Marika House Analysis

Glenn Murcutt is an Australian Architect. He works as a sole practitioner, where his main architectural designs focus on modernist houses that respond to their climate and surroundings. Most of his work are at small scale and are affected by the land and climate of his native Australia. His designs reflect the idea of maintain a harmonious interaction with the environment. Some of the materials that he typically uses are corrugated iron with the ribs laid horizontally and different types of woods, which he makes the building respond to the landscape instead of competing with it. Murcutt is well known globally, awarded with different prizes specially the Pritzker Prize in 2002.

The Marika-Alderton house is located in the Northem Territory in …show more content…
It is only one of five houses ever commissioned by an Aboriginal client and is the first one that brings the requirement of a detailed investigation of Aboriginal culture and life style. Glen Murcutt researched the aboriginal culture for three years prior the designing of the house. He stayed with the clients’ clan on site for days and weeks, he joined them in their way of life and the way the interact with nature, he wanted to learn about the culture and have a better understanding by actually putting himself and playing as a member of the clan. He read extensively on Aboriginal culture and researched history of Aboriginal housing. A big factor that played in the design of the house was how the Aboriginal culture relates with nature. They have a deep, intimate and harmonious relationship to the land, which has social, spiritual, practical, aesthetical and cultural …show more content…
It is a family house built to perform and comply with cyclone building codes and modern standards of comfort, and adequate to be cooled by summer and winter winds, it also provides shade and shelter from sun and rain and keep a feeling of no having to be closed up. The cultural aspect of the program is unique and special. In the process of designing the house, one of the objectives was the need for people to move throughout the house without being vulnerable to evil spirits (the continuous breezeway will clean the environment in a spiritual way). The people also had to be able to see the horizon, which culturally bring a connection between landscape and person. One important factor that Murcutt had to take into consideration is the fact that occupants need to be able to see out without being seen, in order to avoid eye contact if necessary and to avoid have to welcome people coming in, since the culturally members of the clan don’t need invitation to access a dwelling. Murcutt designed the open joint wall and open operational window system that allows people to see through the house to the exterior. This will allow any occupant of the house to see who is coming without the necessity on creating eye