Glenn Murcutt

[Architecture Foundation Australia</gallery>

Glenn Murcutt, center

Glenn Murcutt (born 25 July 1936 in London to Australian parents). He is probably Australia's most famous architect. He was presented with the Order of Australia (AO) in 1996. Prestigious awards include the Gold Medal of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects in 1992, the Alvar Aalto Medal in 1992, the Richard Neutra Award for Teaching in 1998, the 'Green Pin' Award from the Royal Danish Academy of Architects in 1999, the Thomas Jefferson Medal for Architecture in 2001, the Pritzker Prize for Architecture in 2002 and the Kenneth F. Brown Asia Pacific Culture and Architecture Award in 2003. He is an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, an International Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, an Honorary Fellow of the Finnish Association of Architects as well as Honorary Member of the Architects Institutes in Taiwan, Scotland and Singapore. In 2008 he was elected an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He was founding President of the Australian Architecture Association and is Chair of the Architecture Foundation Australia (annual Murcutt International Master Class) [[1]].

Murcutt works as a sole practitioner, producing residential and institutional work all over Australia. Although he does not work outside the country, or run a large firm, his work has a worldwide influence, especially since Murcutt teaches master classes for beginning and established architects [www.ozetecture.org] . Murcutt was educated at Manly Boys' High School and the University of New South Wales where he studied architecture from 1956 to 1961, where he became friends with other soon-to-be-prominent students, including director Jim Sharman, theatre designer Brian Thomson and film producer Matt Carroll.

Murcutt's motto, 'touch the earth lightly,' convinces 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 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 and steel are often included in his works.

Testament to his influence internationally was the award of the 2002 Pritzker Prize (the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for Architecture). In the words of the Pritzker Jury: "In an age obsessed with celebrity, the glitz of our 'starchitects', backed by large staffs and copious public relations support, dominate the headlines. As a total contrast, [Murcutt] works in a one-person office on the other side of the world ... yet has a waiting list of clients, so intent is he to give each project his personal best. 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." ^ 

Building projects

Notes

[2] Additional Comments from Individual Pritzker Prize Jurors

References

Pritzker Prize laureates

Philip Johnson (1979) · Luis Barragán (1980) · James Stirling (1981) · Kevin Roche (1982) · I. M. Pei (1983) · Richard Meier (1984) · Hans Hollein (1985) · Gottfried Böhm (1986) · Kenzo Tange (1987) · Gordon Bunshaft / Oscar Niemeyer (1988) · Frank Gehry (1989) · Aldo Rossi (1990) · Robert Venturi (1991) · Álvaro Siza Vieira (1992) · Fumihiko Maki (1993) · Christian de Portzamparc (1994) · Tadao Ando (1995) · Rafael Moneo (1996) · Sverre Fehn (1997) · Renzo Piano (1998) · Norman Foster (1999) · Rem Koolhaas (2000) · Herzog & de Meuron (2001) · Glenn Murcutt (2002) · Jørn Utzon (2003) · Zaha Hadid (2004) · Thom Mayne (2005) · Paulo Mendes da Rocha (2006) · Richard Rogers (2007) · Jean Nouvel (2008)