ARCHITECTURE AS CULTUR AL PR ACTICE: AUSTR ALIAN ARCHITECTS IN ASIA – TAASA Review June 2021

Amit Srivastava U ntil the mid-20th century, in a predominantly colonial world, Australia’s inherited alignment with the ‘West’ stood at odds with its location in the Asia-Pacific.

In the context of the then emergent modernist architectural discourse focused on ‘universal’ principles of functionalist rationalism developed in Europe and America, any regional influences from Asia would have been seen as regressive. Today, this narrative has shifted.

Following the Australian Government’s issue of a white paper titled ‘Australia in the Asian Century’ in 2012, there is greater recognition of Asia’s influence on Australia, and large Australian architecture companies like Hassell, Woods Bagot or Cox Architecture are engaging proactively with Asia...