The Magic of Australia: Marion Mahony Griffin Lecture Live From Canberra

Greetings from the Shine Dome in Canberra, where  Caroline Pidcock, Architect and Chair of the Living Future Institute Australia, is presenting the centennial Marion Mahony Griffin Lecture. You can contribute to the conversation and submit questions to be answered during the Q&A session via the Livechat facility. The webcast is provided by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.

Caroline Pidcock is an architect with genuine interest and experience in sustainable built environments. This has been developed and enhanced through her involvement in a wide range of professional, academic and other commitments. This includes current roles as Chair of the Living Future Institute Australia and Carriageworks, and past roles as lecturer/tutor at a number of Universities.

"The Magic of Australia" in the title of  Caroline talk is a reference to Marion's book The Magic of America, the surviving drafts of which were placed on the web by the Art Institute of Chicago in 2007. This work ranges over issues of democracy and spiritualism, as well as architecture and land use planning. Similarly tonight's talk ranges over issues of democracy, education, the Internet and equity in Australia.

I asked  Caroline about the role of the NBN in the built environment. She replied that the NBN would allow use of the existing buildings in regional Australia, rather than confining development to the cities.

The annual Marion Mahony Griffin Lecture, instituted in 2009, has attracted capacity audiences. The Lectures have focussed on particular facets of Marion’s personality, architectural career in the USA, Australia and India, creative works as architect, illustrator and graphic artist, passionate life interests and her marriage and partnership with Walter Burley Griffin. Recently, Griffin scholars have been publishing much more and new material about Marion and her achievements. Her life with Walter and her role in producing the winning plan for the National Capital are bound to be of keen popular interest in Canberra’s 2013 Centenary celebrations.

The Marion Mahony Griffin Lecture is a Centenary of Canberra project, proudly presented by the Walter Burley Griffin Society Inc., the ACT Government and the Australian Government Your Community Heritage Grant.

A Symposium The Griffins’ Canberra: 100 years, will be held here, Friday 16 August 2013, 12.45pm – 4.30pm, The Shine Dome, Australian Academy of Science, Gordon Street, Canberra

Canberra Not a Finnish Vision

Greetings from the National Archives of Australia in Canberra where Dr Robert Bell AM, Senior Curator of Decorative Arts and Design, National Gallery of Australia is speaking on "A capital through Finnish eyes". He is discussing the entry in the 1912 competition for the design for the City of Canberra by Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen, who lost to the design by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony.

Saarinen placed a railway station at the heart of his design for Canberra. This would have been handy for recent proposals for high speed rail. The text of Saarinen's submission is available from Cornell University (from Australian Archives, ACT, Series A762):

To facilitate an undisturbed growth we must first place the different parts of the town in groups, so that each can grow without encumbering the other. We must moreover set down the plan for the nearest surroundings of the town and choose suitable places for its future suburbs, each with a character of its own.
We have, -
(a) the official town with the Houses of Parliament, the Ministerial Buildings, and all houses which are to surround them.
(b) the university quarter;
(c) the military quarter;
(d) the commercial quarter;
(e) the industrial quarter with its population of workmen;
(f) the quarter for hospitals etc....

Finnish Design for Canberra

Dr Robert Bell AM, Senior Curator of Decorative Arts and Design, National Gallery of Australia will speak on "A capital through Finnisheyes", at the National Archives of Australia in Canberra, 5:30pm, 7 August 2013. He will discuss the entry in the 1912 competition for the design for the City of Canberra by Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen, who lost to the design by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony.

Tribute to Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony in Sydney

The Incinerator Art Space is featuring "The Unity of Art and Life - A Tribute to Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin" in Sydney, 20 March to 7 April  2013. The exhibition the centenary of the arrival of the Griffins in Sydney,  after winning the competition to design the city of Canberra. The exhibition is in the Willoughby Incinerator, one of the few remaining public buildings in Australia designed by Walter Burley Griffin and now a cultural center.

The Unity of Art and Life - A Tribute to Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin
20 Mar 2013-7 Mar 2013

Leading Sydney designers and architects present new work in a tribute exhibition to mark the centenary of the Griffins’ arrival in Australia in 1913.
A show at the Burley Griffin designed Incinerator Art Space in Willoughby, “The exhibition is a tribute to the Griffins rather than a show about them,” says curator Dr Mark Stiles. “A number of other exhibitions on during the year, especially in Canberra, will cover the Griffins' lives and work in detail. 

“In contrast The Unity of Life and Art will respond to the Griffins' ideals by presenting work made in the same spirit,” he says. “The Griffins brought the principles of the Arts and Crafts movement with them when they came to Australia - truth to materials, respect for handicraft, honesty in purpose and simplicity in design - and it is these principles that the exhibition also seeks to honour.
“As well as architecture and town planning the Griffins' work covered landscape architecture, furniture and lighting design, and draftsmanship and illustration. The Unity of Life and Art will cover a range of creative practice nearly as diverse as the Griffins' own.”
For further information regarding the show, contact Mark Stiles on markstiles49@gmail.com or 9660 1158

The Dream of a Century: the Griffins in Australia’s Capital

The free exhibition Dream of a Century: the Griffins in Australia’s Capital  is at the National Library of Australia in Canberra until 10 June 2013. This has original works by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony, tracing their work leading up to the winning of the design competition for the plan of the city of Canberra and afterwards in Australia and India. Most striking are the architectural renderings on silk. Also the furniture and stained glass windows designed by Walter Burley Griffin, including Griffin's drafting table, is a must see for Griffin enthusiasts. Last week was the centenary of Canberra and this is one of a number of displays on to commemorate the event. The display of other entries for the design of Canberra, as well as more of Walter  and Marion 's work is on display at the nearby Archives Australia office in "Design 29 and the making of Australia’s national capital". The NLA display does not suffer from some of the problems of the Archives: the captions on each work are easy to read (a book of large captions is also available) and there are no augmented reality gimmicks. However, the low light level need to preserve the delicate works makes the architectural renderings very hard to see. The Library might have provided reproductions of the works alongside to show them as they would have been originally

Designs for Canberra on Display at National Archives in Canberra

After  Professor Vernon's talk "Recording a Vision", I toured the exhibition "Design 29 and the making of Australia’s national capital" at the National Archives in Canberra. This shows Griffin's original winning entry for the design of the city of Canberra, along with other finalists.

The renderings by Marion Mahony Griffin of Canberra are works of art in themselves, as well as being significant to Canberra's history and landscape architecture. This is a rare opportunity to see them in context. Unfortunately there are problems with the way the exhibition has been presented.

The information signs are on brushed shiny metal and angled so that the spotlight reflect off the surface, making the all but unreadable. Also tablet computers have been provided to see a virtual overlay of the old drawings.

Holding up a tablet computer is uncomfortable and clumsy. Having people bending backwards, trying to peer over their glasses at the computer screens is insulting to the work of the artists. Smaller screen devices (5 inch) would have worked better, or a fixed touch screen (as used elsewhere in the archives exhibitions). But with that slight quibble this is an excellent exhibition.

Recording a Vision of Canberra

Greetings from the National Archives in Canberra, where  Associate Professor Christopher Vernon,, University of Western Australia, is speaking on "Recording a Vision" about  Marion Mahony Griffin's Renderings of Canberra. Distinguished guest is Romaldo Giurgola, architect of the Australian Parliament House.

Professor  Vernon talked on "Night Train to Lucknow: Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin: creating a modern architecture for India 1935-1937" in 2010. Noted Griffin scholar, he started this time by mentioning how to pronounce "Mahony" (no "e").  He also mentioned He traced Marion's style of rendering to Birch Burdette Long, and the influence of Japanese drawing. Frank Lloyd Wright emphasized showing architectural rendering of buildings in the natural surroundings, influencing Marion's style and also Marion influencing Wright. Professor  Vernon showed a perspective view of a real estate development rendered by Marion in 1909 for Wright's practice, showing a "land axis" aligned with a distant mountain, reminiscent of the design for Canberra.

Professor Vernon mentioned in passing influences on Rio de Janeiro's layout of Canberra, but did not elaborate (he has a paper on Canberra and Brasília).

Marion developed a Unified Unit Plan, layout with a perspective, plan and cross-section of a building. Professor Vernon pointed out that rendering styles change over time and looked at how Marion's style developed.

An ongoing debate is how much of the design work for Canberra did Marion do. Professor Vernon, after presenting considerable documentary evidence made his case that "Marion did not just draw the pretty pictures for Canberra". He also argued that Frank Lloyd Wright was trying to get to work on the plans for Canberra, but there is little evidence for this. He suggested that there is scope for more research work using the archives in Canberra. One questions is why there are few photographs of the Griffin's in Canberra. Professor Vernon called for a memorial garden to be built in Canberra to commemorate the Griffin's contribution. He showed the Mitchell/Giurgola Associates entry for the Walter Burley Griffin Memorial Competition (1975), but pointed out no memorial was ever built. 

The National Archives have released a revised edition of the book "A Vision Splendid

How the Griffins Imagined Australia's Capital" in conjunction with the display "Design 29 and the making of Australia’s national capital" with the Griffin's original winning entry for the design of Canberra.

Recording a Vision: Marion Mahony Griffin's Renderings of Canberra

Associate Professor Christopher Vernon, University of Western Australia, will speak on "Recording a Vision" about  Marion Mahony Griffin's Renderings of Canberra, at the National Archives in Canberra, 1 Mar 2013:

Speakers Corner- Design 29: Recording a Vision

About this event

Hear the 'bigger picture' story of the Griffin plans for Canberra. Griffin scholar Christopher Vernon shows how Marion Mahony Griffin's graphic technique evolved, and sheds new light on the talented assistants who helped produce her exquisite renderings of the national capital. For example - who were Roy, Gertrude and George, and how did they help the Griffins express their vision for Canberra?

Ian Warden on Marion Mahony Griffin and Australian Flora

Canberra writer, Ian Warden, will give a free talk on "Tiptoe through the Telopeas: Why Marion Mahony Griffin would have boycotted Floriade", 31 January 2013 at the Australian Botanical Gardens in Canberra. This is part of the Canberra Centenary.

Turnbull Advocates A More Compact Liveable Canberra

Presenting the 2012 Walter Burley Griffin Memorial Lecture at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra last night, Ms Lucy Turnbull, called for more densely populated Australian cities. Turnbull is familiar with planning issues, having been the Deputy Chair of the COAG Capital city strategic planning expert advisory panel, Lord Mayor of Sydney and is currently an independent member of the Sydney Metropolitan Development Authority. She praised the work of Canberra's planners is providing a coherent view of the city, which follows on from Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony's design for the city.

Turnbull singled out the Affordable Housing work of CIC Australia for praise. She noted that Australia's ageing population will require a new mix of housing stock and more single person houses will be needed. The role of the urban environment to support the innovation sector of the economy was also mentioned.

After the talk I asked Ms Turnbull and Professor Alastair Swayn (ACT Government Architect) if sufficient account was being taken of the effect of high speed broadband on city design. Also I pointed to the innovation precinct forming between the ANU and Civic in Canberra. They mentioned the effect which teleworking is having on cities.

Walter Burley Griffin Memorial Lecture 2012

Ms Lucy Turnbull OA LLB MBA, an independent member of the Sydney Metropolitan Development Authority, will present the Australian Institute of Architects 2012 Walter Burley Griffin Memorial Lecture in Canberra, 10 October 2012.

Australian cities before and after Walter Burley Griffin

DATE: Wednesday 10 October
TIME: 5.45 arrival for a 6pm Start
COST: FREE PUBLIC LECTURE 

Register

The annual WBGML has been delivered in Canberra since 1961. Over that time it has been given by a number of distinguished individuals from many fields of expertise, including Gough Whitlam, Professor Manning Clarke and Romaldo Giurgola. This year it is our pleasure to host Lucy Turnbull and Alastair Swayn to present the 2012 Walter Burley Griffin Memorial Lecture.

Lucy Turnbull's title for the paper will be 'Australian cities before and after Walter Burley Griffin'. 

Lucy is a former Australian politician and former Lord Mayor of Sydney, is a prominent Australian business leader and company director. Turnbull was the first female Lord Mayor of Sydney, between 2003 and 2004 and was Deputy Lord Mayor, between 1999 and 2003. She was the first woman to hold both offices. As Lord Mayor, in 2003 Turnbull awarded laurete Aung San Suu Kyi the keys to the city of Sydney. 

With a background in commercial law and investment banking, Turnbull is a Director of Turnbull & Partners Pty. Ltd, a private investment company. Lucy has a longstanding interest in cities and their planning, governance and management. as well as the importance of technological innovation to the national economy. She is an independent member of the Sydney Metropolitan Development Authority which is charged First Government Architect for the Australian Capital Territory with the urban renewal and revitaltisation of several precincts in Sydney, including Redfern-Waterloo. 

On 26 January 2011, Turnbull was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia for her distinguished service to the community, particularly through philanthropic contributions to, and fundraising support for, a range of medical, social welfare, educational, youth and cultural organisations, to local government, and to busines. 

DATE: Wednesday 31 October 
TIME: 5.45 arrival for a 6pm Start ... 
COST: Free Public Lecture
Register

World Heritage Listing for Canberra

In the fourth Marion Mahony Griffin Lecture last night, Professor Sheridan Burke, President of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) International Scientific Committee on Twentieth Century Heritage, detailed the process for listing the city of Canberra on the World Heritage register. The presentation was entitled "Celebrating the Griffins: contribution to Canberra as a modern planned capital city", at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra.

Professor Burke described Griffin's plan for Canberra as one of the great city plans of an idealist age, but asked what now. Canberra was designed for a a population of 25,000 and the city is now than more than 300,000.

Professor Burke recounted wife and fellow architect Marion's frustration with her husband Walter's delay in starting work on a submission for the design of Canberra. Once designed by Walter, the work had to be rendered by Marion and then transported from Chicago to Melbourne. The design was produced in 9 weeks, just in time to reach the judges in Australia and win the competition.

While designing the initial plan for Canberra, the implementation passed through and was modified by many hands, some in the Griffin's day and much to their frustration.

Griffin assumed he would be appointed to oversee the implementation of his plan for Canberra. However this took until 1913 and there was bureaucratic and political opposition. A revised plan was prepared in 1918 but Griffin resigned due to opposition in 1921.

John Suilman oversaw the second phase of Canberra's development, with detached suburbs, rather than denser terrace housing. As Sheridan explained, this made the provision of services difficult and remains an issue today.

The ANU was developed in 1946 next to Canberra's commercial centre ("Civic").

William Holford was the third architect to oversea Canberra, influenced by the design of Brazilla. Canberra main thoroughfares which had been intended for dense development and public transport were converted to parkways.

Canberra's new parliament house was located on, or in, Capital Hill, rather than down by the lake.

Professor Burke pointed out that with self government, Canberra now has two planning agencies: one of the ACT Government and one federal. The federal government released a "Griffin Legacy" plan, with building down to the lake shore from Civic. This plan did not envision high rise development. Sheridan suggested master-planning for Civic, similar to that at ANU (which has had several years of intensive building).

A national Heritage Listing Proposal for Canberra has been submitted to the Australian Government. A later step would be listing on the World Heritage list. Meetings of the committee are now streamed live on-line.

What Professor Burke did not make clear was what would be the benefits and costs of a listing. The Australian Institute of Architects May 2012 talk in Canberra featured designs for the Chinese city of Changchun, modelled on Canberra, but now growing rapidly upwards. Would World Heritage listing prevent such development happening in Canberra?

Sheridan pointed out that the processes for the heritage status of the Sydney Opera House and complex but work well in practice and so should be feasible for Canberra. It occurred to me that this might actually make resolving the ACT Government versus Federal planning issues less problematic by providing a better framework.

Sheridan expressed concern about a loss of staff resources to prepare a credible Would World Heritage proposal for Canberra and argued for the resources to do this. However, this seemed, perhaps appropriately, echo the difficulties which Griffin had in Canberra with public servants and politicians worrying about short term costs. I suggest that a grand vision therefore needs to be supported by a cost benefit analysis. The cost of the listing would be compared with the benefits ad preferably showing a net benefit.

One aspect of Canberra which is not sufficiently recognized is its role as a center for public administration. While the Parliament has prominence, the work of the public service implementing the machinery of democracy does not. Perhaps this aspect needs to be emphasized in any World Heritage listing.

Castlecrag section of the Landmarks

The presentation was preceded by a guided tour of the Castlecrag section of the Landmarks exhibition in the gallery, by curator Dr Daniel Oakmanwith. This features items from the Sydney suburb designed by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin. The exhibition features a concrete tile-making machine used at Castlecrag, with a modular building system, patented by Griffin. The museum 3D laser scanned a number of the interlocking blocks and reproduced these in rubber for children to use as giant building blocks. I suggested to Dr Oakmanwith that a miniature set of the blocks would be a popular item in the gift shop. Also it would also be interesting to have engineers research the features of the knitlock system, to see if with modern materials and techniques it could be used for building in less developed countries.

Radio Documentary on Walter Burley Griffin

ABC Radio National will broadcast "The idealists: creating Castlecrag", by Nicole Steinke, 1pm 8 July 2012. This will then be available for download:

Architects and visionaries Walter Burley Griffin and Mahony Griffin never gave up. They came to Australia to create an ideal capital city for our young nation, but were thrown off the project, beaten by the bureaucracy.

Instead of heading home to Chicago, they turned their vast energy towards creating an ideal community on the shores of Sydney Harbour. That community was Castlecrag. During the 1920s and '30s it attracted an extraordinary group of people who pushed the boundaries in the arts, politics, the environment and spirituality.

Already available is "Canberra's original design competition" (By Amanda Smith, ABC Radio, 27 June 2012):

By Design looks back at the process of selecting the plan for Canberra, won by Walter Burley Griffin. We look at the contenders as well as the winner.

Guests

Professor James Weirick, Professor of Landscape Architecture, University of NSW, Sydney
President, Walter Burley Griffin Society

Professor Sheridan Burke, Adjunct Professor, University of Canberra
President, International Council on Monuments and sites (ICOMOS), International Scientific Committee on Twentieth Century Heritage

David Headon, Advisor, Centenary of Canberra, Chief Minister’s Department, ACT Government
Cultural historian ...

Video of Griffin's Vision of Canberra Today

The Walter Burley Griffin Society (which I am a member of), has released the video "Canberra - the Griffin vision in the 21st century" for the centenary of Canberra. This describes Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin's design for the city of Canberra.

Lessons for Planning Canberra from Great Cities

Greetings from the Australian National University in Canberra, where Professor James Weirick (UNSW) is speaking on The Art of City Design: Canberra and the planned capital’s movement. This followed last week's talk on "China’s Canberra: The past and future of Changchun". Professor Weirick started by pointing out it is almost 100 years since the design by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony was announced as the the winner for Canberra's plan.

Griffin's first action on being appointed was to select an eminent international panel of architects to select the design for the Australian Parliament House. But the competition was suspended on the outbreak of World War One. Later Griffin wanted Victor Laloux, architect of the Gare d'Orsay, to design the parliament building.
Professor Weirick argued Laloux's railway station design was revolutionary, as it integrated the platforms into the main building, instead of being out the back. This was possible as these were clean electric underground trains. The building is now the Musée d'Orsay (with an excellent cafe in old clock tower).

Professor Weirick pointed out the original plan for Canberra had a similar underground railway, which would have brought trains into the city centre.

Professor Weirick then pointed to the "Burnham Plan" of 1909, a "Plan of Chicago" by Daniel Burnham and Edward H. Bennett. This clearly influenced Griffin's Canberra plan, with roads radiating out from a symbolic centre, with a land axis perpendicular to the shore of a body of water.

Burnham also produced a 1901 plan for Washington and San Francisco. The latter plan had the main axis ending with a casino and aligned with a prominent mountain, as Griffin later did with Canberra. Notably more of the Canberra plan was built than those of Burnham. Also Burnham proposed a large statue on the mountain overlooking the city, fortunately Griffin proposed noting so ostentatious.

The plans of Paris, Washington and San Francisco all have an echo in Canberra, just as the Chinese city of Changchun (长春) resembles Canberra. But as QINGHUA GUO pointed out in "Changchun: unfinished capital planning of Manzhouguo 1932–42" (2004), the plan is a Chinese grid with a Beaux-Arts overlay. The same could be said of other plans of the time, Canberra is distinguished not so much for its design, but it is one of the few cities built on a greenfield site and thus expressing the Beaux-Arts plan to the maximum.

Professor Weirick then returned to the role of transportation in planning, pointing out that the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 was integrated into the Chicago's public transport system, with heavy steam railway and an electric railway (the "Intramural Railway").

Professor Weirick damed the National Capital Authority with faint praise by saying the analysis of Griffin's original transport plan for Canberra was the most useful part of "The Griffin Legacy". He pointed out that if implemented, Canberra would have an integrated public transport system (at last week it was noted that Changchun got a tram in the 1940s and now has light rail and a high speed train station).

Professor Weirick moved on to the "The Vienna Plan of 1860", with its ring road. Otto Wagner designed the stations for the metro, including Karlsplatz Stadtbahn Station. Professor Weirick ended with Helsinki Central railway station, by Eliel Saarinen, who Griffin wanted to involve in the planning of Canberra. Professor Weirick joked that Saarinen design for Canberra, which came second, perhaps should have won (there are similarities to Griffin's design, but no lake).

This was a refreshing and relevant tour of designs realized and unbuilt, for great cities of the world. Professor Weirick combined a discussion of the design aesthetic elements of the planning and the practicalities of modern planning, as it was in the early 20th century. Canberra is to day grappling with the issues of where the city should go: out or up, where to put the public transport and how to resolve public good and private land ownership. The cities of the past which inspired Canberra still have much to tell us today.

Canberra: the Sustainable Garden City

Simon Corbell MLA, Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development, talked on "Creating a Sustainable Garden City at the University of Canberra, this evening. The Minister made a good case, arguing for a 21st century version of the English Garden City: urban more than suburban.

The Minister proposed accommodating more people at the existing Canberra town centers. He estimated that 65,000 extra households would be needed by 2030. This is an approach I agree with, having suggested at the Canberra 2030 planning process, that the population of Canberra be tripled to 1 Million, by building up the density around the existing city and town centers.

The Minister was on less firm ground claiming that this new vision for Canberra would be in line with the thinking of Canberra's original planners: Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin. They did envision trams along the main street of Canberra (Northborne Avenue), but they were not asked to plan a city on the scale Canberra is, let alone what it is now envisioned.

The Minister pointed out that increasing fuel cost had disproportionate effects the poor, if they do not have access to public transport. He gave the example of planning bus stops, where the target was at least one within 500 m of each home. This was measured using the direct distance, not the distance a person would have to walk, which could be much further. It occurs to me that it would not be difficult to use Google Maps to estimate the current average actual walking distance from home to bus stop.

The Minister pointed out that open space in Canberra is of environmental benefit, reducing the temperature fluctuations and providing for water purification, at locations such as the David Street Wetlands.

The Minister pointed out that the city should reserve space for a Very Fast Train (VFT) station. He seemed to suggest this should be retained near the current Canberra station. He also mentioned food security, which did not seem very relevant to Canberra, as this is mostly located in an area which did not traditionally grow food and will become less viable due to global warming.

At question time the Minister was asked if the increase of density of population around Civic and Kingston was contributing to the economic viability of these retail centres. The Minister replied that the decline in retailing was due to global economic factors, rather than land planning. He pointed to City West, next to ANU, as a planning success. The latest building will hold 600 students and has a bus interchange built into it. He pointed this was one of the busiest public transport route in Australia.

The next question was about options for investing in the greenness of infrastructure. The Minister pointed out that the Government's energy policy included trigeneration of power at a precinct level. One place nominated for this is the Canberra Hospital. He also pointed out that the public housing on Northborne Avenue needs redevelopment and this could include energy generation.

Asked about how the treasury would see planning changes, the Minister pointed out that planning is a political issue. He pointed out that a proposal for a bus-way from Civic to Belconnen did not receive wide public support, whereas a rail line did, even though the bus-way was technically superior. My suggestion to the minister would be to adopt Sydney's successful strategy of branding its high capacity bus service as if it was rail: "metrobus".

I asked the Minister if the sustainable garden city could cope with changes brought to the way people work, shop and learn, brought about by the Internet, given we may have only a few years advanced notice, or no notice at all. He responded that more liveable higher density centres will cope better as people will still want to get together for social reasons, even if they do not need to go to the office to work. He also pointed out that Canberra's suburban centres had adapted uses over the years, with hairdressers and butcher's shops being replaced with other functions. That was a good answer, but it is not clear how the city will respond if most retail business moves to the Internet in the next few years. There are some easy adaptations possible, such as shopping centres becoming distribution centres.

Marion Mahony Griffin Book Talk

Professor David Van Zanten will speak about his book "Marion Mahony Reconsidered", in Canberra, 27 October 2011.

Professor David Van Zanten will speak about his new book 'Marion Mahony Reconsidered'.

At Paperchain Bookstore

34 Franklin Street
Manuka ACT 2603

Telephone 6295 6723 or email info@paperchainbookstore.com.au

Thursday October 27, 5.45 for 6.00pm
RSVP Wednesday October 26

Marion Mahony Griffin (1871-­1961) was an American architect and artist, one of the first licensed female architects in the world, designer for Frank Lloyd Wright’s Chicago studio, and an original member of the Prairie School of architecture. Largely heralded for her exquisite presentation drawings for both Wright and her husband, Walter Burley Griffin, Marion was an adventurous designer in her own right, whose independent and highly original work attracted attention at a moment when architectural drawing and graphic illustration were becoming integral to the design process.

This book examines new research into Marion’s life and paints a vivid portrait of a woman’s place among the lives and productions of some of the most noted American architects. The essays included take us on an ambitious journey from her origins in the Chicago suburbs, through her years as Wright’s right-hand woman and her bohemian life with her husband in Australia ­ whose new capital city, Canberra, she helped to plan, ­ up until her golden years in the middle of the twentieth century. Filled with richly detailed analyses of her works and including and populated by an international cast of characters, 'Marion Mahony Reconsidered' greatly expands our knowledge of this talented, complex, and enigmatic modern architect. ...

David Van Zanten, the Mary Jane Crowe Professor in Art and Art History at Northwestern University, USA, has edited the publication. WB Griffin Society members Professor James Weirick of UNSW and Associate Professor Anna Rubbo of University of Sydney are two of the four authors.

Please reply to the venue, Paperchain Bookstore at the addresses above, to make a reservation for this event, which is being organised by the Canberra Chapter of the WB Griffin Society. ...

Canberra International Music Festival and the Griffins

The 17th Canberra International Music Festival runs from, 11-22 May 2011. The program is emphasises Schubert. It also commemorates the work of Canberra's original architects: Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin. The conference program features a series of remarkable graphics, overlaying the plan of Canberra, with mystical symbols.

The Griffins were invovled in anthroposophy . There have been some attempts to suggest that the plan for Canberra, with its triangles, circles and pyramids were embedded with secret religious symbolism.

Concerts large and small take us physically to iconic places - from the Great Hall at Parliament House to The Fitters’ workshop in Kingston. Join us on a enthralling and uplifting tour of our National Capital as you experience 34 concerts in 11 days: May 11th – 22nd, 2011. This year’s program features artists such as Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto and his equally talented brother Jaakko Kuusisto, pianist Pascal Rogé, violinist Lara St John, conductors Brett Weymark, John Harding and Roland Peelman and the Song Company, the Danish String Quartet, and the Bowed Piano Ensemble. We are extending our Amazing Space series of concerts to include two on mountain tops – which we are calling the Amphitheatre of Hills series. The festival will triumphantly conclude with the world’s finest vocal ensemble – Finland’s Rajaton We will also present 45 World and Australian premieres including the Lost Gallipoli Sonata of Frederick Septimus Kelly which we recently found in Florence as well as commissioned works by Peter Sculthorpe, Elena Kats-Chernin and 2011 composer in residence Graeme Koehne. ...

Marion Mahony Griffin Lecture in Canberra

The third annual Marion Mahony Griffin Lecture by Rosemarie Willett will be 12 April 2011 in Canberra:

Walter Burley Griffin Society Inc invites you to the third annual

Marion Mahony Griffin Lecture

Tuesday 12 April 2011 at 6.00pm

Canberra Business Event Centre, Regatta Point, Commonwealth Park, Canberra

Marion Mahony Griffin Architect: feisty true believer and free spirit

a talk by Rosemarie Willett, B.Arch. M.B.Env.

Rosemarie’s presentation will engage with Marion as a person, architect and outstanding communicator of architectural ideas. A registered architect in Sydney, Rosemarie came to Canberra in 1983 to work on Parliament House for Mitchell Giurgola and Thorp. In undertaking extensive research on the planning of Canberra, she resurrected her dormant passion for the Griffins’ creative abilities and their connection with the ideas of Louis Sullivan.

Tickets: Members $10; Non-members $15 (seats limited, booking payments essential)

RSVP: 4 April. Enquiries phone 0416 249 002 or email WBGSinfo(a)gmail.com

Please send cheque or money order to The Treasurer, WBGS, 50 Gollan Street, Evatt ACT 2617

Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Talk in Sydney

The Walter Burley Griffin Society will have a talk by Professor James Weirick on ‘The Solid Rock House: Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony in 1910 – innovation and inspiration’, 31 October 2010 at 3.30pm at Castle Cove library hall, Castle Cove, Sydney. This follows the 2pm AGM.

The Walter Burley Griffin Society Inc. cordially invites you to its twenty second Annual General Meeting Sunday 31 October 2010 at 2.00pm at Castle Cove library hall, 8b Deepwater Road, Castle Cove followed at 3.30pm by guest speaker Professor James Weirick ‘The Solid Rock House: Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony in 1910 – innovation and inspiration’

The 2010 AGM address will explore the ideas behind the Griffins’ revolutionary flat-roofed, concrete house of 1910, innovative in itself and as precursor to the year of inspiration that culminated in the Griffin entry in the Australian Federal Capital Competition, 1911.

Light refreshments will be served.

The Castle Cove library is a five minute walk up the hill from the 207 bus stop in Eastern Valley Way. Alight near corner of Castle Cove Drive where there is a pedestrian crossing at traffic lights.

Check Sydney Buses website for bus times. Parking available in Deepwater Road. For further information contact Kerry McKillop on 02 9958 4516 or Adrienne Kabos on 02 9958 2060 (ah).