Presenting architecture on a digital flatland: a case study on Murcutt, Lewin and Lark’s The Arthur and Yvonne Boyd Education Centre.

Abstract

This thesis primarily deals with the presentation of architectural information in order to allow a wider audience to gain a better understanding of an existing architectural work. It proposes to augment the role of visual media in explaining architectural subjects – beyond the commonly accepted levels in the current print publications or on the internet. The effectiveness of traditional publications of notable buildings in terms of their level of presentation and degree of information rigour are commonly presumed but unproven. In this era, their unchallenged role as facilitators for clear and in-depth learning results in mainly digital replications of conventional presentation methods. Little has been explored in the area of expanding digital visualisation capabilities to leverage information clarity. This thesis enquires into architectural precedent presentation possibilities specifically within the limitations of computer screens. The approach involves a worldwide online survey to investigate public perception of current media effectiveness within commonly available publications. The research also explores several digital visualisation presentation techniques. Together with the collected data about the building, this exploration and the results of the survey are considered in the production of a digital presentation prototype of The Arthur and Yvonne Boyd Education Centre by Australian architects Glenn Murcutt, Wendy Lewin and Reg Lark. While the thesis findings highlight critical areas overlooked by current publications, the illustrative prototype serves as a basis to propose opportunities that could be explored.

There are three obvious outcomes derived from this research project: • The scope and depth of information about the Arthur and Yvonne Boyd Education Centre extends beyond what any one secondary source currently provides. Materials relevant to many aspects of the building are researched from primary sources. • There are presently numerous methods to visualise architectural information. However, in order to use them as more robust learning instruments, the thesis highlights several factors for their design enhancement. It describes some digital visualisation possibilities for adoption in future digital architectural publications. • The thesis outlines the stages undertaken and some considerations in their implementations. The design of the digital prototype presentation of the Arthur and Yvonne Boyd Education Centre suggests not only a direction for similar future works, but also identifies the technological facilitation gaps that we still need to address.