Following a path from Australia to the United States and Canada and back again, John Andrews: Architect of Uncommon Sense sets out a detailed examination of the most important buildings of a unique Australian architect and reveals how the internationalisation of architecture during this period was an unexpectedly dispersed geographical phenomenon, following more complex flows and localised progressions than earlier modernist ideas that travelled from centre to periphery, metropole to outpost.
John Andrews negotiated the advent of postmodernism not by ignoring it, but by cultivating approaches that this new era foregrounded - identity, history, place - within the formal vocabularies of modernism. As Andrews assumed wider public roles and took appointments that allowed him to shape architectural education, he influenced design culture beyond his own personal portfolio.
The book published by Harvard Design Press at the GSD and distributed by Harvard University Press is authored by an ARC Discovery Project team led by Paul Walker [UniMelb] including Antony Moulis [UQ], Philip Goad [UniMelb]; Peter Scriver [UniAdel]; Mary Louise Lobsinger [UniToronto] and Paolo Scrivano [Politecnico di Milano]. The research behind the project formed basis for the exhibition John Andrews: Architect of Uncommon Sense, curated by Paul Walker and Kevin Liu, featuring photographic works by Noritaka Minami at the Druker Design Gallery, GSD (28 October 2022 – 22 December 2022) held in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Gund Hall, which was completed by John Andrews in 1972 at the height of his international career. The exhibition travelled to the Tin Sheds Gallery, University of Sydney (April 2024) and the Dulux Gallery, Melbourne School of Design, University of Melbourne (27 July – 30 August 2024).
The book was recognised with the 2024 Bates Smart Award for Architecture in the Media awarded to lead author Paul Walker.
Project members:
- Paul Walker
- Antony Moulis
- Philip Goad
- Peter Scriver
- Mary Louise Lobsinger
- Paolo Scrivano