Glenn Murcutt (b. 1936) is the only Australian architect to have won the prestigious Pritzker Prize, plus plenty of other honours. He famously works alone, and is selective about his projects. The reason I’m writing about him? The moment has come to get serious about the external materials for my house, and when I think of the bricks, the sandstone, the steel in a corrugated profile, I think of Murcutt’s houses.
External materials [source: Colorbond]
‘Touch the earth lightly’
Murcutt’s famous adage is ‘touch the earth lightly’. This approach ‘leads him to design his works to fit into the Australian landscape features. His works are highly economical and multi-functional. Murcutt also pays attention to aspects of the environment such as wind direction, water movement, temperature and light surrounding his sites before he designs the building itself. Materials such as glass, stone, timber, concrete, steel and corrugated iron are often included in his works.’ [source]
‘Murcutt works as a sole practitioner, producing residential and institutional work all over Australia. Although he doesn’t work outside the country or run a large firm, his work has a worldwide influence, especially since he teaches master classes for beginning and established architects.’
One of those beginning architects was my son Evan, in his first year at UNSW’s Faculty of the Built Environment. I recall stories of a field trip to the desert, students sleeping in tents.
Touch the earth lightly, indeed.
Sydney architect Glenn Murcutt [photo source]
In 2002 the Pritzker jury said of Murcutt: ‘He is an innovative architectural technician who is capable of turning his sensitivity to the environment and to locality into forthright, totally honest, non-showy works of art.’
Elements of Murcutt’s work that I admire
I admire the way Murcutt’s buildings sit in their landscapes, mirroring the natural setting around them and the culture to which they belong. For example, his use of sandstone in Sydney, and of corrugated iron in rural Australian settings. But this doesn’t mean his buildings are rustic—some look highly contemporary. In his early days he worked with practitioners of the Sydney International School, such as Sydney Ancher—organic architecture focussing on relationships to nature.
The Berowra Waters Inn, built 1976-1983, is a Murcutt design
Lerida Estate Winery, Lake George, NSW 2003, by Glenn Murcutt
Examples of Murcutt’s domestic houses
Many of the photos I’m using come from this Habitus Living article, where you can find examples of Murcutt’s domestic houses.
Simpson Lee House, Glenn Murcutt
The Marika Alderton House, commissioned by Aboriginal leader Banduk Marika, was designed with particular reference to Indigenous Design principles.
East Coast House, Tasmania, 2018 Jaws Architects with Glenn Murcutt
Habitus Living describes Murcutt’s philosophy:
Murcutt is known for his iconic design philosophy, “touch the earth lightly,” an Aboriginal proverb which takes center-stage in all Glenn Murcett designs as he seeks to create sustainable buildings which work in harmony with the Australian environment. Many of his architectural choices are influenced by his upbringing in Papua New Guinea, where his family home was a testament to the unique landscape – for example, the house was built on stilts for protection from water and animals. It is Murcutt’s devotion to specificity and individuality that made him such an unlikely candidate for the Pritzker Prize, competing with multi-billion dollar projects despite his exclusive commitment to the Australian environment and modest (single story) houses.
House, Sydney 1987
‘Tucked in an inner suburb, this house is significant in Murcutt’s oeuvre, otherwise dominated by work in the outer suburbs and rural areas. It clearly demonstrates his continuing allegiance to an uncompromising Modernist aesthetic, but, in its scale and character, it responds as sensitively to its dense urban context as his rural houses do to the natural landscape’ [source]
So how will these design principles be reflected in my modest project?
Thinking about the external materials used
A design in harmony with the bushland nearby and the sandstone ridge below
A nod to Australian rural architecture in design profiles and materials
Aspiring to Passivhaus principles so the building does, indeed, ‘touch the earth lightly’
We may fall short, but if you shoot for the stars you might get to the moon, right?
House by Glenn Murcutt: ‘touch the earth lightly’