The architecture of the Edge, architecture of the Asia Pacific Antipodes, may be a counter-proposition to the mainstream architecture of the developed world. In order to understand one’s self, it is illuminating to attempt to understand the opposite, and it is for this reason that the architecture, particularly of Australia, the biggest land-mass in the Antipodes, now attracts international interest.
Peter Stutchbury has been awarded the 2015 Gold Medal of the Australian Institute of Architects.
Stutchbury’s architecture speaks for itself and is highly regarded by the profession in Australia through his numerous awards. He has also attracted international attention and acclaim through publication in respected journals, his success in the 2008 International Living Steel Competition for extreme climate housing in Cherepovets, Russia, and his ‘Wall House’ in Japan for renowned fashion designer Issey Miyake. His buildings have yet to win the acclaim they perhaps deserve outside Australia, and are of a quality of concept and detail that compare very favourably with many internationally famous contemporaries. He carries the mantle onward of great Australian ‘masters’ from whom he has learned – including Glenn Murcutt and Richard Leplastrier.
Stutchbury has also demonstrated abilities as a great teacher, alongside great teachers. His contributions to the studio at the annual Glenn Murcutt International Master Class, have been immense, his influence has been carried overseas by participants and is reflected in the invitations that have been forthcoming to him to lecture and teach. Prestigious overseas teaching appointments include the 2008 Cátedra (Chair) Luis Barragán in Mexico, the 2009 Cradle of Mankind Master Class in South Africa and the 2010 Ghost Studio in Nova Scotia, and a lecture with Richard Leplastrier at the RIBA in London in May 2011.
Stutchbury carries a deep knowledge and understanding of his country, its climate, landscape and culture. The rigour of his design thinking, the innovation of his technical resolution, and his ability to manage his relatively small practice, combine with his commitment to share his knowledge through teaching, to represent an outstanding and significant contribution to the discipline of architecture, to its future and to the body of knowledge, which is cumulative.
This elegant book will bring his work to a greater audience. It includes critical essays on his work by his friends Richard Leplastrier and Professor Brit Andresen, and by Ingerid Helsing Almaas, Editor of Arkitektur N, the Norwegian Architectural Review. Stutchbury, in his own words and pictures, explains the underpinnings of his philosophy and practice. A collection of ‘Projects in Brief’ covers seminal works of his early practice. Fourteen major recent ‘Projects in Detail’ are presented, none of which have not been previously published, with explanatory texts, sketches, plans and new photography. There is an illustrated chronology of all his works and a section on his working studio. The second edition released in May 2015 has an additional 12 pages and includes his ‘Invisible House’ in the Blue Mountains, which won 2014 House of the Year.
Now published by Thames & Hudson – available in leading bookshops RRP in Australia AU$90, and online through Book Depository, Amazon, etc..
