Mr Parken said Mr Burgess is recognised as an architect of great distinction throughout the world. Quoting the editor of Architectural Review (UK), Peter Davey, he said Mr Burgess was one of a select group of architects worldwide who are “trying to find ways in which human values can be expressed against the alienating and normative forces of the global economy” and “who tend the flame of hope and carry the lamp of truth in a world that seems increasingly to have no values other than profit and the market in its grossest form”.
He said the RAIA jury found that “his designs for houses, schools, community buildings for health and cultural interpretation, exhibitions, ecclesiastical and institutional buildings, and most importantly his work in designing innovative buildings with and for indigenous Australians are all rich with messages about nature, materials, and the fundamentals of dwelling, human interaction and public space”.
Mr Burgess’ work has been published internationally since 1985. Among his best-known projects are: Melbourne’s Catholic Theological College; the Box Hill Community Arts Centre, the Eltham Library, Horsham Catholic Church of St Michael and St John, and refurbishment of the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, which is one of five Australian buildings listed on the international register of Significant 20th Century Buildings.
He is internationally recognised for his work with and for indigenous Australians. Key projects completed with local communities include: the Uluru Kata-Tjuta Cultural Centre in the Northern Territory, designed in collaboration with the Mutitjulu community in the World Heritage listed Uluru National Park; and, the Brambuk Aboriginal Cultural Centre in the Grampians, a collaborative design for five Aboriginal communities.
Mr Parken said the Gold Medal jury found that “as a mentor, a teacher, a founding parent and director for 14 years of a Melbourne inner city Rudolf Steiner School, an active participant in government and community forums about art and design, and as an architect of deep cultural sensitivity and consummate skill, Gregory Burgess is a fitting recipient of the RAIA Gold Medal for 2004”.
Mr Burgess was born in Newcastle in 1945 and went on to complete a Bachelor of Architecture at the University of Melbourne in 1970. He worked and travelled in London and Denmark before opening his own practice, Gregory Burgess Architects, in Melbourne in 1972.
Since then, he has been the recipient of numerous awards including the internationally prestigious Robert Mathew Award for outstanding contributions to the development of architecture in the British Commonwealth in 1997. Other key awards include the Sir Zelman Cowan National Architecture Award, the Victorian Architecture Medal, and the Kenneth F. Brown Asia Pacific Culture and Architectural Design Award for outstanding examples of contemporary architecture that reflect and enhance their Asia Pacific context (in both 1995 and 1998).
Mr Burgess will be presented with his Gold Medal in front of his peers when he delivers the annual A.S. Hook Address to architects from across Australia in Melbourne on Friday 16 July.
Examples of Gregory Burgess’ work:
Victoria:
Sidney Myer Music Bowl refurbishment, Catholic Theological College in East Melbourne, Twelve Apostles Visitor Amenity Building, Victorian Space Science Centre, Footscray Community Arts Centre, Churchill Island Visitor Centre, Phillip Island Nature Park, Brambuk Living Cultural Centre, Eltham Library, the World of the Platypus at Healesville Sanctuary, Box Hill Community Arts Centre, Horsham Catholic Church of St Michael and St John, Koorie Heritage Trust Cultural Centre.
New South Wales:
the Ballina Cultural Centre and Surf Lifesaving Club (in progress) and the Kangia Steiner School in Murwillumbah.
Queensland:
Australian Rainforest Conservation Society Headquarters in Brisbane (in progress) and the Samford Valley Steiner School.
Northern Territory:
the Uluru Kata-Tjuta National Park Cultural Centre.
Tasmania:
the Cultural Learning Centre for Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre Inc at Risdon Cove, near Hobart.
ACT:
Orana Steiner School Kindergarten
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