high court, canberra

One thing that Canberra has above other Australian cities are grandiose civic buildings. Edwards Madigan Torzillo Briggs' design for the High Court must be one of this country's finest examples of Brutalist Architecture.

Built in the 1970s, the building is a grand hall with three courts suspended internally and a series of ramps and stairs linking between. The structure is predominantly concrete, with glass draped across one face of the forty metre tall building.

The concrete in the main hall has been formed with sculptural details that are finely detailed but strong and robust in character. The waffled ceilings, chamfered reveals around openings and gently curving edges sent me and my camera into quite the frenzy.

bagsvaerd church, copenhagen

Rather than inundating you with all things Japanese, let's mix it up a bit. Time to grab a snippet from the Copenhagen leg of the journey today. Hooray!

After arriving at a surprisingly boxy and utilitarian building, I started to wonder if I had taken down the wrong address. The facade fails to give the faintest hint of the undulating ceiling that lies within. Yet hidden behind a door in a network of corridors, I finally found Jorn Utzon's Bagasvaerd Church.

 

Being imbedded in the depth of the building, the space is very much internalized with limited views beyond its walls. Highlight windows are obscured from view, but their presence is made known by the wash of daylight cast on the ceiling. The glow reveals the sculptural form of the ceiling- the anomaly in an otherwise rational structure. Although concrete, the ceiling ripples weightlessly over the church as a soulful, spiritual gesture.

Despite being built in the seventies, I couldn't help but notice that the detailing and materiality are strangely current. I know the Scandinavian aesthetic is generally pretty classic, but the pale timber, the touches of warm metal and the soft geometry have definitely been on high rotation on a number of more recent projects. 

To virgin eyes, one might think Bagsvaerd is a new project. I guess that unwavering relevance is what makes it an architectural classic.

[Photos by me]

poetic arches

I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm currently obsessed with all things Japanese. Is it obvious? I'm writing about Toyo Ito's poetically beautiful Tama Art University Library over on yellowtrace today. Will the beauty of Japan ever cease to amaze me?

[Images via ArchDaily and ArchitectureAU]