Went to a presentation last night by Glenn Murcutt – a burst of inspiring energy – borderline mania – an intense display of excitement where the words and pictures simply did not seem to come fast enough for Mr. Murcutt. It was thrilling.

Some paraphrased notes I came away with that I think are relevant from Mr. Murcutt’s work…

Nurture and value the Process….. a product will follow.

Know where you are ….. in as many ways of knowing as possible Culture, people, what works, basics….means, methods, economics, materials….environment – sun, wind, rain, …..spring, summer, fall, winter…..day, night, dawn, dusk…. these are the important things.

Be “in” the place where you are it’s more healthy for all of us, our children and their children….

Draw pictures – the brain…the hand ….the eye.

People understand pictures.

Architects use tools like plans, sections, elevations – to document pictures of places.

Look around you and learn to read and understand what you see from the landscape – learn why the nature you observe is the shape that it is….

It’s been said before, but it is the substance of the work of Mr. Murcutt that is way beyond the current market’s notion of sustainability and “green”. The work is beyond style and fashion – in my opinion – it is the kind of work that should be understood more fully. The basic notions he investigates are core principles that we need to understand to move beyond questions of style and fashion.