Edmond and Corrigan

A view of Edmond and Corrigan's Building 8 from Bowen Lane.
Building 8 of RMIT, as seen from Bowen Lane.

Edmond and Corrigan is an Australian architectural firm based in Melbourne, Victoria, founded in the late 1970s by partners Maggie Edmond and Peter Corrigan, who remain the firm's principals. The practice's work, both built and written, has been widely associated with the emergence of architectural postmodernism in Australia,[1] an interest in suburbia [2] and a search for an Australian architectural identity.[3] Peter Corrigan has taught design studios at RMIT University for over 30 years.

Architectural practice

A view of Edmond and Corrigan's Building 8 from Swanston Street.
RMIT Building 8, as seen from Swanston Street.

The practice of Edmond and Corrigan was officially formed in 1975, though the pair had gradually been collaborating and associating on projects after Corrigan's return from America in 1974. Much of their early work consisted of church buildings and community buildings for the Catholic communities of suburban Melbourne.

They designed the Keysborough Church of the Resurrection, completed in 1977, and later buildings in Keysborough.[4] The project was published in 1977.[5]

A view of the VCA Theatre building.
The VCA Theatre building in Southbank, Melbourne.

The practice's subsequent projects, many of them in suburban sites, continued with the idea of an Australian architectural language, visible in their competition entries for the Parliament House, Canberra Competition in 1977, The Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame and the State Library of Victoria, their many projects for community buildings, and their work for universities.

They later undertook larger projects; many of them, particularly RMIT Building 8, pursued the idea of 'a city in a single building'.[6] Their Athan House of 1986 was published widely.

The practice also worked extensively in stage and set design for Opera Australia, Melbourne University Theatre Group, and La Mama.

Notable projects and awards

RAIA Vic. Chapter Bronze Medal for Outstanding Architecture Award, New Residential Category, 1989
Architecture Australia Prize for Unbuilt Work, 1994
RAIA Vic. Chapter Architecture Medal, 1995; City of Melbourne Building and Planning Award, Institutional Buildings Category, 1995; RAIA Vic. Chapter Institutional Alterations and Extensions Award, 1995; RAIA Walter Burley Griffin National Award for Urban Design, 1995
Metal Building Award, Certificate of Merit, 1996; RAIA Vic. Chapter Award of Merit, BHP Colorbond Steel Award, 1997; RAIA Vic. Chapter Award of Merit, Commercial Category, 1997
RAIA Vic. Chapter Urban Design Award, 1995; RAIA Vic. Chapter Award of Merit, Institutional Category, 1996
RAIA Vic. Chapter Award of Merit, Commercial Category, 1997
Dulux Colour Awards, Commercial Exterior Winner, 2002; RA.A. Vic. Chapter BHP Colorbond Award, 2002

In 2003 Peter Corrigan was awarded the RAIA Gold Medal, 2003, the highest accolade of the Australian architecture profession. In 1993 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Architecture from RMIT University.

Peter Corrigan has written about his practice's work and about others, explicitly stating the practice's goal of creating or fostering a particularly Australian architectural language.

References

  1. ↑ Doug Evans, The Changing of the Guard: the social and cultural reflections of Community in 1970s Melbourne architecture, Fabrications, Vol 15, No 1, July 2005, p39
  2. ↑ Conrad Hamann, Cities of hope: Australian architecture and design by Edmond and Corrigan, 1962-1992, Oxford University Press, 1993
  3. ↑ Norman Day, 'Doing it his way', The Age, 1 September 2003.
  4. ↑ Hamann, Cities of Hope, p51
  5. ↑ Evans, p41
  6. ↑ Hamann, Cities of Hope, p129

Further reading

External links

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