The Sydney Opera House and Its Acoustical Failure

Australia is filled with many different aspects in which makes it the country it is today. I believe it is important to study texts that explore aspects of Australia by studying texts such as ‘The Club’, by David Williamson, a play written in 1977 about an Australian football club and movies such as “The Castle”, directed by Rob Stitch in 1997, about the daily life of an Australian family when their happiness is threatened when developers attempt to buy their house to expand the neighboring airport. Both these texts show us what Australian life was like in the past. By us looking at themes such as language, tradition and the mateship shown we are able to explore different aspects of Australia that make it what it is today.

Australia is a young, modern country made up of a diverse and multicultural population, therefore, it’s difficult to say that it has a single national identity. This essay will examine what Australia’s identity may look like, specifically, through art.

Modernist design not only was located in the heart of Melbourne, it was located on the out skirts of the centre also, the Essendon Technical School which was designed by Percy Everett is one of these. Percy Everett is appointed as Chief Architect for Victorian Public Works Department. He has designed

Contemporary Australian theatre mainly focuses on the reflection of the ‘real’ Australia and communicating to the audience real and modern issues/ideas that respond to the social climate and community. Australian theatre practitioners use various performance styles, techniques and dramatic conventions to help portray their ideas to their audiences and make them feel a particular way to the ideas presented in a play. Without the use of these styles, techniques and conventions it wouldn’t be possible for the practitioners to emphasise their ideas.

“…, it is hard to see Luhrmann’s Australia as anything other than an extension of his exquisitely shot commercials for the Australian Tourism Commission.” (Simpson, 2009, p.91)

As Civil Architect for Sydney town, Greenway designed many Sydney buildings and monuments, some of which have become well known landmarks. Greenway’s projects that he completed wereincluded the lighthouse near South Head, the Female Factory, New Government House, the Supreme Court and many churches such as St James Church (as you can see in Figure 2). Greenway also introduced design elements that responded specifically to the harsh Australian conditions which were very different those in England. (Brash.N, 2008)

This analysis of ‘Festival Overture on Australian Themes’ written by Colin Brumby in 1981; will use the knowledge of the musical elements to explore how Brumby has created each of the characters in ‘Festival Overture on Australian Themes’ and how all of the themes in the piece have been linked together to create the work.

Sydney Ancher was a Sydney based architect whose work is known for its simplicity. The development Ancher had throughout his practice, as noted by Robin Boyd, was an “unaffected, uncomplicated and undeviating search for simplicity2.” Ancher encountered the work of Mies van der Rohe at an international building exhibition in Berlin, in 1931, during his five years of travel and work abroad and has been influenced by it since then3. The work was a single storey building with extensive use of glass walls and a modular plan that linked indoor and outdoor space,

The history of Architecture started long time ago. The nomadic were groups of people whom move from one place to another in order find shelter and food to survive. As they progress, their techniques to survive evolve. The need for a permanent shelter became vital for a better stability of the group. This is the time when the first structures that provided protection appeared. Post and lintel were the first forms of Architecture, that satisficed the basic needs. Architecture evolved to be more sophisticated and fulfill the people’s needs. Consequently, Architecture evolved throughout different periods such as: Ancient architecture, Romanesque, The medieval, Renaissance, Early modern, and the industrial age, Modernism and Contemporary

Australia is one of the continents over the world. The vast, varied land and the culture in this abundant place has a deep and lasting impact to the architectural design traditions—Tectonic. Tectonic can be regarded as one distinctive characteristic which is relating to building or architectural construction. It also gives ability for people to read a structure, or see how a structure was put together. Among those architects who had used this tradition in their designs, Donovan Hill and Glenn Murcutt, as Australian architectures, have their own style relates to tectonic. For example, Donovan Hill composes different materials and layered against with one another in D House, while Murcutt establishes a harmonious connection to the surrounding landscape and local climate with Magney House.

A key component of Australian culture today is not only their diversity, but more importantly, the

In 2011, 20.7% of dwellings in Sydney were classified as high density. Australian cities are facing a number of challenges, including a significant growth in population, growing housing affordability crisis, a greater concern for environmental issues, transport and urban infrastructure.

The incredible work of these Modernist architects had a strong and distinct influence on up and coming young Australian Architects during the 1950’s – 1970’s.

On Friday November 3rd I had the pleasure of attending an evening of Opera titled Love Through the Ages with Maria Fortuna and Nancy Townsend at the Sean O’Sullivan Theatre. Having never been to an Opera performance I had no idea of what to expect and was looking forward to this new experience. Fortuna was accompanied by multi-faceted pianist Nancy Townsend. These two musicians showed tremendous expertise and were able to keep my attention through the extent of the program.

Part 1. In search of a critical framework to define Australian Architectural Identity (Is this required?)