Editorial by Simon Sellars: While composing this, my final editor’s letter, Federation Square’s 10-year anniversary rolled around. As Scott McQuire and Nikos Papastergiadis recall (p92), Fed Square overcame significant opposition to deliver something Melbourne sorely …
AR 127: The Residential Issue (October/November 2012)
Editorial by Simon Sellars: AR’s annual Residential issue is always a favourite with readers, no surprise as the temper of the times in Australia can usually be measured by our obsession with housing. In 2012, …
AR 126: Architecture and Infrastructure (August/September 2012)
Editorial by Simon Sellars: At the New Zealand Institute of Architects’ national conference in February (AR 125), rebuilding Christchurch was a hot topic. Post-quake, the city is changing beyond recognition with buildings (heritage and otherwise) …
AR 125: Architecture and the Arts (June/July 2012)
Editorial by Simon Sellars: My first exposure to serious architectural discourse came from the novels of J.G. Ballard, which feature a series of failed architects. In the Ballardian universe, because architecture often utilises funds from …
AR 124: Architecture and the Body (March/April 2012)
Editorial by Simon Sellars: From Greek antiquity on, the physical and psychological properties of the body have both influenced and reacted against architecture. As Joseph Rykwert wrote in The Dancing Column, architecture in classical antiquity …
AR 123: The Resilient City (December 2011)
Editorial by Simon Sellars: In 2010 the United Nations released a startling report on the trend towards ‘endless cities’, predicting that within 40 years the world’s largest cities will merge into ‘mega-regions’. More than half …
AR 122: The Residential Issue (October 2011)
Although I edited this issue, Mat Ward, as outgoing editor, wrote the editorial. He introduced me like so: “Finally, with a view to issues beyond this one, it is my great pleasure to be able …
Architectural Review Asia Pacific
From 2011 to 2012, I was the managing editor of Architectural Review Asia Pacific. AR is one of Australia’s top two architecture publications, the other being Architecture Australia. Previously, I was employed as a researcher …
Red-dirt Voodoo: Rebuilding Australia’s Northwest
Originally published in Architectural Review Asia-Pacific magazine #128: New Civic Realms. All photography by Simon Sellars unless stated otherwise. In my time as AR editor, I never imagined the job would take me to Australia’s remote northwest …
If You Want Blood, You’ve Got It: or, What’s the Point of Architecture Criticism?
This is the transcript of a talk I gave for Refuel Victoria’s Monday Night Talks. I was on a panel of four responding to the topic ‘Blood-Sport or Boosterism?, explained by the event organisers like so: “What’s the point of …