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Architecture

In session 2, 2006, Glenn Murcutt took third year UNSW architecture students to the Mutawintji National Park in the remote western region of NSW, the site for an ecological research and rehabilitation station for the National Parks and Wildlife Service. The excursion took students out of their comfort zone to the hot, dusty regional landscape. The trip was a special experience for a number of reasons: it was the first time for many students to travel for an extended period with course mates; it was a new experience for both international students and Australian students to visit this significant but very foreign part of the Australian landscape, especially one which is so aligned with familiar representations of Australia.

Throughout the session, students were taught to think critically and creatively about design. Glenn Murcutt said, “What I want to do is describe to the students a way of thinking about an architecture that is responding to the conditions that they are building in, on and within.” UNSW Uniken March 2006.

On reflection, studio coordinator Catherine Lassen said, “I think that the limits of the studio exercise helped focus students’ efforts. In such a significant landscape, with such particular constraints, criteria were placed on what formed better or worse solutions. The physical limits of water and the extremes of heat and cold out there, in an environment of such emotive power, also helped narrow the range of possible acceptable solutions.” Catherine also credited the success of the studio to the quality of the tutors who gave each student regular focused feedback with adequate time for questions.

Studio Tutors:

Wendy Lewin, Laura Harding, Ashley Dunn, Rod Simpson, Ian Martin, Jonathon Temple The Mutawintji National Park studio was part of a series of studios planned over three years by Glenn Murcutt under the theme of the Australian Landscape: Desert, Coastal and Rainforest.