The Australian Ugliness. Robin Boyd

As nice as it is that Australia has an inherently mismatched and optimistic style, this does not mean that it produces inherently good buildings. Much of what is built, in fact, is utter crap.

A great book which candidly states this fact was written in 1960 by Robin Boyd. The Australian Ugliness.

Wherever you live there is something to learn about design in this book. Track it down if you can.

Here are some of my favorite quotes:

“Australians now were more prepared even than Americans to allow anyone with something to sell to take control of the appearance of their country.” P46

“The worst anxiety is usually at the promotional level, but soon it transfers itself along the line through architect, industrial designer, muralist, interior decorator, typographer – everyone feeling his duty to create a feature, no one unanxious enough to make a plain statement of fact.” P68

“Surfers’ Paradise. It is a musical comedy of modern Australia come to life.” P85

“He does not care that the only thing of any meaning in art, the only creation, ultimately the only satisfaction in life, lies in understanding himself and making decisions accordingly.” P90

“And there is the basic objection to Featurism: a moral objection. No matter how successful it may be in pleasing the passing eye, no matter if it pleases to the extent of being judged beautiful, the entirely superficial, frivolous appeal of a Featurist object can never assist human awareness, wisdom and understanding. It is for this reason alone as degrading to human nature as it is to art.” P138-139

'Australian style' in architecture. A mismatch of styles.

What's the difference between Australia and yogurt?

One has culture.

This is a joke told to me by a cook in Denmark. I didn't laugh.

As much as Australia may be lacking in any particularly strong and unique cultural customs I believe it is a country with a rich cultural make up and even what could be called a unique style.

What I would describe as the ‘Australian style’ of architecture would most definitely consists of an amalgamation of other styles. Our society and culture  consists of the adaption and amalgamation of a wide variety of ethnic groups. It is domestically orientated culture and most importantly it is a culture of optimism. I believe that Australian culture is inherently optimistic and our style matches this. We have a design philosophy of saying that everything is okay, everything’s good, life is good.

The first European buildings built in Australia were homesteads designed and built by early British settlers. These were traditionally Spartan buildings, due to material and labour restraints, designed in traditional Victorian styles. The mix of cultures, workmen and designers in Australia usually meant that these buildings were designed in a mismatched and episodic way. Booloominbah (1888) designed by John Horbury Hunt, although quite grand in nature, is a perfect example of an outcome of these homestead types built during the 19^th Century. Its deep verandas, L-shaped plan and episodic mix of elements demonstrate the Australian style of mixing and reinterpreting English elements and styles.

Booloominbah designed in 1888 by John Horbury Hunt.

What makes Australia’s current architectural trends distinctive are their basis in a country with a very domestically based cultural and architectural history. Early Australian architect’s amalgamation and reinterpretation of European styles within single buildings can be seen to have influenced many buildings of the early 20^th century and this influence continues today. During the latter half of the 20^th Century, as critics such as Robin Boyd began to criticise our obsession with an urban language of architecture, the prevalence of this language began to diminish, but the elemental nature of our “architecture of collision”, that is a form with expression of the different elements of a building as different pieces stuck together, still continues.

Australian culture and Australian style is a mismatched beast, one that brings together many elements, is positive and domestically orientated.

Life is simple. Why does everyone insist on making it complicated?

Why am I so sure that nature (natural materials, plants, connection with the environment (outside and as a whole)) must be present in all architecture? Because it serves as a very important reminder of the realities of our lives. Of what we are, and hopefully of what we’re doing with our lives. A lot can be said of watching a robin skip across a garden, or eating fruit that you’ve grown yourself.

It’s easy to forget about how simple our existence is when we are living in an overly complicated, overly ordered, man-made world full of overly complicated, overly ordered man-made buildings.

As our world becomes increasingly digitally orientated and increasingly filled with machines I believe that it’s becoming increasingly important for our buildings to tell us that life’s not that complicated.

Life is easy. Life is great. But only if we perceive it to be.

(Fairhaven beach, where the above thoughts came to me)