Current Work: Glenn Murcutt

Current Work is a lecture series featuring leading figures in the worlds of architecture, urbanism, design, and art. For Current Work, Glenn Murcutt discusses the process of designing the Australian Islamic Centre in Newport, Victoria with architects Billie Tsien and Tod Williams. Murcutt built his career as a sole practitioner over the past 46 years designing smaller scale residences in close collaboration with each of his clients. In the biography printed on the occasion of winning the 2002 Pritzker Prize he declared, “Doing many smaller works provides me with many more opportunities for experimentation.” Murcutt’s residences blend modernist sensibility with regional craftsmanship and a sensitivity to the natural environment. His philosophy aligns with the Aboriginal saying “touch this earth lightly,” a phrase that formed the title of a 1999 biography on the architect by author Philip Drew.