BOOKSHELF
READING03
Robyn Boid: Architect
BY Maree Coote
(Melbournestyle, 2017)
PP 24 • RRP $29.95
This exuberant picture book by
Melbourne-based writer and
illustrator Maree Coote tells the
story of a small, dedicated bird
who loves to build nests and
dreams of becoming an architect.
Following Robyn’s development
from enthusiastic student to
seasoned professional, the book
ingeniously and humorously
conveys some basic – and not so
basic – ideas about architecture.
In her effort to build the perfect
nest Robyn learns about shape
and space, symmetry and scale.
She builds some extravagant nests
before realizing that form follows
function and that, of course, the
egg comes first. The book features
illustrations inspired by iconic
buildings, including the Sydney
Opera House designed by Jørn
Utzon (1973), the Eureka Tower
by Fender Katsalidis Architects
(2006) and Casa Lloyd by
Robyn’s namesake, Robin Boyd
(1960). With its charismatic
protagonist and informative
approach, Robyn Boid: Architect
will appeal to architecture
enthusiasts young and old.01
Among Buildings
BY Tom Ross, Michael Roper
and Stuart Geddes
(Uro Publications, 2017)
PP 232 • RRP $49
In 1969 little-known English
author B. S. Johnson made
an indelible impression on
postmodern literature with his
experimental “book in a box,”
The Unfortunates. Now, Among
Buildings by photographer
Tom Ross, architect and poet
Michael Roper and graphic
designer Stuart Geddes borrows
Johnson’s form to reflect on
the architecture of Melbourne.
Twenty-six significant works
are explored through visceral
photographs and poems. Projects
include William Salway’s Queen
Victoria Market, Robin Boyd’s
Featherston House and Sean
Godsell’s RMIT Design Hub.
Ross’s photographs and Roper’s
meditative poems seek not to
describe the works of architecture
but rather to explore the way such
objects and spaces affect people.
The introduction by Melbourne
School of Design’s Alex
Selenitsch ties the work together
and completes the twenty-seven
sections, which can be shuffled
by readers as they wish.04
The Rumpus Room
and Other Stories
from the Suburbs
BY Tim Ross (2017)
PP 99 • RRP $34.99
In The Rumpus Room,
comedian, broadcaster and
architecture enthusiast Tim
Ross continues his exploration
of the themes of his ABC
television series Streets of Your
Town. There’s an adoration of
mid-century design, a celebration
of the uniquely Australian and
a nostalgia for a time before
the “McMansion.” But while
his documentary series created
a dichotomy between the very
best architecture of the past and
the very worst of the present,
this book takes a more personal,
anecdotal approach, using the
architecture of the suburbs to
paint a picture of Australian
domesticity. Ross shares
sometimes funny, sometimes
touching stories from his
childhood family life. Some
of the stories explicitly reference
the built environment, but all
are informed by the resonances
of idiosyncratic Australian
architecture.02
A Situation Constructed
from Loose and
Overlapping Social and
Architectural Aggregates
BY Michael Meredith and
Hilary Sample
(AADR, 2016)
PP 128 • RRP $62.50
On first appearance this is a
grown-up’s picture book with
sectional drawings through
cityscapes. But this category-
defying publication from New
York practice MOS Architects
slowly reveals itself as a more
serious investigation of urbanism
and the city – specifically,
the city of Detroit. The book
complements MOS Architects’
speculative proposal for Detroit’s
Dequindre Cut, which was
presented at the Architectural
Imagination exhibition in
the United States Pavilion
at the 2016 Venice Biennale
of Architecture. Although the
practical application of the
drawings presented in this book
is oblique, there are multiple
layers of interest operating
throughout and the compelling
sectional drawings and hilarious
taxonomy of human “figures”
can be appreciated solely on
their intrigue.01 02 03 04