Latest news with #Murcutt
Man of Many
28-07-2025
- Man of Many
Australia's Most Celebrated Architect Designed This Breathtaking Guesthouse 3 Hours from Sydney
By Ben McKimm - News Published: 28 Jul 2025 Share Copy Link 0 Readtime: 4 min Every product is carefully selected by our editors and experts. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more. For more information on how we test products, click here. Architect Glenn Murcutt designed secluded Strikes 3 Mudgee guesthouse Shutters, hatches, airflow, and fireplace maintain seasonal comfort naturally Ideal romantic weekend base for wine, beer, doughnuts, and countryside exploration Known for its food and wine, my most recent trip to Mudgee uncovered some of the best beers in the country. But I didn't spend all my time drinking sours and scoffing doughnuts out of the back of a vintage Land Rover at Old Wheels Grind. No, we needed somewhere to stay on our travels, and Mudgee Tourism kindly invited me to stay at Strikes Mudgee. I would've been happy with a room at the local bed and breakfast, but within 5 minutes of my stay, I could tell Strikes was not your average slice of boutique accommodation in country New South Wales. Located on one of the best wineries in all of Mudgee (10 minutes from town), Strikes consists of three eco-friendly, luxurious guesthouses. Strikes 1 and Strikes 2 are perfect for couples retreats, with views of the Lucerne flats, neighbouring vineyards, and the Eurunderee valley, while the third is a little bit special. Strikes 3 | Image: Supplied Designed by world-renowned Australian architect Glenn Murcutt AO, Strikes 3 is the most secluded of the three guesthouses and offers the same breathtaking views from a little further up the hill. Every panel of wood, welded piece of metal, and window is thoughtfully positioned to work with the landscape around it. Whether it's the in-set day beds, full kitchen, or Louis Poulsen pendant lights, this is one of the best couples retreats near Sydney. I arrived late at night, so I didn't get the chance to grasp the full breadth of Strikes owner Justin Penney and Murcutt's efforts here until the morning. However, when the sun rose in the morning and peeked through the large bedroom window overlooking the fields, Murcutt's Australian vernacular architecture and the influence found in rural wood-and-corrugated-iron farm sheds saw light. With more than 500 buildings under his belt, Strikes 3 is quintessential Murcutt. I don't like the word 'eco-friendly,' but that's always intrinsic to his designs. 'I cannot pursue my architecture without considering the minimisation of energy consumption,' said Murcutt in an interview with De De Ce. 'Simple and direct technologies, a respect for site, climate, place and culture. Together, these disciplines represent for me a fantastic platform for experimentation and expression. Of particular importance is the junction of the rational and the poetic, resulting hopefully in works that resonate and belong to where they reside.' Strikes 3 | Image: Supplied Strikes 3 | Image: Supplied Strikes 3 | Image: Supplied Strikes 3 | Image: Supplied 'You should be able to operate a building in a way like you operate a yacht. To open and shut windows to close this down, open something else up. Put a door in another direction to get the positive negative pressure systems working in the building. This is how you sail a yacht – to understand how you make things move naturally. You can do this with buildings in the very same way.' 'Making buildings that are like instruments is very important to me. The buildings respond to the light, to air movements, to prospect, to refuge, to comfort. They work like instruments that produce the sound and the colour of the composer. But, I am not the composer. I just make the instruments. The light, the sound and the air are already there. I just make buildings that allow people to sense them.' This was my exact experience at the guesthouse. External shutters keep the heat in during the winter, while hatches built into the ledges open straight into the elements, releasing heat in the summer. Doors are large, heavy, and can be left open to move air from one end of the house to the other. Meanwhile, the lounge area and kitchen are separated by a large wood fireplace, which is the perfect place to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon with local cheese and wine. My time at Strikes 3 was short, but sweet. It's on my shortlist of best couples retreats in New South Wales, and if you're a Murcutt fan, it should already be on your shortlist. Thanks again to Mudgee Tourism for providing two nights of accommodation to make this trip happen, and if you can learn more about Strikes Mudgee at the website, linked below. Strikes 3 | Image: Supplied
Sydney Morning Herald
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Why exploring this Sydney home is like finding an unplayed Mozart
Turning 89 on Friday, the Pritzker Prize-winning Australian architect Glenn Murcutt is still surprising fans who thought they knew all or most of his work. Another home in Sydney's St Ives by one of the world's most internationally recognised and important architects, but the least 'starchitecty' in style, has come to light. Discovering an unseen Murcutt was like hearing an unplayed Mozart, said one Sydney devotee. Architect Nick Sissons said it was like finding an unknown Shakespearean sonnet. Once found, the family home seems to disappear back into the steep bush block. That was Murcutt's intention, he said, visiting the home he designed 30 years ago for Dr Judith Preston and her husband, Brian Preston, the chief judge of the NSW Land and Environment Court. 'It's always been my view that you design buildings that you go past, and every now and again, one might say, 'Oh, better go back and have another look at that'. And I like that idea that there's that privacy to the street, and then you bite the apple and you have all the fruit inside.' Sissons, who worked with Murcutt on a book about his Unbuilt Works, estimates the architect has designed about 400 projects across 55 years. Murcutt has won gold medals from Australia and the US, and the Alvar Aalto Medal. As well as the Pritzker, he was the first Australian named a Praemium Imperiale laureate of architecture by the Japan Art Association. No two Murcutt homes are the same; Sissons said the Preston home was 'wonderfully subtle'. 'It blends seamlessly into the bushland context, responding to the steep topography, sliding, bending and dropping through the gully.' He said the slender terracotta-coloured blade walls – requested by Brian Preston to match the pink angophora he loves – allowed glimpses into the surrounding bushland. Sissons said it felt as if the house had always been there. 'It isn't a spectacular architectural statement, rather it feels like a logical and inevitable response to its unique context.' To mark Murcutt's 90th year, the foundation set up in his honour will launch the Murcutt Symposium from September 11 to 13 at the State Library of NSW. It includes Murcutt in conversation with his friend Francis Kéré, another Pritzker winner, visiting Australia for the first time. It will include visits with Murcutt to homes he has designed, and a panel of top architects discussing ideas such as healthy buildings and designing for climate that drove Murcutt's practice. One speaker, Carol Marra, an architect and Churchill Fellow, said Kéré and Murcutt seemed very different – Kéré has a mid-size practice, where Murcutt works solo. Yet both took time to understand what's unique about a place, including its cultural and social history, the landscape and people. 'It is not trophy architecture but has a dignified presence of its own,' Marra said. She said it was difficult to date Murcutt's work. 'They could be 40 years old or could have been built yesterday. 'It's deeply human work, you can sense … a love of people, care for place and nature. It is incredibly hard to achieve this in our market-driven commercial world, but it is a reflection of who Glenn is, a beautiful human being, brilliant and humble in equal measure.' Compared with nearby McMansions, the Preston home is modest and was unusual for its time because it incorporated a range of salvaged wood. 'I like that idea that there's that privacy to the street, and then you bite the apple and you have all the fruits inside.' Glenn Murcutt on Preston House Preston, a devoted gardener who also received the TAFE State Medal for Urban horticulture (1999), said it was a very therapeutic place. 'You think about the Japanese concept of forest bathing. You have that in your own house. We get all the birds, and we open the windows.' Murcutt said it was important to have a client who understood beautiful landscaping. 'And [Preston] has made a paradise. It is just paradise.' Murcutt is not looking for new work but trying to complete projects. That includes working with architect Angelo Candalepas on the new beachfront headquarters for Royal Far West at Manly. Asked if he thought about his legacy, he said he left it to those managing the Murcutt Foundation. 'I am having a few difficulties, health-wise, falling over. It is knocking me about a bit. I say to myself if I get to 90 or 95 I will be very lucky,' Murcutt said. 'I am very philosophical. I would like to be active until I have finished, and I don't like the idea of slowing down, that's been the curse of my life. I'm pretending I'm still 40. 'I don't want clients to be waiting, and I die in the middle of it. So I've said basically no to every new project.'
The Age
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Why exploring this Sydney home is like finding an unplayed Mozart
Turning 89 on Friday, the Pritzker Prize-winning Australian architect Glenn Murcutt is still surprising fans who thought they knew all or most of his work. Another home in Sydney's St Ives by one of the world's most internationally recognised and important architects, but the least 'starchitecty' in style, has come to light. Discovering an unseen Murcutt was like hearing an unplayed Mozart, said one Sydney devotee. Architect Nick Sissons said it was like finding an unknown Shakespearean sonnet. Once found, the family home seems to disappear back into the steep bush block. That was Murcutt's intention, he said, visiting the home he designed 30 years ago for Dr Judith Preston and her husband, Brian Preston, the chief judge of the NSW Land and Environment Court. 'It's always been my view that you design buildings that you go past, and every now and again, one might say, 'Oh, better go back and have another look at that'. And I like that idea that there's that privacy to the street, and then you bite the apple and you have all the fruit inside.' Sissons, who worked with Murcutt on a book about his Unbuilt Works, estimates the architect has designed about 400 projects across 55 years. Murcutt has won gold medals from Australia and the US, and the Alvar Aalto Medal. As well as the Pritzker, he was the first Australian named a Praemium Imperiale laureate of architecture by the Japan Art Association. No two Murcutt homes are the same; Sissons said the Preston home was 'wonderfully subtle'. 'It blends seamlessly into the bushland context, responding to the steep topography, sliding, bending and dropping through the gully.' He said the slender terracotta-coloured blade walls – requested by Brian Preston to match the pink angophora he loves – allowed glimpses into the surrounding bushland. Sissons said it felt as if the house had always been there. 'It isn't a spectacular architectural statement, rather it feels like a logical and inevitable response to its unique context.' To mark Murcutt's 90th year, the foundation set up in his honour will launch the Murcutt Symposium from September 11 to 13 at the State Library of NSW. It includes Murcutt in conversation with his friend Francis Kéré, another Pritzker winner, visiting Australia for the first time. It will include visits with Murcutt to homes he has designed, and a panel of top architects discussing ideas such as healthy buildings and designing for climate that drove Murcutt's practice. One speaker, Carol Marra, an architect and Churchill Fellow, said Kéré and Murcutt seemed very different – Kéré has a mid-size practice, where Murcutt works solo. Yet both took time to understand what's unique about a place, including its cultural and social history, the landscape and people. 'It is not trophy architecture but has a dignified presence of its own,' Marra said. She said it was difficult to date Murcutt's work. 'They could be 40 years old or could have been built yesterday. 'It's deeply human work, you can sense … a love of people, care for place and nature. It is incredibly hard to achieve this in our market-driven commercial world, but it is a reflection of who Glenn is, a beautiful human being, brilliant and humble in equal measure.' Compared with nearby McMansions, the Preston home is modest and was unusual for its time because it incorporated a range of salvaged wood. 'I like that idea that there's that privacy to the street, and then you bite the apple and you have all the fruits inside.' Glenn Murcutt on Preston House Preston, a devoted gardener who also received the TAFE State Medal for Urban horticulture (1999), said it was a very therapeutic place. 'You think about the Japanese concept of forest bathing. You have that in your own house. We get all the birds, and we open the windows.' Murcutt said it was important to have a client who understood beautiful landscaping. 'And [Preston] has made a paradise. It is just paradise.' Murcutt is not looking for new work but trying to complete projects. That includes working with architect Angelo Candalepas on the new beachfront headquarters for Royal Far West at Manly. Asked if he thought about his legacy, he said he left it to those managing the Murcutt Foundation. 'I am having a few difficulties, health-wise, falling over. It is knocking me about a bit. I say to myself if I get to 90 or 95 I will be very lucky,' Murcutt said. 'I am very philosophical. I would like to be active until I have finished, and I don't like the idea of slowing down, that's been the curse of my life. I'm pretending I'm still 40. 'I don't want clients to be waiting, and I die in the middle of it. So I've said basically no to every new project.'
