SKY IN A CAGE

This post is part of the Geometric Friday meme,
and also part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

HEX

This is an image from an old visual diary of mine. It is a mixed media work made up of photographic image collage, drawing, pen and ink lines and superadded digital work.

This post is part of the Geometric Friday meme,
and also part of the Friday Greens Meme.

GARDEN REFLECTIONS

In the System Garden of the University of Melbourne, the Botany Department buildings fittingly reflect the gardenscape outside...

This post is part of the Geometric Friday meme,
and also part of the Weekend Reflections meme.

MELBOURNE THEATRE COMPANY

The Melbourne Theatre Company (popularly known as MTC) is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1953, it is the oldest professional theatre company in Australia, and has its own theatre, Southbank Theatre – which houses the 500-seat Sumner and the 150-seat Lawler – located in Melbourne's Arts Precinct in Southbank. Despite being recognised as Victoria's State theatre company, it comes under the auspices of the University of Melbourne. Currently, it offers a Mainstage Season of ten to twelve plays each year, a season of new and emerging works, and an Education Season along with affiliate writers programs. It has a current subscriber base of 21,000 people and plays to a quarter of a million people annually

Southbank Theatre is the principal home of Melbourne Theatre Company, hosting the annual mainstage season, as well as the NEON Festival of Independent Theatre, the Cybec Electric play readings series and Education performances and other productions for families and young people. Designed by the multi-award winning Melbourne based ARM Architecture, the Theatre opened in 2009 and contains two performance spaces. The Theatre also houses Script Bar & Bistro, Function Rooms and Foyers, two Foyer Bars and extensive backstage facilities.

This post is part of the Geometric Friday meme,
and also part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

RMIT SWANSTON ACADEMIC BUILDING

The Swanston Academic Building (SAB) is an RMIT building designed by the architecture firm Lyons and is located on Swanston Street, Melbourne, across from other notable architectural landmarks: Peter Corrigan-designed building 8 and ARM’s Storey Hall.

RMIT University has three campuses in Melbourne, Australia, two campuses in Vietnam and a centre in Barcelona, Spain. The University's student population of 82,000 includes 28,000 international students, of whom 17,600 are taught outside Australia (almost 7,000 at RMIT Vietnam).

Construction of SAB began on September 2010 and was completed in September 2, 2012. The budget for the SAB was $200,000,000. The new building contains 35,000 square metres of floor space, is 11 storeys high (including basement) and provides 6 large lecture theatres for students.

The building has state of the art facilities for students and also has a 5 star green star rating, meaning the building is very environmentally sustainable. The extremely colourful building is intended to reflect the cities surroundings in the façade. “The idea is to wear the ‘cloak’ of the city”.

Adrian Stanic (Lyons Architectural Director and RMIT alumnus) said in a media release (22/10/2010): “We saw the site as a focal point of the city and looked at how the SAB could create a dialogue with the other landmark buildings that define Melbourne. The process involved mapping lines from the site to these buildings. Using these lines we then created a computerized algorithm that generated the three-dimensional shapes and form of the building. We also put a boom lift on site and hoisted architectural photographer Dianna Snape up to photographically capture the vistas from the 11 levels of the building. The best viewpoints then became the location for the student ‘portals’ on each level that connect student activities inside the building with the surrounding cityscape. In this way we have created a design that integrates the building into the very heart of Melbourne architecturally, but also reflects and embraces the broader architectural legacy of the city.”

This post is part of the Geometric Friday meme.

PERTH SKY-HIGH

This post is part of the Geometric Friday meme,
and also part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Weekend Reflections meme.

COUNCIL HOUSE, PERTH

Council House is a 13-storey office building on St Georges Terrace in Perth, Western Australia. Located beside Stirling Gardens and Government House in the city's central business district, the 47.9-metre building was designed by Howlett and Bailey Architects and opened by The Queen in 1963, after Perth hosted the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. For most of its history, it has served as the headquarters for the City of Perth.

Built in a modernist style, the building has been the subject of vigorous public debate about its heritage value. Some parties, such as the Royal Australian Institute of Architects, consider the building to be an important example of modernist architecture in the city, whilst others consider it ugly. These conflicting views led to animosity in the 1990s, when the State Government refused to heritage list the property, and instead recommended its demolition. Despite this, the City of Perth opted to renovate the tower and keep it as its headquarters. Following this, the building was admitted to the State's Heritage Register.

The building has divided the public over the years, with some branding the building an "eyesore" and a "hideous folly", whereas others considered it a "classic example of 1960s architecture and an important reminder of Perth's past" and a "unique building". It has been suggested by Associate Ralph Hoare from the Australian Institute of Architects said the building should never have been built on St Georges Terrace, having been built in the "wrong place".

The outside of the building was fitted with over 22,000 LED lights which were officially turned on on 7 April 2010. The LEDs located on the roof, "T" window structures, and bulkheads are able to be individually computer controlled and coloured. The lights were installed at a cost of $1.08 million. My friend in Perth who was showing me the building and explaining its history, summed it all up by saying: "If you put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig!"...

This post is part of the Geometric Friday meme,
and also part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Photo of the Week meme.

WEBB BRIDGE, MELBOURNE

Webb Bridge or "Web" Bridge? You'll find both names applied to the walkway/cycleway across the Yarra River from the southside housing developments to the northside entertainment, shopping and dining venues at the Melbourne Docklands. It's an interesting, unique-looking bridge which is part of a Melbourne public art project.

Webb Bridge was actually designed to represent a Koori (Australian Aborigine) eel trap. The bridge reuses the remaining sections of the disused Webb Rail Bridge. But because the framework of the bridge does look like a mesh or web, the name Web Bridge may become the more common appellation. Crossing Webb Bridge from the Yarra River southside area known as Yarra's Edge brings you to Docklands Park on the north side and thence to Victoria Harbour Promenade, Harbour Esplanade with Etihad Stadium on the right, and on to NewQuay and Waterfront City on the north side of Victoria Harbour.

This post is part of the Geometric Friday meme,
and also part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

MELBOURNE SKYSCRAPERS

This post is part of the Geometric Friday meme,
and also part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

ELECTRICITY PYLON

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and also part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE

The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Situated on Bennelong Point in Sydney Harbour, close to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the facility is adjacent to the Sydney central business district and the Royal Botanic Gardens, between Sydney and Farm Coves.Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, the facility formally opened on 20 October 1973 after a gestation beginning with Utzon's 1957 selection as winner of an international design competition.

The NSW Government, led by Premier Joseph Cahill, authorised work to begin in 1958, with Utzon directing construction. The government's decision to build Utzon's design is often overshadowed by circumstances that followed, including cost and scheduling overruns as well as the architect's ultimate resignation.

Though its name suggests a single venue, the project comprises multiple performance venues which together are among the busiest performing arts centres in the world — hosting over 1,500 performances each year attended by some 1.2 million people. The venues produce and present a wide range of in-house productions and accommodate numerous performing arts companies, including four key resident companies: Opera Australia, The Australian Ballet, the Sydney Theatre Company and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

As one of the most popular visitor attractions in Australia, more than seven million people visit the site each year, with 300,000 people participating annually in a guided tour of the facility. Identified as one of the 20th century's most distinctive buildings and one of the most famous performing arts centres in the world, the facility is managed by the Sydney Opera House Trust, under the auspices of the New South Wales Ministry of the Arts. The Sydney Opera House became a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 28 June 2007.

This post is part of the Geometric Friday meme,
and also part of the Skywatch Friday meme.