The Bates Smart Award for Architecture in the Media is Australia’s most prestigious media award for journalists, editors, producers and others reporting on architecture and design. It is an annual award to encourage and to recognise media discussion of architecture.
The Award was established in 1986 as an integral part of the Australian Institute of Architects Victorian Chapter annual awards program. Bates Smart has sponsored the Award since its inception. The Award is designed to increase media coverage of the work of the profession as well as encouraging high-quality debate about architecture in Australia.
The Award recognises the role and contribution of people who:
bring architecture to the attention of the general public
create awareness of architectural practice
generate quality public debate about architectural issues and
provide information for relevant professionals and specialists in the areas of architecture, interior design and environmental design.
The Award is open to entries from electronic, print, specialist, popular and online media. Submissions should have been broadcast or published and circulated in Victoria within the twelve months prior to the closing date of the Award.
2010 Bates Smart Awards
National Award: Sally Ingleton for ‘John Gollings-Eye for Architecture’
Sally Ingleton has produced and directed a remarkable documentary, John Gollings-Eye for Architecture, which both documents his distinguished career and provides an insight into the volatile lives of people who make architecture.
Supported by SBS, Film Victoria and other sponsor groups and at some 57 minutes long, this film shows Gollings broad range of interests - from photographing large commercial works to his long-term archaeological project in India.
For architects, the film gives insight into a profession which is trying to make exciting and enduring buildings under difficult circumstances.
For students of architecture in Melbourne, Ingleton enables us to better understand the culture of Melbourne architects.
For those who know John Gollings, he comes through as a confident yet unpretentious, well-grounded master of his profession.
State Award: OpenHAUS for ‘Advertisements in Architecture 2009’
While the bulk of media space devoted to architecture forms a type of advertising, (through promotion of an architect, product, lifestyle or magazine), the ‘Advertisements in Architecture 2009’ focused on promoting the profession itself.
This altruistic forum by OpenHAUS exhibitions gave students, practitioners and artists the opportunity of producing an advertisement for architecture, getting it exhibited and getting it published.
The success of many of the entries was their ability to present architecture as self deprecating and appealing to everyman through their humour.
As is noted in the catalogue introduction, the shift to alternate means of communication liberates architects from the usual constraints of built practice and its associated slowness.
The history of architects making this shift is touched upon in the introductions, with notes about Le Corbusier and the Smithsons to a long and lucid interview with Bernard Tschumi.
OpenHAUS is applauded for the initiative in taking architectural debate out of the usual format and providing an alternate theatre for exploration.
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