Museum, Gallery and Cultural Architecture in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Region: Essays in Antipodean Identity

This collection of essays examines a number of major pieces of architecture constructed in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific region, considering common traits and attempting to offer a hermeneutical framework for engaging Antipodean cultural architecture. This work should appeal to scholars interested in architectural studies, urban design, museology and cultural theory. countries throughout the South Pacific have displayed a particular fascination with the possibility that architecture may be able to embody regional cultural identity. centers that have been constructed in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific regions. The majority of these buildings, landscapes or structures have been completed in the last few years and all have employed different architectural strategies to shape their designs. This collection of nine critical essays by leading scholars of contemporary architecture provides an important survey and assessment of Antipodean cultural architecture. Emphasizing common traits, the introduction to the text asks how this phenomenon might be understood and why it may be relevant in different regions around the world. Acknowledging the pluralistic nature of Antipodean architecture, the conclusion offers an alternative hermeneutical framework, one that accepts the fragmentary nature of the contemporary cultural landscape.