UTS Ku-ring-gai is in the northern suburbs of Sydney

CONCRETE LEARNING

Reproduced from The News Winter 2005

It’s easy to love the romance of 20s and 30s architectural styles like Art Deco and Art Nouveau. However, the massive molded concrete styles of the 1960s and 1970s are an acquired taste for many people. So for many of us, a recent Society walk was a real eye-opener.

One sunny Sunday in May, heritage architect Roy Lumby led us through two well-known educational campuses. First, in the morning, there was the Macquarie University campus, with its carefully landscaped grounds; contrasting in the afternoon with a visit to Ku-ring-gai UTS, which sits in natural bushland.

We started to appreciate the artistry and care that had gone into these buildings. And the closer we looked at them, the more they started to look like huge sculptures. Indeed, Roy told us that in parts, they were constructed similarly to how a sculptor might work: the liquid concrete was poured into giant moulds made of timber, which were later removed.

In some places, we could see the grain and knots of the timber formwork where it had pressed into the concrete. Striking too, was the way the concrete texture had weathered in some places to take on almost the appearance of a natural landform or rocky outcrop.

Buildings had also been very carefully oriented to the landscape, with much attention paid to shading the occupants from the sun.

I learned a lot that day.

Matt Stone

A walk booklet containing more detailed information can be obtained from the Society.