Fred Ward: Australian pioneer designer 1900-1990

The new book "Fred Ward: Australian pioneer designer 1900-1990" by Derek F. Wrigley celebrates the work of someone who has shaped the built environment for much of my working life without my knowing it. This book is more than a biography, going into detail of the elements and philosophy of furniture design. Included is a detailed case study of the iterative design process used for the CA10 chair for the John Curtin School of Medical Research (c1956).

In February 2012 I was asked to provide some advice on publishing for Derek Wrigley's biography of Fred Ward. I had never heard of Fred Ward, but agreed to I met Derek a few weeks later to discuss the topic over lunch at University House at the Australian National University. As Derek talked about Fred, it slowly dawned on me that the chair I was sitting on, and all the furniture around me, was designed by Fred Ward. I provided some advice on how to produce the manuscript and was delighted to see, a year and a half later the finished book (with an acknowledgement of me in the back).

It was only on reading Derek's book that I realized for much of my adult life I had been surrounded by Fred Ward's work. Along with the furniture and fittings in the ANU University House, Fred Ward designed the furniture at the National Library of Australia, the Shine Dome (which I attended the 2013 Marion Mahony Griffin Lecture), even the desks and chairs in the Reserve Bank of Australia, where as a junior clerk I used to make deposits.

The fine details of the curvature of the seats in a university office may not be of interest to many academics. But Derek also describes the wider work of the ANU Design Unit, which carried out research on the design of teaching spaces. In particular the discussion of the use of chairs, rather than fixed seating in teaching spaces is a topic of great importance to universities today. For the last few years I have been looking at how to provide more flexible teaching spaces which can be used for combinations of lecturing, tutorials and group work with changed teaching practices. The rigid division between lecture theaters, with large numbers of seats at a fixed pitch, facing the front and small tutorial rooms with movable seats, is not suitable. It was a surprise to find that ANU had a design unit looking into such issues decades ago.

The design of the book itself, by Gillian Cosgrove, is in itself, a lesson in elegant design. The paperback edition is available  from the Co-op Bookshop and the Portrait Gallery Store. Hopefully an e-book edition will be available soon for student use.

ANU Research Shows Strong Emotions Against PM

Greetings from ANU University House at the Australian National University, where journalists Steve Lewis and Chris Uhlmann are in conversation with Andrew Hughes, ANU political marketing researcher. Steve and Chris are discussing how much of their political satire The Marmalade Files is real.

One of the people present mentioned that negotiations were almost complete to produce a TV series based on the Marmalade Files, set in Canberra.

Also it was mentioned that research at ANU has just conducted, involved attaching electrodes to voters to measure their emotional response to political advertising. The research is yet to be published, but preliminary results indicate that Bob Katter rated well, whereas Julia Gillard rated negatively, even on what was intended as a positive advertisement.

Authors of The Marmalade Files Speak in Canberra

Steve Lewis and Chris Uhlmann, authors of The Marmalade Files will speak at the Australian National University, 6pm 21 June 2013:

Separating fact from fiction in an election year

Featuring Steve Lewis, News Limited, Chris Uhlmann, ABC, Andrew Hughes, ANU

Sometimes reality is stranger than fiction. Join us for a politics-in-the-pub style debate at University House, separating fact from fiction in the lead up to the 2013 Federal Election. Featuring the authors of the The Marmalade Files and Press Gallery stalwarts Steve Lewis and Chris Uhlmann, and ANU political marketing expert Andrew Hughes.

Steve Lewis is the national political correspondent for News Limited, a position he has held since 2007. Lewis arrived in Canberra in 1992 as a reporter with The Australian Financial Review.

Chris Uhlmann is co-anchor and political editor for 7.30. He previously co-hosted 666 ABC Canberra’s top rating breakfast program, and worked as the chief political correspondent for ABC radio current affairs.

Andrew Hughes is a lecturer in the ANU College of Business and Economics, specialising in political marketing. ...

Linux Conference Debrief at ANU Fellows Bar 5:30pm

Meet for a post-Linux Conference 2013 informal discussion (Debrief BoF)in the ANU University House "Fellows Garden" (beer-garden). Look for one of the long trestle tables on the lawn with people wearing LCA2013 lanyards. After the conference starting at about 5:30pm (food is available as well as drinks, from the bar under university house). In case of rain I have also In case of rain, I have booked the "Graduate Lounge" at the back of the Fellows Bar next to the fellows garden.

Innovation in Sixty Seconds at the Bar

Greetings from the Fellows Bar of the Australian National University in Canberra where teams are pitching their ideas for the Innovation ACT competition. It may seem odd to use a bar in the basement of University House as the venue for presentations about new business ideas, but this provides a challenging environment to test the communication skills of potential entrepreneurs. Just as Australian rock music trained in the pubs of Australia, the innovators of tomorrow are having to compete with the distractions of the bar to get their message across in sixty seconds. Mentors from Australian industry listen to the pitches and decide which team they would like to help for the next formal round of the competition.

Senator Bob Brown on Leadership

Greetings from the Great Hall of University House, Australian National University in Canberra, where the Postgraduate and Research Students' Association (PARSA) is hosting a Leadership Forum. The draw card for the event is Senator Bob Brown (Australian Greens). Also speaking are: Professor Ian Young (ANU Vice Chancellor), Dr. Chris Peters (Canberra Citizen of the Year), Chamonix Terblanche, (Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations), and Dr. Christine Fejo-King (Australian College of Social Work).

Professor Ian Young spoke first. He mentioned that leaders need to cope with the fact that what they say me blogged a few minutes later, so I had better post this. ;-)

Senator Brown started by saying he had stayed at ANU University House over ten years, when visiting Canberra and so feels at home. He said he did not set out to be a "leader" and that it needs to be kept in mind that leaders are ordinary mortals. He recounted the difficulties which leaders have in relating to large numbers of people and suggested a little humor helps.

Senator Brown suggested leaders need to also enjoy themselves and recounted how he became an environmental activist after rafting down the Franklin River. As a doctor he pointed out that much illness is caused by stress and the natural environment can reduce stress and directly improve health. He urged everyone to have the courage to think beyond commercial materialism, reduce arms spending and improve health in developing nations.

Senator Brown reminded the students that there are many challenges in the world but that they could not solve all the world's problems at once. He related meeting David Hackworth in Hobart who urged immediate action on nuclear disarmament. Rather than rushing out to action, the Senator's response was to go home and read a book (the senator described David Hackworth as a former US Marine, but the wikipedia lists him as being an army paratroop).

Dr. Christine Fejo-King discussed her childhood in an aboriginal community and how her elders made her go to school. She pointed out that for her English was a language she had to learn (from audio tapes), this not being her first language and not the language spoken at home. This is an interesting point with the Australian Government funding of OLPC computers for students in remote communities. Part of the benefit of that may be in teaching English.

Dr. Fejo-King discussed the difficulties caused by the government intervention, which took control of money out of the hands of aboriginal people. She related how non-government networks of people were able to provide support over the Christmas period to relieve the suffering caused by the government policy. She related how being a leader required doing things which you may not be comfortable with, such as public speaking.

Dr. Chris Peters commented how he most enjoys his current role on the ACT & Region Chamber of Commerce & Industry because of its local focus. He related the stresses of travel in a national position: waking up in a hotel and having no idea where he was (it was Beijing).

Dr. Peters discussed support for the community after the Canberra 2003 brushfires. The voluntary community organizations and charities had difficulty coordinating their efforts. He argued that as this was an disaster, it required a new more coordinated approach. That is something I don't agree with: disaster management needs to be planned and practiced in advance.

At question time I asked the panel to what extent leadership skills could be learned through formal courses, such as those run by ANU and how much was about experience. Senator Brown responded that leadership required "Having a go". Dr. Peters responded that leadership was mostly about experience and only a little about formal training. In answer to the next question Dr. Brown commented that a good skill he acquired as a medical student, was how to listen.