The Glenn Murcutt Symposium, presented by the Glenn Murcutt Foundation, is set to take place this month. The event will bring together leading architects to discuss and reflect on Murcutt’s influence on contemporary practice, with Dr Piers Taylor travelling from the UK to give the keynote speech.

Taylor is a well-known academic and advocate for sustainable, low-impact architecture who also has longstanding connections with Murcutt and Australia. He first encountered Murcutt’s philosophy while studying in Sydney in the early 1990s, an experience that left a lasting impression. In 2001, he participated in the inaugural Glenn Murcutt Masterclass – an event he describes as
“life-changing.”

The relationship evolved into a friendship, with Taylor later hosting Murcutt at a UK symposium in 2004, where the Australian architect stayed with his family. Over the years, Taylor has spoken about Murcutt’s work at exhibitions, contributed critical essays and co-presented with him in Melbourne in 2017. For Taylor, Murcutt’s architecture represents a distilled clarity – deeply attuned to place, frugal yet highly refined, and wholly integrated with the landscape.

“I’ll be delivering a keynote around the themes inherent in Glenn’s work and how they have influenced me – particularly his ability to do so much with so little,” Taylor says. “His work embodies the dignity of practice and the importance of architecture that is both deeply contextual and environmentally responsible. These ideas have been central to my own work and are explored in my forthcoming book, Learning from the Local, which includes a chapter on Glenn.”

Related: Tosin Oshinowo and architecture in the Global South

Taylor’s keynote will explore core principles of Murcutt’s architecture, including frugality, absolute specificity of place, passive envelope, linear shallow plan and material continuity. His visit presents a rare opportunity for Australian architects, students and design enthusiasts to hear from one of the most thoughtful voices in contemporary architecture. Best known for his experimental approach to self-build and material innovation through Invisible Studio, he has held academic roles at the Architectural Association, Cambridge and the University of Reading.

Tickets for the Glenn Murcutt Symposium are available here.

Invisible Studio
invisiblestudio.org

Photography
Jim Stephenson (House in an Olive Grove)

Read this Q&A with Kabage Karanja