ART03- The reason of the landscape. Conversations with Glenn Murcutt

The Reason of the Landscape: Conversations with Glenn Murcutt is the third volume in the Architectural Research Tribune collection and an intimate testimony to the vision, processes, and work of one of the most prominent architects of our time. Through a series of interviews conducted by Matías Beccar Varela in Murcutt’s everyday settings, the book explores the Australian architect’s philosophy in three thematic axes: Work, Tekné, and Architecture.

The conversations reveal the depth of an approach that combines ecological sensitivity, technical precision, and a design ethic deeply committed to beauty and functionality. Murcutt shares personal anecdotes, such as the influence of his father and his roots in Australian vernacular architecture, as well as reflections on sustainability, recycling materials, and designing for the climate. His designs, including the Marie Short House and the Marika-Alderton House, demonstrate how he transforms environmental constraints into sources of innovation.

The book includes a carefully curated selection of Murcutt’s original sketches, many of them unpublished, that complement the text and offer a privileged glimpse into the architect’s creative process. These illustrations not only represent technical solutions but also reflect the relationship between the work and the landscape, embodying the values Murcutt champions: an architecture that seeks to “touch the earth lightly.”

Kenneth Frampton, in the preface, highlights the universal value of Murcutt’s approach, emphasizing how the Australian architect’s work blends ecological sensitivity with remarkable technical precision, achieving a synthesis between the poetic and the practical, and bridging sustainability, design, and humanity.