Dulux Study Tour 2023

Tour reaps benefits for young architects

It’s challenging to capture the cumulative effect of such an enriching experience that focussed on architecture, fostering friendships, and reflecting on our work in Australia.

I learned so much from our group (architects and industry representatives alike), as well as the sites and practitioners we visited.

On behalf of the tour architects – Edwina Brisbane, Ellen Buttrose, Bradley Kerr, Sarah Lebner and myself – I would like to share a collection of the lessons we’ve learned.

We hope you’ll find our insights valuable.

Understanding place

• Architecture is a reflection of culture over time.

• Respecting our heritage is crucial. The traditional streetscapes of Lisbon (pictured), the countryside barns of Switzerland, and the canal-side structures of Venice are prime examples of the most beautiful places that exist due to their reverence for cultural heritage.

• Our Embaixada practice visit reinforced that understanding the history of a place can help us to understand its potential. Having an awareness of the history of the place you are working on, and from, can enrich your projects with qualities that resonate with the past.

• The Australian exhibition at the 2023 Venice Architectural Biennale signalled that we should remember colonised towns and cities were generally “Built on resources and labour exploitation".

• There is a tangible difference between colonising and colonised cities.

• Distance and engagement. Sight lines and objects in the distance are important for our understanding and positioning of projects.

Urban settings

• We can regenerate neighbourhoods in a way that prioritises community over profit. Implementing tools like a “gentrification tax” can be beneficial, as suggested by the Canadian exhibition at the 2023 Venice Architectural Biennale.

• Political influences and global positioning affect architectural agendas. The scale of Lisbon’s World Expo pavilions is generally large, and there is a dehumanising factor of big gestures.

• Streetscapes can serve as public spaces if pedestrians are provided ample room to circulate, sit, and engage with their surroundings.

• Sheer walls or facades to the street help to provide more equitable engagement between the street and residents above. We liked the lack of setbacks for buildings under six storeys.

• Every city we visited generally had buildings up to six or eight storeys high, with a density continuing into residential areas, which is unlike Melbourne and Sydney with high-rise centres and single residential suburban sprawl.

• History plays a pivotal role in shaping cities and architectural identity.

• Special moments of entry can enliven the street.

• There is a place for tourism architecture, but not in the same way as the Bilbao effect. Subtle buildings can also be spectacular, such as Peter Zumthor’s Shelter for Romain Ruins.

• Urban gestures within architectural projects, such as the multi-storey through link in the 1960s Church of Sagrada Coração de Jesus in Lisbon, need to be the most direct and visible route possible, in order to be used.

• Welcoming, inclusive spaces have mishaps, layering and collaboration. We liked the idea of community facilities as “public living rooms” as seen at the Oodi Helsinki Central Library by ALA Architects (pictured).

Landscape settings

• Architecture should be of the landscape and not an object on the landscape such as the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology by Amanda Levete Architects.

• Be kind to the landscape. Each landscape is a precious ecological system and deserves the utmost care.

• Choose materials that complement the local landscape palette and work with the quality of light. We found the sunlight in Switzerland to be quite mellow, which made grey concrete and timber structures less heavy (pictured).

• Captured landscape moments such as courtyards can still be magical, even within a magnificent setting.

• A single exceptional project can transform an entire industry for a rural area such as the Therme Baths in Vals by Peter Zumthor.

Approaches and concepts

• Architecture should be considered as in conversation with the landscape and people. We can also make room and welcome animals in our architecture.

• Good architecture doesn’t need to be loud, it can simply set the backdrop for everyday life.

• What humanism is. Aalto’s work in Helsinki demonstrated scale, texture and materiality that creates inviting, delightful settings (pictured).

• Romantic and sensory ideas are not frivolous. They are what makes us human.

• "Leaving space for things to happen". Pool Architekten in Zurich designed places for the owners and users to truly make them their own. Architects don’t have to have all the answers.

• You must consider that your architecture will age – will it age with dignity?

• Consider the audience – who is the intended recipient of your project, and who else might use it?

• Subtlety can be more powerful than boldness.

Experiential qualities

• Spaces can be allowed to echo, to feel cold. A lack of acoustic clarity can be atmospheric in the right spaces.

• Temppeliaukio Church in Helsinki and its use of refined and unrefined material to generate humanist spaces (pictured).

• Thalia Theatre in Lisbon showed the expression and control of new material over old and the connection to street.

• Visiting projects in person is so important. We’ve experienced many spaces that I remember seeing pictures of at university and no amount of studying floor plans and images can compare to first-hand experience. The scale and impact of Calatrava’s Oriente Train Station in Lisbon reads very differently from the visual material.

• Tactile elements, such as handrails, can make or break a project.

• Spatial sequence and journey can enrich our experience of the city at an urban scale and between spaces within the building scale.

• Formal shifts in architecture can direct movement and our attention.

• It is good to experience architecture in groups and alone. People interact with their surroundings in different ways.

• The quality of natural light greatly differs between places and seasons.

Structure and order

• The sequence of spaces within the city, at an urban scale, then within buildings, can be powerful. This was especially relevant in Helsinki.

• The regular and the irregular. Aalto’s work in Helsinki can bring unexpected richness to a project. Looseness in the details can be helpful, it’s important not to be too uptight.

• Play and purpose can make architecture feel more human.

• Historic material choices for structure can provide a latent subdivision to the city such as six-metre-wide timber beams with a fine-grain structure to Lisbon’s architecture.

• Fine tensile wire bracing in Zumthor’s work presents a beautiful fineness in contrast with chunkier structural timber trusses (pictured).

• We found in Zurich that several highly gridded façades, en-masse, can be quite overwhelming. A bit of relief can imply order without adhering to blanket rules, devoid of character.

• Glulam timber floors and beams in the Zurich housing cooperative projects are much-loved by local residents and provide warmth. This was seen at the Hunziker Areal cooperative housing by Pool Architekten.

Materiality

• Site material and place-specific material allow a building to age in time and place. The presence of local materials can knit together several different buildings into the fabric of a place. This is evidenced in Helsinki with pink marble and granite. Place-based materials create a sense of connection and timelessness.

• A foil to the former, globalisation presents the opportunity to learn between places and cultures and to challenge material aesthetics and ethics.

• Materiality of streetscapes set the tone for their buildings. For example, there is a lot of “casual” marble and stone in Lisbon on the street path and road paving, providing texture and character.

• Collaboratorio challenged us to be bold with material innovation such as its cement-free clay substitutions for concrete.

• Weathering adds beauty. Material beauty is found in letting objects age.

• Not everything needs to be flush or aligned. For example, the jiggling datums of Helsinki help to express the topography and distinct building uses.

• Standard brick sizes are different in different countries.

• The German Pavilion, “The Great Repair”, at Venice Architectural Biennale revealed we need to make recycling, reuse and repair visible, accessible and normal.

• Consider time – from material patina to the techno hotel fixtures that we struggled to use (Thom Mayne rooms in the House of Architects, Vals).

From each other

• The difference in our perspectives, observations and approaches are what make us valuable. We are all smart in different ways. Each architect works in response to a unique combination of background influences, education, and contexts.

• We are intense “intolerables”.

• The power of peers, dialogue and having space for important conversations and reflection. We should sit outside of the island of architecture, sometimes.

• Take things in slowly. With time, more can be revealed.

• We are considered emerging, but we are all uncomfortable with where we sit in the industry.

• Imposter syndrome is very real and is present among all of us.

• We can be content with making architecture that performs well, even if it is not a publication-ready project or product.

• Consider what the idea of good design really means to you.

• Think about how water will interact with the building, not just where it will go.

• Architects are not always introverted sole geniuses. They can be community-minded, loud and collaborative practitioners.

• We can enjoy a lot of things beyond our jobs.

• We should prioritise loved ones and families, and not make this a taboo topic in the workplace.

• We want to see a more sustainable future for architectural practitioners.

• Have fun, share your experiences with architectural friends, and learn from one another.

• Fight for what you believe in, you’ll eventually find people who want to help you succeed.

• Has it ever occurred to you that the people you’ve learned architecture from were wrong?

• Deep listening is imperative for all architects. Humans are not abstract concept.

Business skills

• There are so many different business models and modes of practice. Different rhythms, cash flows, collaborative approaches, and office cultures.

• Money, time, and relevance of the profession are global pressures; it isn’t easy being an architect.

• The power and culture of competitions. Competitions present opportunities, but can be a difficult way of sustaining a business.

• Play and dialogue are legitimate modes of exploration in practice such as the style of work at Playa Architects and Embaxiada (pictured).

• The diminishing role of the architectural profession is not just occurring in Australia, but in other countries too.

• Universities should encourage students to have business acumen as it is a reality of practice and contributes to our collective agency, as a profession.

• We need to communicate our value to the public and to prospective clients. Flora Samuel’s book Why Architecture Matters comes to mind.

• Industry conditions in Helsinki favour very large or small practices, and we heard that it is difficult to sustain practices of varying sizes in between due to a trend towards amalgamation. We should be mindful of how flexible our industry is to accommodate different kinds of practices.

• Multiple directors can imbue a collaborative ethos culture from the get-go with less ego-driven leadership.

• Being proficient in explaining the financial outcomes of a project demonstrates expertise with cost control.

• Collaboration between firms is a chance for upskilling, sharing and a better outcome for the project.

Professional intent and ethos

• The future of architecture looks great with the emerging practices we saw. Most lead with a really strong sense of ethics and values.

• The power of sticking to your guns and the power of upholding an ethos such as that of the Embaxiada and Collaboratio practices.

• We can engage with global dialogue on de-colonisation and de-carbonsiation.

• Housing affordability needs to be seriously considered with different typologies and models of development.

• The Venice Biennale highlighted that we need to consider how our approaches and communications can put First Nations voices at the centre (Australian Pavilion pictured).

• What a building does is more relevant than what it is intended to say.

• Maybe Australians drag the chain on sustainability because we forget about large global population. Skipping between four countries and studying the view from the plane, we simply forget the scale at which we’ve covered the planet.

• Keep faith in the generations of architects that come after you. Some of the older practitioners we saw noted specific criticism of the direction the industry/society was going. However, many younger practitioners seemed to be practising in precisely the opposite manner.

• It’s possible to practice/research/advocate for architecture in a way that aligns with your values.

• Make and/or create what you need if it can’t be found.

Summary

The 2023 Dulux Study Tour proved to be an inspiring and thought-provoking experience for all of us. Personally, it was an invaluable opportunity to engage with fellow architects, immerse ourselves in diverse architectural cultures, and reflect on our values.

We are immensely grateful to Dulux and the Australian Institute of Architects for their sponsorship and organisation, as well as Architecture Media for their support and coverage.

As a group of architects, we would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to the Dulux Study Tour jury for selecting such generous people to be a part of this journey.

The impact of this experience continues to resonate with me, providing endless food for thought, and I am looking forward to many conversations (and karaoke) to come.

It is truly an incredible opportunity and I encourage all architects/graduates to apply for future Dulux Study Tours.

2023 Dulux Study Tour Group

Awarded architects: Edwina Brisbane, Ellen Buttrose, Bradley Kerr, Sarah Lebner and Tiffany Liew.

Dulux: Pete Woods and Cherie Micallef.

Australian Institute of Architects: Abbey Czudek and Jennifer Nichols.

Architecture Media: Linda Cheng.