7/29/2019 Kellert Murcutt Article_SCS

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Bundanons staff regularly field enquiries from visitors whohave come to see the structure for themselves a buildingthat has received both the Sulman and Cowan awards and

was voted by Architecture Review magazine as the past 25 yearsmost influential Australian building. Unlike Arthur Boyds homestead,which welcomes visitors each Sunday, the Boyd Education Centre isonly opened to the public for the Riversdale Concert Series and ahandful of architectural events during the year.

During April, luminaries, Pritzker architect Glenn Murcutt and StephenKellert, professor of Social Ecology at Yale University, will sit down for afrank conversation about sustainability in architecture. After more than

a decade of corresponding and tracing their respective careers and just missing each other on business trips, the two will finally share thestage at Riversdale for the discussion, to be chaired by ABC By Designs Janne Ryan.

We can expect a dynamic debate around issues of form, functionand meaning because, while they admire each other, there is muchfertile ground for disagreement. Stephens theories pursue andcelebrate the humanity and environmental performance of the builtenvironment, while Glenn rails against instances where the pursuit ofsustainability throws up mediocre architecture.

The last time Glenn Murcutt spoke at a public event on site wasback in 2011 when he gave an insight into the design process for thebuilding and a tour of its sustainability credentials. On that occasion

Glenn spoke expansively about Stephen Kellerts influence on histhinking and work.

For Murcutt, Stephen Kellerts key theory of Biophilia ourinherent desire to relate to the natural world represents the anchorpoint for a true kind of sustainability in architecture. It is one thathasnt been hijacked by fashion and the marketing of the nextgeneration of products and finishes, but supports design thatenables a human connection to the natural environment. While forKellert, Glenn Murcutts architecture brings his theories to life, hisbuildings represent an architecture that touches the earth lightly,and enhances the occupants connection with the forces andsensory attributes of nature.

The Boyd Education Centre, the building that has won Murcutt and

his collaborators Wendy Lewin and Reg Lark so much recognition, isthe perfec t setting for the discussion . In the 14 years since it was built,it still stands as a showcase of the best examples of sustainability inmaterials, in energy usage and in its pioneering waste systems. ForMurcutt, the building highlights how true sustainability combinesefficiencies and sensitivities that relate to both the natural andcultivated landscapes. As well as a reflection of the brief, this is also atribute to Arthur Boyds relationship with the Shoalhaven landscapethat so inspired his work.

For all those who share Murcutts view that there needs to be arevision of the idea of good architecture to ensure that it alsoencompasses true sustainability, please join us for an afternoon ofconversation and debate designed to give you an insight into the fiercely

intellectual underpinnings of one of Australias iconic architects and anoverview of the work of one of the most influential theorists. n

G nn M n S n K n n sNow a laNdMarK oN the auStraliaN architecture SceNe, the Boyd educatioN ceNtre at riverSdalehaS BecoMe a place of pilGriMaGe for architecture BuffS.