THICK AND THIN

In 2009, Dr Peter Corrigan of RMIT was invited to discuss the question of inviting international or local architects to design public buildings. He argued that the experience of buildings has two readings: that of thin and thick. A 'thin' experience is where an architect has no detailed background knowledge of the history, society and culture that informs the ideas for a design, only what he call "surface information" that is basic data about the site. In contrast , a 'thick' understanding is evident when both architect and audience share the same background and have a common experience they can both relate to and where this shared knowledge is made relevant in the design. In terms of my design, I know the Newtown area fairly well having lived in Sydney all my life. This it is important to be aware that background knowledge is informing my design and the aim is to achieve a design which informs and people who read the building with thick and thin knowledge.