PLATFORM/MURCUTT Glenn Marika-Alderton House (1994)
PLATFORM/MURCUTT Glenn Marika-Alderton House (1994)
240319
The Department’s method of procuring architectural services by awarding a project to an architect on the basis of the lowest fee was not acceptable to my clients. Both the Engineer James Taylor and I were invited as honorary consultants, bypassing the Department’s process. The Australian High Court’s landmark decision in 1992 on the case brought by Eddie Koiki Mabo, known as ‘The Mabo Case’, finally recognised Native Title over Traditional Lands for Aboriginal people after 200 years of white settlement. The Aboriginal people of Yirrkala won the return of their land, but the Government still owns and rents the dwellings to the Aboriginal people.
In 1993, for all housing in Yirrkala, Government representatives had control over all final decisions on design, building approvals, allocation of building funds and all construction within the community. Failure to obtain approval at any of the numerous stages prevented a project from proceeding. The design of this dwelling challenged the ‘concrete block bunker’, a totally unimaginative and I believe inappropriate typology developed following the disastrous 1974 ‘Cyclone Tracy’ in Darwin.
For four years, negotiations with Departmental representatives were fraught, mostly through ‘manufactured problems’, resulting in huge delays, extreme frustration for my clients and me, as well as wasting huge amounts of my time throughout the whole formal approval process. Finally, my clients had to engage their own —very good— builder, who came from Gosford, 100 km north of Sydney, as the Department at that time had no interest in assisting in any aspect of the project, despite their being responsible for all housing construction! The site is part of the clan’s traditional lands identified under the Native Title Act. It is locally known as ‘Beachcamp’. Being on a spit of coastal land, it is about 4.5 m above the Arafura Sea of the Northern Territory, facing north. To the south of this spit runs the beautiful and safe freshwater creek where the community children spend much time swimming and playing. The land is within the Monsoonal Tropic climatic zone, set at latitude 12.5 oS. In these most northern regions of Australia, late November and December is the period when the days can be still, the heat builds up, the humidity is high and the storm clouds build.
The Department’s method of procuring architectural services by awarding a project to an architect on the basis of the lowest fee was not acceptable to my clients. Both the Engineer James Taylor and I were invited as honorary consultants, bypassing the Department’s process. The Australian High Court’s landmark decision in 1992 on the case brought by Eddie Koiki Mabo, known as ‘The Mabo Case’, finally recognised Native Title over Traditional Lands for Aboriginal people after 200 years of white settlement. The Aboriginal people of Yirrkala won the return of their land, but the Government still owns and rents the dwellings to the Aboriginal people.
In 1993, for all housing in Yirrkala, Government representatives had control over all final decisions on design, building approvals, allocation of building funds and all construction within the community. Failure to obtain approval at any of the numerous stages prevented a project from proceeding. The design of this dwelling challenged the ‘concrete block bunker’, a totally unimaginative and I believe inappropriate typology developed following the disastrous 1974 ‘Cyclone Tracy’ in Darwin.
For four years, negotiations with Departmental representatives were fraught, mostly through ‘manufactured problems’, resulting in huge delays, extreme frustration for my clients and me, as well as wasting huge amounts of my time throughout the whole formal approval process. Finally, my clients had to engage their own —very good— builder, who came from Gosford, 100 km north of Sydney, as the Department at that time had no interest in assisting in any aspect of the project, despite their being responsible for all housing construction! The site is part of the clan’s traditional lands identified under the Native Title Act. It is locally known as ‘Beachcamp’. Being on a spit of coastal land, it is about 4.5 m above the Arafura Sea of the Northern Territory, facing north. To the south of this spit runs the beautiful and safe freshwater creek where the community children spend much time swimming and playing. The land is within the Monsoonal Tropic climatic zone, set at latitude 12.5 oS. In these most northern regions of Australia, late November and December is the period when the days can be still, the heat builds up, the humidity is high and the storm clouds build.
