Commonwealth Place Kiosks

Reinmuth, G; Balmforth, S; Blythe, R

Commonwealth Place Kiosks

Reinmuth, G

Balmforth, S Blythe, R

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Publisher:: Canberra
Publication Type:: Artefact
Citation:: 2006
Issue Date:: 2006-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Reinmuth, G https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7234-0168	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Balmforth, S	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Blythe, R	en_US
dc.date.issued	2006-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	2006	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/17508
dc.description.abstract	Canberra is distinctive in international terms as a planned city. At the centre of the planning geometry sits the nations Parliament House. Its foreground consists of a range of buildings containing Australia's major public institutions - a sort of 'architectural zoo'. Each of these public buildings has scale and gravitas - mostly concrete sculptural works containing the High Court, National Gallery, and so on. The termination of this axis occurs in the form of the National War Memorial. The brief required amenity buildings to be located in the foreground of old Parliament House. These buildings are small in size and of a 'prosaic' use. Thus, the design proposition was an exploration of the tensions that exist within the brief itself. How does one install a toilet just meters from the central axis connecting our Parliament and lake? The uncanny (Vidler) nature of the planned city and the formal nature of the setting resulted in small, blank timber boxes that read as sculptural installations within this largest of sculpture parks. The potential for absurdity when Griffin's overarching geometry of the city plan is pushed to the limits, exploited in small adjustments to these seemingly regular objects that, when seen at close range, defy explanation (Powell). The uncanny silence of the objects is counterpointed by a surprise - the hidden system of coloured tubes which filter light in a dispersed manner, a scaling up of the dappled shade of the trees adjacent.	en_US
dc.publisher	Canberra	en_US
dc.title	Commonwealth Place Kiosks	en_US
dc.type	Artefact
utslib.location	Foreground of Old Parliament House	en_US
utslib.location.activity	ACT	en_US
utslib.for	120101 Architectural Design	en_US
dc.location.activity	ACT	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building/School of Architecture
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - CCDP - Contemporary Design Practice
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.place-of-publication	Foreground of Old Parliament House	en_US

Abstract:

Canberra is distinctive in international terms as a planned city. At the centre of the planning geometry sits the nations Parliament House. Its foreground consists of a range of buildings containing Australia's major public institutions - a sort of 'architectural zoo'. Each of these public buildings has scale and gravitas - mostly concrete sculptural works containing the High Court, National Gallery, and so on. The termination of this axis occurs in the form of the National War Memorial. The brief required amenity buildings to be located in the foreground of old Parliament House. These buildings are small in size and of a 'prosaic' use. Thus, the design proposition was an exploration of the tensions that exist within the brief itself. How does one install a toilet just meters from the central axis connecting our Parliament and lake? The uncanny (Vidler) nature of the planned city and the formal nature of the setting resulted in small, blank timber boxes that read as sculptural installations within this largest of sculpture parks. The potential for absurdity when Griffin's overarching geometry of the city plan is pushed to the limits, exploited in small adjustments to these seemingly regular objects that, when seen at close range, defy explanation (Powell). The uncanny silence of the objects is counterpointed by a surprise - the hidden system of coloured tubes which filter light in a dispersed manner, a scaling up of the dappled shade of the trees adjacent.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/17508