Volume One - Pages 77 to 108 - Canberra 100

100 Canberra Houses
Canberra is home to some of Australia’s most iconic buildings, and if their
walls could talk they would speak of some of the most significant events
and decisions in our country’s history. From modest workmen’s cottages
to prestigious Government House, from the 1913 brickworks camp to
prefabricated student housing in 2009, the very best domestic architecture in
the Australian Capital Territory will be celebrated in 100 Canberra Houses—a
new book to be published by Halstead Press and set for national release in
early 2013.
Written by Tim Reeves and Dr Alan Roberts, the book presents a chronological
selection that begins with the Administrator’s Residence built in 1913 and,
averaging a house for every year, follows the city’s entire history through its
residential constructions.
The houses are illustrated through paintings, photos and plans, and placed
in context by descriptions of the architects and occupants, details of
contemporary events, notes about urban styles and the building’s life in
later decades.
Some houses have social and historical significance as well as architectural
importance—The Lodge for example, and the home of Soviet defectors, the
Petrovs. Some, sadly, have been destroyed, but many remain in residential use.
Together, these places that many Canberrans have called home, fill a handsome
hardback volume, offering a different perspective on the history of the nation’s
capital.
This new book will be distributed through bookstores nationwide, and also be
available from Halstead Press.
WWW.HALSTEADPRESS.COM.AU
Image: Extract from 100 Canberra Houses, Designed by Kylie Maxwell.
SPATIAL RESONANCE
MAY
The strength and variety of Canberra’s architectural spaces
have inspired numerous artistic responses over the years.
The Griffyn Ensemble, for instance (see page10), has
specialised in presenting site-specific concerts.
Under the directorship of Chris Latham, the Canberra
International Music Festival over recent years has also been
utilising the amazing spaces of Canberra, and the trilogy
which culminates in 2013 has used buildings on the Griffin
grid in particular.
Spatial Resonance is a component of the Amazing Spaces
Program. A sequence of exemplar architectural and
landscape spaces are sounded for their spatial resonance,
exploring through the interface of music, their calibration
and measure. In experiencing the resonance of the spaces,
a heightened awareness of the synergies between music
and architecture is gained, and the particular significance
of these spaces and places in the cultural life of the city is
amplified.
Under the leadership of Ann Cleary, students from the
architecture program in the University of Canberra’s Faculty
of Arts and Design will develop a series of spatial renderings
in drawing, model and graphic form to explore these
concepts.
UNIVERSITY OF CANBERRA
WWW.CANBERRA.EDU.AU/100
the original canberra
house
FROM MARCH
Cockington Green Gardens is constructing a version of the
original Canberra House to sit in the beautifully landscaped
gardens of its world of miniature architecture. The original
Canberra House, or ‘The Residency', was commissioned
by King O'Malley and sat in the grounds of the Australian
National University. It was designed by John Smith Murdoch
(the Commonwealth's first architect) and constructed in
1912-13 to house the Administrator of the Federal Territory,
David Miller. The garden of Canberra House was planned by
Thomas Weston. If you haven't been to Cockington Green
Gardens for a while, 2013 is an ideal time to explore the
Gardens and have a look at this most recent addition.
COCKINGTON GREEN GARDENS
WWW.COCKINGTONGREEN.COM.AU
88
CANBERRA100.COM.AU