Architecture of Faith by Glenn Murcutt

To celebrate the near completion of Australian architect Glenn Murcutt’s Australian Islamic Centre – located at Hobsons Bay, Melbourne – the National Gallery of Victoria has unveiled the exhibition, titled 'Architecture of Faith', a exhibition providing an in-depth exploration on the multi-layered process behind the of the new Australian Islamic Centre.

Australian Islamic Centre, detail of coloured daylight through roof lanterns. Photograph © Anthony Browell

Australian architect Glenn Murcutt has revealed in the National Gallery of Victoria's exhibition, new, images of his first mosque in Melbourne, showing a roof covered in rows of dramatic lantern-like skylights. Murcutt has worked on the design for the Australian Islamic Centre for over 10 years, collaborating with architect Hakan Elevli of Melbourne practice Elevli Plus.

When the building completes in late 2016, it will provide a mosque and community centre for the Islamic population of the Melbourne suburb Newport.

The exhibition is showing over 200 original sketches by Murcutt. ‘Architecture of Faith’ reveal the history of and people involved in the Centre’s ten-year conception. The exhibition will illustrate Murcutt's multilayered design via a presentation of architectural drawings, plans, photographs, scale models and documentation of the nearly completed complex.

Murcutt and Melbourne practice Elevli Plus worked with the Newport Islamic Council for nearly a decade on the creation of a contemporary Australian mosque and Islamic centre. Importantly, this significant building has been funded and built by members of the local community.

The Australian Islamic Centre sets out to define a new architectural language for contemporary Australian Islam, challenging our assumptions of historical architectural typologies and aesthetics. At the same time as respecting the fundamental principles and requirements of Islamic architecture, Murcutt has pushed beyond the semiotic language of the traditional mosque, reimagining its geometry, colours, materiality and spatial organisation to create an accessible contemporary place of worship, learning and community.

The new Australian Islamic Centre represents a progressive vision for architecture as a tool for cultural expression and enabler of intercultural dialogue in a tolerant multicultural society.

Venue.- Glenn Murcutt: Architecture of Faith is on display at National Gallery of Victoria
180 St Kilda Road. Melbourne VIC 3006. Australia
Dates.- from 9 August 2016 – 19 February 2017. Open daily, 10am-5pm. Entry is free.

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Australian Islamic Centre, detail of coloured daylight through roof lanterns. Photograph © Tobias Titz. Image courtesy of NGV. © Copyright held by G. Murcutt on all mosque drawings and designs.

Australian Islamic Centre, Newport. Photograph © Tobias Titz. Image courtesy of NGV. © Copyright held by G. Murcutt on all mosque drawings and designs.

Photograph © Tobias Titz. Image courtesy of NGV. © Copyright held by G. Murcutt on all mosque drawings and designs.

Australian Islamic Centre, detail of roof lantern. Photograph © Tobias Titz. Image courtesy of NGV. © Copyright held by G. Murcutt on all mosque drawings and designs.

Australian Islamic Centre, detail of minaret wall. Photograph © Tobias Titz. Image courtesy of NGV. © Copyright held by G. Murcutt on all mosque drawings and designs.

Glenn Murcutt AO, Sydney. Australian Islamic Centre, architecture sketch 2006–16 pen and ink. Collection of the architect-----© Copyright held by G. Murcutt on all mosque drawings and designs.

Australian Islamic Centre, sketched southern building elevation 2006 pencil Collection of the Glenn Murcutt AO. Image courtesy of NGV. © Copyright held by G. Murcutt on all mosque drawings and designs.

Australian Islamic Centre, sketched section through main prayer hall 2006 pencil Collection of the Glenn Murcutt AO. © Copyright held by G. Murcutt on all mosque drawings and designs.

Australian Islamic Centre, sketched main courtyard and east facade 2006 pencil Collection of the Glenn Murcutt AO. © Copyright held by G. Murcutt on all mosque drawings and designs.

Photographs of the centre were revealed at an exhibition titled Glenn Murcutt: Architecture of Faith. Photograph © Tobias Titz. Image courtesy of NGV. © Copyright held by G. Murcutt on all mosque drawings and designs.

Roof lanterns at the Australian Islamic Centre in Newport by Glenn Murcutt. Designed to filter a selected coloured light into the main prayer hall as the sun moves from east to west. Photographs of the centre were revealed at an exhibition titled Glenn Murcutt: Architecture of Faith. Photograph © Tobias Titz. Image courtesy of NGV. © Copyright held by G. Murcutt on all mosque drawings and designs.

Glenn Murcutt. Photograph © Tobias Titz. Image courtesy of NGV. © Copyright held by G. Murcutt on all mosque drawings and designs.

Glenn Murcutt and Hakan Elevli of Melbourne practice Elevli Plus.

Elevated roof detail showing lantern layout, the Australian Islamic Centre. Photograph © Tobias Titz. Image courtesy of NGV. © Copyright held by G. Murcutt on all mosque drawings and designs.

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Label

Dates

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from 9 August 2016 – 19 February 2017. Open daily, 10am-5pm. Entry is free.

Label

Venue

Text

Glenn Murcutt: Architecture of Faith is on display at National Gallery of Victoria
180 St Kilda Road. Melbourne VIC 3006. Australia

Glenn Murcutt

Glenn Murcutt AO is one of Australia’s most respected architects. He has received twenty-five Australian architecture awards, including the RAIA Gold Medal, and international awards such as the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize; Alvar Aalto Medal (Finland); Richard Neutra Award (United States); ‘Green Pin’ International Award for Architecture and Ecology (Denmark); and the Asia Pacific Culture and Architecture Design Award.

Murcutt was born in London, to Australian parents, in 1936. He grew up in the Morobe district of New Guinea, where he developed an appreciation for simple, primitive architecture. After graduating in 1961 with a degree in architecture from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Murcutt travelled for two years before returning to Sydney to work in the office of Ancher, Mortlock, Murray and Woolley. He remained with this firm for five years before establishing his own practice in 1970.

Murcutt’s small but exemplary practice is well known for its environmentally sensitive designs with a distinctive Australian character. His buildings, which are principally residential, are a blend of modernist sensibility, local craftsmanship and respect for nature.

Hakan Elevli

Hakan Elevli has previously been a partner with the international firm, Peddle Thorp Architects before becoming the Principal of Elevli Plus. During this time, he has fine-tuned his creative and technical skills working on a broad range of projects. These include prestigious residential commissions, high-rise towers, commercial developments, community and educational facilities, sporting facilities and resorts. in addition to these Australian projects, Hakan has significant international experience with a range of diverse projects located in New Zealand, China, Vietnam and Turkey. Hakan also collaborates with acclaimed architect Glenn Murcutt to produce visionary designs.

Published on: August 28, 2016

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