents indigenous cultural sensibilities to do itinerary, entry and expression, feelings and ‘spirit of place’.

The Birabahn is a sharp-edged building with spectacular roof forms, overhanging steel supporting the corrugated roof that provides protection from weather as in most traditional Australian homes, translucent natural light panels, a double roof with a void near the ceiling for thermal control.

Though the key theme in the construction is the sustainability technologies, the building also employs unique cultural traits that are intended to be showcased in the building. In his review of the building, Lindsay Johnson writes that ”The building has turned away commonly held ‘white fella’ perceptions of Aboriginal preference of organic patterns and forms. Rather it has audaciously followed a language that speaks of traditional Aboriginal values at a deeper level in terms of structure.’’

In essence, Peter Strutchbury and his team of architects have developed a building with rich tectonic details of both European architecture and Aboriginal cultural aesthetic demands. The building boasts modernist Australian architecture of high thermal demands, low energy consumption, low greenhouse gas emissions and a manageable cost of construction.

Tectonic Relevance of the Birabahm

The application of cultural representation in architectural work is a way of showcasing the tectonics of a construction in a way that would seem to contradict the bounds of the term itself. As to whether ‘white’ architecture tectonics is looked down upon in favors of an all-inclusive strong form. Structures are no less architecture based than those that can be designed within a tectonic path. It resembles stretched wings of an eagle flying over the land The Birabahm offers a stunning rebuke of the assumptions of indigenous forms of culture with a grand culturally sustainable building. It was built to integrate features of indigenous culture in order to offer a warm and friendly atmosphere.

Conclusion

By applying the tectonic framework defined by Frampton and Samper, we can see that Anderson and Brit and Strutchbury and Pape have implemented the traditions of the tectonic design despite being a part of the modern architecture. Therefore, their work is highly relevant in advancing the tectonic theory in modern Australian architecture. It makes it possible to achieve the desire for a short-term escape from the modern city buildings to a more ancient and effective location.

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