Among Buildings (first edition)
by Stuart Geddes, Michael Roper, Tom Ross.
Out of print. Published in 2018.
Format
Loose-leaf in 172 x 244 mm slipcase, 232pp
ISBN
9780994269782
Among Buildings encourages readers to imagine afresh the buildings around us. A collaboration between photographer Tom Ross, architect and poet Michael Roper, and graphic designer Stuart Geddes, it reflects on 26 examples of significant Melbourne architecture through photography and poetry.
Exploiting the productive tension between the written word and the photographic image, the book draws upon aspects of place, myth, history, and personal experience in an open-ended exploration of some of Australia’s most iconic works of architecture, including Robin Boyd’s Featherston House, the Griffins’ Capitol Theatre, Yuncken Freeman’s Sidney Myer Music Bowl and many others. The publication makes no attempt to present a complete picture of the subject buildings, rather it presents a series of open-ended, personal reflections – fragments in a kaleidoscope of possible imaginings.
Presented in an unusual loose-leaf format within a handsome slipcase, the book demands exploration. Readers enjoy a literally unfolding journey through architecture, with each building represented on its own fold-up/fold-out B2 or B3 format section.
The book includes an introductory section by architect, artist and poet Alex Selenitsch, printed on Risograph by Geddes himself.
A unique approach to architectural representation and publication, Among Buildings is being released in a limited edition of 250 copies.
Featured buildings:
Queen Victoria Market, William Salway
Heide I, Unknown
Chadwick House, Harold Desbrowe-Annear
The Fitzroy Baths, Sir John Monash
Luna Park, T. H. Eslick
Capitol Theatre, Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin
Manchester Unity Building, Marcus Barlow
Shrine of Remembrance, Hudson and Wardrop
Cairo Flats, Best Overend
River House, Peter and Dione McIntyre
ICI House, Bates Smart and McCutcheon
Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Yuncken Freeman
Heide II, McGlashan Everist
National Gallery of Victoria, Roy Grounds / Mario Bellini
Featherston House, Robin Boyd
Plumbers and Gasfitters Union Building, Graeme Gunn
Atherton Gardens Housing Estate, Housing Commission of Victoria
Belford Road Bridge, Kinnaird Hill de Rohan and Young
Athan House, Edmond and Corrigan
Storey Hall, Ashton Raggatt McDougall
Napier Street Housing, Kerstin Thompson
Federation Square, Lab Architecture Studio
Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Wood Marsh
Heide III, O’Connor and Houle
Seaford Lifesaving Club, Robert Simeoni
RMIT Design Hub, Sean Godsell
Contributors
Stuart Geddes, Michael Roper, Tom Ross
About the authors
Recognition
Stuart Geddes is a graphic designer and occasional publisher, mostly of books, and occasionally other kinds of projects (magazines and journals, exhibitions and websites).
Michael Roper is an architect and the poet for Among Buildings. Michael is a director of Melbourne-based practice Architecture Architecture. As an active participant in the broader design culture, he engages in research, media, education, exhibition and publication.
Tom Ross is a Melbourne-based photographer working on architecture and editorial projects.
Photography of iconic Melbourne architecture meets poetry in Among Buildings, a captivating new read.
-The Design Files
Among Buildings encourages readers to imagine afresh the buildings around us.
- Yellowtrace
Finalist 2017 AGDA Design Awards
Shortlist 2018 Cornish Family Prize for Art and Design Publishing