ABSTRACT
Over many years Glen Murcutt has carved out a very distinctive and regional architectural practice in Australia, and in New South Wales (NSW) in particular. Most of his built work has been singular residential houses and the Boyd Centre was an opportunity for him to expand his thinking at a slightly larger scale and with a different form of client. The Arthur and Yvonne Boyd Education Centre sits within the stunning location of the Shoalhaven River Valley and operates as a foundation for the celebration of the arts and the Australian landscape. This study focuses on Murcutt’s bedroom accommodation for school-age children, who visit to experience the environment and respond through art. It is the result of two primary concerns that have always underpinned his design methodology: a deep care for the environmental context and a firm belief that the making of careful and rational details will exude a profound space of calmness to liberate the mind and body. The bedrooms are dormitory-like in utility but they are extensive in their provision of light and character and they offer various possibilities to personalise the immediate relationship with both the neighbouring room and the landscape beyond.
