ARCH1322 - Architectural History and Theory 3: Essay Summaries

This essay provides a comprehensive summary of four essays assigned in ARCH1322, focusing on the themes of nationalism and regionalism in Australian architecture. The first essay, by Conrad Hamann, examines the development of distinct architectural styles in Australia between 1880 and 1920, including the "Queen Anne" or Federation Villa, Colonial Revival, and "pioneer modern" styles, and explores how these styles reflected a growing national identity. The second essay, by Winsome Callister, analyzes Robin Boyd's shifting views on Australian architecture, particularly his changing perspectives on international recognition and the expression of Australian culture. The third essay, by Stanislaus Fung, critically appraises existing writings on the "Sydney School" of architecture, questioning the coherence and limitations of the term and suggesting directions for further study. The final essay, by Harriet Edquist, explores the concept of "Genius Loci" or "spirit of place" in architectural criticism, comparing the writings of Christian Norberg-Schulz with Australian architectural discourse and examining how ideas of place and identity are constructed and interpreted.

Running head: Ancient History
Ancient History
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ANCIENT HISTORY
1. Nationalism and Reform in Australian Architecture Cornard Hamann
The essay entitled, ‘Nationalism and Reform in Australian Architecture’ explores the
feeling that was prevalent in Australia between 1880 and 1920 1 as to how one could serve the
interests of a distinct national style. This feeling led to the formation of three branches of
architecture. They include ‘Queen Anne’ or Federation Villa, a colonial revival and thirdly,
architecture that was termed by Robin Boyd as ‘pioneer modern.’3 Conrad Hamann first in-
troduced some styles of the late nineteenth century that Australians experimented, including the
American Romanesque, Shingle Style, and the red brick architecture by Norman Shaw 4 and his
contemporaries who were from England. All three styles ensured that the Australian architecture
was reformative in nature. All three styles have been hailed as the ancestors of modern
architecture.
The Federation Villa design used red brick and Norman Shaw details, but not essential to
the basic composition.6 It was more based on the homestead form. The style was versatile that
the form appeared in different kinds of buildings and could "take extremes of either ornament or
plainness"7, adapting to various functions.
The Colonial Revival Style was identified with Hardy Wilson’s Colonial Georgian
building 8. It can be traced as early as colonial architect James Barnet ’s design and research in
1870s 9. Thomas Sisley in Melbourne argued for a homestead revival for its simple and
functional form 10.
Some other architects brought foreign reform styles to the homestead revival while Hardy
Wilson's revival was pure revivalism with Australian motifs 12. The Radicals' work was parallel
to the modern architectural development in Europe and America 13. Having similar idea with
Hardy Wilson, Robert Haddon considered the simplification of form and interplay with

2ANCIENT HISTORY
Australia's distinctive light 14. An example includes George Sydney Jones use of flat roofs and
reduced decoration 15.
Lastly, Hamann describes how those movements declined after the First World War. The
designers inclined more towards the foreign “allies” and less towards nationalism 16, yet the
styles became the precedents to the later development in Australian architecture.
2. Dialectic of Desire and Disappointment Winsome Callister

3ANCIENT HISTORY
The essay "Dialectic of Desire and Disappointment" examines the dialectic relationship
between the shifting attitude of Robin Boyd's criticism and writings towards Australian
architecture. Winsome Callister states that the core of Boyd's criticism had the continuing desire
for international recognition of Australian architecture and the hope for architecture as a role to
express Australian culture 17. However, there was a variation 18 in the fulfillment of desires 18.
According to Callister, Boyd’s criticism was related minutely to the debate 20 on international
and local architecture prevalent at the time. It was also related to Boyd’s belief in functionalism
21.
In the early writings, Boyd was optimistic, looking to the idea of an image that was regional in
nature with strong local attributes that can be identified as an expression of Australian culture 22.
He praised some small Australian homes of 1949 and earlier, in the Mornington Peninsula,
stating that they have clean lines, vernacular Australian elements and lack ornamentation 23.
Callister stated that the parallel international trends in America and in Scandinavia 24 may have
inspired Boyd’s writing on peninsula regional buildings.
Later on, Boyd's writing argued that nationalism can have sympathies on the international
style 25. In the essay entitled, the “Port Phillip Idiom” in 1952, he illustrated works around
Melbourne that he regarded to have both variety of functional approach 26 and an organic quali-
ty. 27 Thereafter he suggested that architects were free to draw from both the organic 28 and the
functional. From 1955, Boyd shifted his position wherein he saw the Australian architecture
shares common international interest and themes like space frame and tensile construction 29.

4ANCIENT HISTORY

5ANCIENT HISTORY
From the time of the Olympic Games, Boyd praised the innovative structures using tensile
construction 30, yet he was primarily looking at the international image rather than a national
image for Australian architecture 31 with slightly pessimistic attitude. In sharp contrast, in other
articles, he seemed to have an optimistic view on the engineering structures that emphasized on
shape 32.
By the early 1960s, Boyd’s interest shifted to the Sydney architecture, wherein he praised their
architecture whose aesthetics had vernacular reference 33. Later in 1968, Boyd shifted to
appreciating the Japanese's brut concrete work from 1960 34. Although Boyd had praised some
brut concrete work in the Perth, yet he criticized it feeling it was closer to the Mediterranean 35
wherein it had a time lag between the architecture of Australia and other countries 36. Even
though other Australian architects had taken up Boyd’s idea, the shifting view made Boyd
impossible to realize his idea to his satisfaction 37, leading to his disappointment.

6ANCIENT HISTORY
3. The ‘Sydney School'? Stanislaus Fung
The essay “The ‘Sydney School'?” appraises the existing publications by different authors
regarding the topic “Sydney School”, raising concerns and criticisms about the nature and
limitations of the writings and suggesting directions for further study 38.
Stanislaus Fung raised an important cause of confusion, pertaining to the incoherent usage of the
term 'Sydney School.' 39 Fung remarked that different writers interpreted the meaning of the
term differently which cannot be associated with each other.
For Milo Dunphy, Fung argued that the aims and intentions of architects was rather different
than common, yet Dunphy neglected some other common attitudes of architects 40. For Robin
Boyd, Fung argued that Boyd was generally contrasting the attitudes and concerns between the
Melbourne and Sydney architecture, not distinguishing much about the “subtle regional
characteristics” 41. For Professor David Saunders, Fung argued that Saunders's statement had a
lot more personal impression 42. It lacks elaboration on the development of the style and
comparison to distinguish the uniqueness 43. For Philip Cox, Fung argued that the
generalizations of Australian characteristics are not distinctive enough to be explained as a style
44. For Jennifer Taylor, Fung regarded her as a recognized authority 45 having the most
contribution on the topic. Fung summarized Taylor's writing in sequence, then raised several
points of confusion and argued that there is a lack of argumentative support for Taylor's claim of
development 46 and not enough evidence for the local characteristics she described to be
distinctive from other established regional architecture 47. Later Fung introduced the use of
evolutionary model in the study of art history 48. His concern was that innovations in
architecture are not necessarily obliged to their predecessors 49. According to him, it was hard to

7ANCIENT HISTORY
prove the evolution and development of the ‘Sydney School.’ In conclusion, Fung argued that
the writers of the “Sydney School” mainly rely on their personal experiences and impressions
rather than evidence and methodology for their arguments. In addition, he suggested studying the
long-term changes and trends 52 for the discussion pertaining to development. Moreover, he
argued that the articles are mostly too short to allow chronological treatment and have the
necessary comparison with other similar examples overseas 53. At the end, Fung suggested
asking the method of enquiry with the ‘Sydney School’, and the definition will lead to very
different outcomes on further discussion on the topic 54.

8ANCIENT HISTORY
Genius Loci Harriet Edquist
In the essay “Genius Loci”, Harriet Edquist examines the idea of the “spirit of place”
through a plethora of texts, starting with analyzing Norberg-Schulz’s writing entitled ‘Genius
Loci of Rome’ and ending by drawing some conclusions about the “spirit of place” from
Australian architectural criticism. There are some concerns that Edquist expressed on Norberg-
Schulz’s writing about the spirit and character of Rome. The first is “political” wherein it is
believed that Norberg-Schulz had an apparent commitment to Rome which he perceived to be

9ANCIENT HISTORY
morally and spatially superior to other places. Later Edquist mentioned it is easy to evoke
nationalistic sentiment 56. Edquist was concerned about the interpretation of “Etruscan” in
Norberg-Schulz's writing as a “natural” heritage, which is opposite to the Etruscan culture
obliteration in Rome in historical reality 57. The other concern is the language that Norberg-
Schulz expressed showing the genius loci can be manifested by human consciousness to be
“natural”, without a human subject 58, as though the city arose not by its inhabitants and rulers
59 but through its spirit.
Edquist argued that the statement of Norberg-Schulz is more of a personal feeling than a natural
fact or the general condition of a place 60. After that, Edquist compares some Australian
criticism with the issues from Norberg-Schulz’s writing. In Australia, some criticism regarded
certain isolated buildings being harmonious with the landscape as representing an entire national
spirit 61.
Edquist argued that most architectural writings in Australia create an image that appears
essentially true 62, without a human subject, which has the same problem of Norberg-Schulz's
writing. Edquist noticed that the trend of the Australian identity turned into aboriginal presence
63 that fitted the universal yearning for the ethnicity and the landscape 64 at the time, such as the
recognition of Glenn Murcutt and Philip Cox’s idea of adapting the aboriginal with the Georgian
architecture 65. Edquist discussed the significance of Glenn Murcutt's architecture that it directs
alternatively to the other face of the Australian culture 66. Edquist held a pessimistic view to the
use of generalized abstraction 67 and at times patriotic fervor 68 rather than historical fact and
evidence of architectural criticism that missed the crucial discussion on the aboriginal culture
and the Australian historical, cultural identity 69. Lastly, he suggested that writers be more
careful and responsible on their expression of history 70.