Shrine of Remembrance

2007 Victorian Award  (Landscape Management Plan)

Firm: rush/ wright associate

Client: the shrine of remembrance

The shrine of remembrance located on the axis of St Kilda Melbourne's most visible and significant war memorial.  It is originally designed 1933 by Hudson and Wardrop in Grecian Classical style and maintains its powerful symbolic quality, dominating South-North vista of city.

Aerial photo of Shrine of remembrance overlooking melbourne CBD

(Source: website of rush/wright landscape associate)

One of the main element to allow this to be symbolic site in Melbourne is its large scale.

To understand its scale, I compared this site with four other site all of which I am quite familiar with.

Scale shown at A3

Rush/ wright associates , in its management plan, successfully incorporated a long vision which includes gradual changes with consideration to the oldness.   The changes to the physical fabric of the Shrine reserve allows it to re-establish its original design intent, and respond to the current needs for the Shrine Visitor centre and Galleries at the same time. 

This relationship between new and old, emerging role of the Shrine from custodian of memory to that of teaching and shaping values of new generations are expressed through various juxtaposition in design.

The view from the entry showing its juxtaposition between new and old

(Source: "Design City Melbourne" by Leon Van Schalk)

1. Symmetry and assymetry in form (powerful and subtle)

The site is overall designed symmetrically, overlooking the heritage building in center.  Its impressive image of building are emphasized by again symmetrical planting of conical shaped Cupressus trees and planting of lawn and hedges. 

The view toward west from the building overlooking Royal Botanical Garden.

However the shape of new courtyard are quite irregular. (see picture in block 2 below)

2. Use of different Colours in he two courtyards

Left: the view of court yard in North-western axis which are composed of soft landscape with green.

Right: the view of courtyard in North-eastern axis which are composd of hard landscape with emotive red wall

3: Flower for respect.

Though courtyards are made up of totally different material as I mentioned above, the main intention are same as you see the flowers below.  The flowers also convey  the design quality of the subtlety vs powerfulness.

The red flowers put on hard paving next to red wall in the courtyard of eastern side.(photo by Arki)

The red flowers put in front of sacred olive tree in the courtyard of western side.(Photo by Arki)

Other than these, the site allows visitors to experience the juxtapositions in many different ways, depending on interpretations.  This project is definitely worthwhile to be awarded even only in this sense.

Traditions itself cannot constitute a force. It always has a decadent tendency to promote formalization and repetition. What is needed to direct it into creative channels is a fresh energy that repudiates dead forms and prevents living ones from becoming static. It on sense, for a tradition to live it must constantly be destroyed. At the same time, destruction by itself clearly cannot create new cultural forms. There must be some other force which restrains destructive energy and prevents it from reducing all about it to havoc. The dialectical synthesis of tradition and anti-tradition is the structure of true creativeness.

Architect Kenzo Tange

Sinatra Murphy

I chose Sinatra Murphy Landscape Architect Pty. for office interview in my Landscape Practice class.

Unlike my understanding of this firm that it is away from Trendy, the location of the office was QV (really trendy site!). It was very small for office, and in fact it was just a house in this apartment complex.

We 10 people all sat down on the floor of little room whose left side wall are covered with all books. Then, smiley face old men, Jim asked us what do you want to know today?

He started talking about their work, process, characteristics with full of humor....

Sketch showing his talk in tiny book keeping room.

He first characterizes the office as very small, which allows to avoid repetitive job. Small office never done same thing.

Types of work

He said that he never looked for job by himself, and it usually comes, once you established the fame of his name. However, he told that it is just recent that he has so large amount of job along the today's economic prosperity. These are three types of works that Sinatra Murphy usually does.

1. Australian Indigenous related work.
The firm has one project in a year. It is one of the most interesting project but it does not allow them to earn money.

Riawunna Aboriginal Studies Centre
(source:http://www.sinatramurphy.com/html/riawunna.html)

2. Work to to eat.
It is mostly a residential type of work which allow the office financially keep going. But it does not mean rough work at all as the example shows it below.

Fielding Residence Landscape
(source:http://www.sinatramurphy.com/html/fielding_residence.html)

3. Public art work.
This is also interesting project, and not typical landscape architecture work. To someone's question about the difference between art and landscape project, he answered that was determined by council. It is clearly shows his artistic driven approaches in his landscape design.

Light Fountain, Northern Gateway Project, Vic
(Source:http://www.sinatramurphy.com/html/fielding_residence.html)

He insisted Humbleness as a significant element for Landscape architect.
"Once he chose a landscape architect as a profession, you've got be ready for humble life".
He meant that it is not for money, so that you can't expect to be a millionaire.

Process

There are couples things he takes care through entire process of a project. He thinks those are important skills of landscape architect.

+Big picture in first hand.
It is important to see big picture (concept) of your design in first hand. (rough drawing without any details) Then, he starts taking care of bits of pieces which fill in the empty space of big picture, forming entire picture itself. The previous projects shows, for example, fen-shui, painting-like paving, self-maintenance etc...

Conceptual diagram that shows his design process.

+Communication.
It is important to communicate the big picture with your clients in order to let them see what you see.

+Local
It is significant to use local materials, and local contractors as much as possible. But he admits its difficulty by mentioning about the cheap material from china and easier work with familiar contractor.

+Maintenance
He heavily emphasizes monthly maintenance in his project.

+Native plant
He describes the power of native plant, though he often uses exotic plants in his project. He kind of made fun of the recent rules about use of native plants; in fact he seems not to be constrained by the rule at all. In fact he usually indicates the "80% of native plant" on plan but it is really depending on how to plant and count. Yeah, certainly plants are counted in same way in regardless of its size and the location of planting.....
However, he insisted on the power you sometimes see in native plants when it is juxtaposed with certain plants, in terms of color and shape. He highly push us to play with this juxtaposition of plants in many different way without threatening its judgement- good or bad.

Moonah trees which he pointed out the distinctive australian tree as a example
(source: http://flickr.com/photos/christop/148548953/in/photostream/)

Q & A

Q1. What do you think of important goal which commonly landscape architect should have?

Neutralizing.... He does not want to use the world like climate change, but he mentioned the do something positive if you did something bad about environment. Each should think about neutralizing environment condition.

Q2.What are significant things to consider when you look for first job for student?

He first recommended the firm that has diverse project. It is too early to focus on a specific filed in Landscape architecture when you are young.
Secondly, he mentioned that "A designer don't look for designer." I understood that he meant we should find someone who you want to work on realization of hi/her idea. cut &fill -cut &fill.....

Essence

He often talks about more broader and abstract but essential elements rather than his specific way of dealing his business. This made me understand him as interesting man rather than a landscape architect. These are some of his talks that I found prominent in his stories.

- Belief system
He emphasizes the importance of story in local area, as many people find it distinctive characteristic in aboriginal culture. In fact, he wrote the book called "Listen to the people, Listen to the land" which composed of series of story from each different Aboriginal person.
"What is important is not story itself, but belief system within a story." Yes, its belief system are applied to everything in the local area.

- Long term
It is hard to recognize the quality of project. Usually it takes a lot of time to see it. The land and environmental system are cycled in massively long term. You have to wait long time to see if its good or not. I think it is important to establish your way of looking at project, rather than just running after project covered on magazine all the time.

- Emotion
He always made a lot of joke, making us laugh all the time. However, his eyes are full of tears once he started talking about his parents. I felt like to see invisible emotion coming up from his breast to the face. I found he was very emotional which i think created his artistic work very much.
This made me believed sensitivity towards invisible things such as feeling, atmosphere, nature ... as one of the most important element for landscape architect.

Jim Sinatra showing his art work. (he was saying no one like it...)

Special thanks to Jim.

Project_Review

This is a review of article "Kyneton Kaleidoscope" (Landscape Architecture Australia, issue 110) which also reviewed landscape architecture project done by Sinatra Murphy.

As it is know that landscape architecture deal with various scale and type of project, this contemporary garden designed by Sinatra Murphy Landscape Architects is one of the smallest scale.  Though today many Landscape architecture office mainly deal with large project including constructed ecosystem, infrastructure, masterplan etc,  I am understanding this office deal with many small scale project which I am also quite interested. 

Project: Mount Mary thoroughbreds 

Site: Kyneton, Victoria

The aerial photo of the site which is surrounded by typical Victorian farm lands.

  

The Author Anne Latreille describes three keys to this garden's success in the article.

1. The garden provides all kind of access due to its capacious house where human and horse live under on roof.  It had to overcome the site condition which originally fell away steeply.
2. Their concept that is a series of independent garden.  It was linked very well.
   
3. Flavor of the garden as a whole. ( I understand this as Juxtaposition between design garden and surrounding natural landscape, for instance, home against the surrounding paddocks- green or straw coloured.) 
   

Here I summarised some of the important points which article described with bit of my interpretations.  Please click to enlarge the window.

   The author, in the end, refers to its water-efficient design as the way of the future.  It is also one of my question to many projects that how to incorporate so called "sustainable design" with strongly artistic-driven approaches.  I remember Dr. Darko's one idea that making it look good is one of the most functional element to be sustainable... 

One thing that I want to keep in mind is to construct Aesthetic which people think its beautiful as a designer rather than adjusting the existing beauty too much.  Landscape architect has to seek the balance between them.   I think that this project is certainly the good example of more aesthetic approach which affect one's appreciation toward Australian natural and cultural landscape.

The designer emphasizes the significance of the views in this garden.

"It speaks to the rural landscape- and it brings the power of that landscape much closer to the residence."   (Jim Sinatra)