Murcutt, Glenn

▪ 2003

      Australian architect Glenn Murcutt won the 2002 Pritzker Architecture Prize, though unlike the majority of the previous 25 Pritzker laureates, he had designed few large-scale projects. Instead he had spent most of his career designing innovative climate-sensitive private houses. Working alone out of his office in Sydney, Murcutt had a long list of prospective clients who were content to wait for him to give their projects the personal attention that characterized his work. Drawing from influences that ranged from Ludwig Mies van der Rohe to common Australian wool sheds, Murcutt developed a style that attempted to strike a balance with nature yet maintain a distinctly modernist look.

      Murcutt was born on July 25, 1936, in London while his Australian parents were en route to the Olympic Games in Berlin. His father found success as a gold prospector in New Guinea, and Murcutt spent the first five years of his life there. The family's home was constructed of corrugated iron and set on top of stilts to keep water and animals out; the design of the house, and of other houses built by his father, would later inform much of Murcutt's own choices as a planner of homes.

      After earning a degree in architecture from the University of New South Wales Technical College in 1961, Murcutt spent eight years with a Sydney architectural firm before founding his own practice. He traveled extensively in Europe and North America, marveling at the works of Mies, Alvar Aalto, Luis Barragan, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Louis Sullivan. In 1970 Murcutt began a nine-year stint as a design tutor at the University of Sydney. After teaching at the University of New South Wales in 1985 and at the University of Melbourne from 1989 to 1997, he embarked on a series of visiting professorships at universities in the U.S., Papua New Guinea, Finland, and Denmark.

      Murcutt's buildings reflected his desire to maintain harmony with the environment. His houses often featured corrugated iron with the ribs laid horizontally, creating a linearity that he felt responded to the landscape instead of competing with it. Few of his designs called for air-conditioning. The flow of air was controlled through the implementation of slatted roofs, screens, and blinds; wide eaves provided shelter from the sun. Although most of his buildings were not spectacular attention-seeking projects, Murcutt was not averse to being in the spotlight. In 1998 he took a strong public stand against a $66 million plan to refurbish the Sydney Opera House. The plan was later canceled.

Anthony G. Craine

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▪ Australian architect

in full  Glenn Marcus Murcutt 

born July 25, 1936, London, Eng.

      Australian architect who was noted for designing innovative climate-sensitive private houses. He was awarded the Pritzker Prize in 2002.

      Murcutt was born in London while his Australian parents were en route to the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. His father found success as a gold prospector in New Guinea, and Murcutt spent the first five years of his life there. The family's home was constructed of corrugated iron and set on top of stilts to keep out water and animals; the design of this house, and of other houses built by his father, would later inform many of Murcutt's own choices as an architect of houses and other small-scale buildings.

      After earning a degree in architecture from the University of New South Wales Technical College in 1961, Murcutt spent eight years with a Sydney architectural firm before founding his own practice. In 1970 Murcutt began a nine-year stint as a design tutor at the University of Sydney. After teaching at the University of New South Wales in 1985 and at the University of Melbourne from 1989 to 1997, he embarked on a series of visiting professorships at universities in the United States, Papua New Guinea, Finland, and Denmark.

      Murcutt came to feel that buildings should be able to respond to changes in conditions. He said,

Buildings should open and close and modify and re-modify and blinds should turn and open and close, open a little bit without complication. They should do all these things. That is a part of architecture for me, the resolution of levels of light that we desire, the resolution of the wind that we wish for, the modification of the climate as we want it. All this makes a building live.

      Murcutt's buildings reflect his desire to maintain harmony with the environment. His houses often feature corrugated iron with the ribs laid horizontally, creating a linearity that he felt responded to the landscape instead of competing with it. As a result of his sense of a building's functionality, few of his designs called for air-conditioning. The flow of air was controlled through the implementation of slatted roofs, screens, and blinds; wide eaves provided shelter from the sun.

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