The Architecture Foundation Australia was founded by Professor Lindsay Johnston as retiring Dean of the University of Newcastle, New South Wales. The Foundation was established in 2003 as a not for profit organisation, with objectives to provide educational programs, and associated cultural events, to complement the formal tertiary and professional education sectors, and to further knowledge and understanding in the field of architecture and related disciplines. To support this objective the Foundation has presented master classes, lectures, and other courses for professionals and senior students, and has organised exhibitions.
MURCUTT PROFESSIONAL MASTER CLASSES
The first Glenn Murcutt Master Classes were held 2001, 2002 and 2003 at the University of Newcastle, New South Wales. The Architecture Foundation has had, as a central activity since its establishment, presented of an annual two-week residential Glenn Murcutt International Architecture Master Class, 2004 – 2019, held at the Arthur and Yvonne Boyd Education Centre, south of Sydney. each year. Due to Covid and other factors, the Master Classes in 2022, 2023 and 2024 have been held at Tocal College in the Hunter Valley. Glenn Murcutt is Australia’s most internationally recognised architect, winner of the 2002 Pritzker Prize (considered the ‘Nobel’ Prize of Architecture), and recipient of the Gold Medal of the Australian and American Institutes of Architecture. Glenn Murcut, Australia’s most internationally recognised architect, leads the program with other tutors Brit Andresen, Richard Leplastrier, Peter Stutchbury and, Master Class Convenor, Lindsay Johnston. The Murcutt Master Class has, since its inception in 2001, been attended by architects, academics and senior students from over 80 countries.
Since its inception in 2001, participants on the Master Classes have attended from Argentina, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Curaçao, Cyprus, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Denmark, Egypt, England, Ethiopia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Guernsey, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Lesotho, Luxembourg, Macau, North Macedonia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Montserrat, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Reunion Island, Romania, Scotland, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Uganda, Uruguay, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, Wales, many states of the US and, of course, Australia.
ARCHITECTURE STUDENT SUMMER SCHOOLS
The Foundation has also presented an annual one-week residential Architecture Summer School for architecture students held at Pittwater north of Sydney each year since 2005, which has been attended by over 500 students from across Australia and New Zealand, Argentina, Brazil, China, Ireland, England, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, South Africa and several international students studying in Australia
ARCHITECTURE EXHIBITIONS
The Foundation has presented the touring exhibition ‘Glenn Murcutt – Architecture for Place’, which originated at the Gallery Ma in Tokyo in 2008, that has been shown In Australia at the Museum of Sydney, the Gallery of Australian Design in Canberra, the Melbourne Museum Victoria, Queensland University of Technology Art Museum in Brisbane and the Glasshouse in Port Macquarie and Newcastle. This tour was supported by a substantial Federal Government grant under the ‘Visions of Australia’ program. The exhibition has been shown at Taipei Fine Arts Museum in Taiwan, where it was initiated through the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Commerce and Industry Office. The exhibition has toured Europe at the prestigious Architekturzentrum in Vienna Austria, at the Museum of Architecture and Design in Ljubljana Slovenia, at the International Centre for Urbanism Architecture and Landscape in Brussels Belgium and at the Museum of Finnish Architecture in Helsinki. It has also been shown in Phoenix USA, Montreal Canada and Glasgow Scotland. The Foundation also curated a touring exhibition ‘Iconic Houses’ which toured regional venues around New South Wales
ARCHITECTURE PUBLICATIONS
The Foundation has published the definitive monograph ‘Under the Edge – the architecture of Peter Stutchbury’ now available from Thames and Hudson. The Foundation has also supported other cultural activities, through financial contribution, including, for example, publication of the book ‘My People’s Dreaming’ by Aboriginal Elder Uncle Max Dulumunmun Harrison, who has been a visiting ‘Master’ on many Foundation programs.
ALUMNI WORLDWIDE
The ‘masters’ have, over many years, lectured and presented master classes in many countries around the world – Argentina, Bangladesh, Canada, Chile, Denmark, India, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, South Africa, Taiwan, Uruguay, UK and USA, often at the invitation of the active worldwide alumni network. Richard Leplastrier and Peter Stutchbury gave a major lecture at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London, organised by the Foundation.