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ASIA PACIFIC MODERNITIES Journal 2013

SIYU ALICE LI 531751 1

JOURNAL #1 GREGORY BURGESS [ARCHITECT] 12/08/2013

Gregory Burgess is an Australian architect and

he was born in 1945 in New South Wales and graduated from University of Melbourne. Gregory Burgess Architects was found in 1972, and has established many different kinds of architectural design. Although, GBA has the great international reputations they still mainly contribute to Australian indigenous architecture. As they said in the practice profile , they focus on expressing Australian identity, cultural life and environmental art and so on. On the other hand, Gregory Burgess’s participatory design also provides many unique buildings. The two buildings that I am going to analyze is first the Koorie Heritage Trust Cultural Centre; and the second is the Stone House.

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Koorie Heritage Trust Cultural Centre [1995]

Koorie Heritage Trust Cultural Centre was built

in 1995, and it is located in Lonsdale, Melbourne.

It is one of the works represents GBA’s great contribution to indigenous culture in Australia.

As it sits in the urban context, the exterior of the building is harmonious with the adjacent building.

And the interior is quite impressive especially the indigenous River Red Tree in the middle of the lobby. The architect not only used some indigenous elements in the building, but brought the live, real and meaningful tree to the building. The tree represents the growing influence of indigenous culture and the lively of this particular group of people. The upper floors formed a completed circulation around the tree. This design emphasizes the importance of the tree figure and also guides people’s trip inside the exhibition place.

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THE STONE HOUSE [2005]

The stone house is a residential

building, it was located in Shoreham, Victoria and it was built in 2005. This house is sited in a beautiful landscape where a natural forming cliff is above.

Therefore, the architects fully adopted the view as part of the house. The glass windows cover one side of the house, and on the other side the massive stone screens protect the privacy of the habitats.

In terms of materiality, the mix use of stone, timber and copper creates the dramatic visual effect.

The stone and timber response to the natural landscape, meanwhile, the copper components response to its modern shape. Although, the stone house is not designed for the indigenous people, but the culture signs are still showed through the use of local material and the stone column that supports the cantilever roof also creates the raw and original feeling of the aboriginal culture. In the stone house, the circulation of the path is also well designed. It has the fan-shape in different layers and responses to its landscape design 4 as well.

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There are many other wonderful works of GPA

that are not only in Australia but all around the world. There are similarities and differences of each of them. The architects like referencing to the indigenous culture and arts to some extends. For example, the circulations of the buildings are all well designed and circle is one important element in aboriginal art. And the selections of materials also represent the natural and original elements. All the trails that the GPA gave to their architecture form a fresh and impressive look which the combination of culture and modern to the buildings. That should be the tendency of contemporary architecture.

REFERENCE

“Gregory Burgess Architects Practice Profile�, Gregory Burgess Architects Website. http://www.gregoryburgessarchitects.com.au/practice-profile. pdf (accessed 12 August 2013).

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