Glenn Murcutt, Richard Leplastrier and Peter Stutchbury talk

The talk on Tuesday night was great!! They had so many people turn up that they had to move to a larger lecture theatre room to accomodate the numbers. It was part of the 2005 Glenn Murcutt Master Class, but this lecture was open to the public as well. All three are very passionate about respecting and protecting the environment, the Aboriginal cultural heritage, and design. They talked about Aborigines and their form and design of shelter, design as affecting the way the well-being of the people in a community, and how planning should respect the topography of the land and nature, rather than just flattening the land and imposing a grid system on it. They talked about creating spaces that children can play in, and grow up in, and thrive in. Glen spoke a bit about councils and suppliers and shared a couple of stories with the audience. He talked about innovating and learning, and trying out new methods of construction, and if they fail then it's your problem. They showed lots of slides through the traditional slide carousel. It was all great! The speakers' enthusiasm, intellect, humour, genius, cynicism, respect for the environment and the Aboriginal people came through very strongly in the presentation. It was a night enjoyed by all who were there.