A hospital with an attitude: the new Royal Children Hospital in Melbourne, Australia

I recently visited the new building for Royal Children Hospital in Melbourne, Australia which, as I hope these images capture, manages to successfully create a friendly and stimulating environment for children.

Hospital's main façade

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Occupy the streets: highlighting the subversive need for a shared reality of values and demands

Following the latest demonstrations around the 'Occupy the Streets' movement, I will explore some of the ideas and questions that have emerged in connection with the Occupy Melbourne. For many reasons that I hope will become apparent as the article unfolds, the following comments do not refer to the actions that took place in other parts of the world.

Poster by Occupy Melbourne,
http://occupymelbourne.org/media/posters-flyers

A few days ago I watched a documentary on Gene Sharp’s works and the alleged role of his book, “From Dictatorship to Democracy” in the success of national struggles for democracy around the world. Sharp discussed the “power of people to change the world” using nonviolent methods. Crucial in Sharp’s message was the key role of planning, strategy and carefully selected demands without which, he claims, nonviolent struggles cannot succeed. The notion that “improvisation will bring greater success is nonsense,” according to Sharp.[1] However, planning, organisation, supported by a clear purpose, were not salient features of the Melbourne Occupy the Streets demonstrations.[2] According to some, a level of organisation took place spontaneously. But, why do I think of Gene Sharp’s ideas in the light of the Occupy movement? 

The sentiments of dissatisfaction and impotence for example, towards corporations that abuse the environment and threaten people’s wellbeing, were captured by the Occupy movement. The dissatisfaction is real and the need to express it legitimate—this much came across. The movement in Melbourne succeeded in attracting attention and in gaining the support and sympathy of the general public. However, it lacked the strategy, planning and purpose that Sharp is talking about.

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Resetting agendas: a conference in a climate of change

Reflections on the Oxford Conference 2008

This article discusses ‘The Oxford Conference 2008: 50 Years on – Resetting the Agenda for Architectural Education’ aimed to influence architectural education. With delegates from forty-two countries representing every continent there was a manifest change in the composition of the delegates as compared to 50 years ago. On the face of it this would suggest that a more diverse attendance made a difference in the spectrum of issues coming to the forefront: but did it?

Resetting agendas: a conference in a climate of change


This article was first published by Cambridge Journals, ARQ. How to cite the article: Beatriz Maturana (2008). Resetting agendas a conference in a climate of change. Architectural Research Quarterly, 12, pp 209-212 doi:10.1017/S1359135508001127

The original article can be downloaded from: Architectural Research Quarterly

Pritzker Prize 2011 to Eduardo Souto de Moura: acknowledging local context

By Beatriz C. Maturana

According to the words of the Pritzker Prize jury, in the 80’s and at the height of post-modernism, Souto de Moura's buildings were “intensely out of fashion”.[1] Souto de Moura deliberately did not give in to the pressure to conform to architectural fashion or fads. Working with and within his own architectural national context has provided Souto de Moura with an abundance of meaningful references to build upon. The jury referred to Souto de Moura’s architectural work in terms of the “echoes of architectural traditions”, “mindful of its context” that reinforces history while, “expanding the range of contemporary expression”.[1] His most challenging, innovative and unconventional trait is that Souto de Moura’s architecture is bravely local.

Braga Municipal Stadium. Photograph by Luís Ferreira Alves. Image source: The Pritzker Architecture Prize. © The Hyatt Foundation

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