One of the announcements made at the RAIA National Conference a couple of weeks ago was a partnership with Google to integrate Australian award winning buildings into Google Earth. Available as a download-able layer that can be added to Google Earth, there is information on over 600 buildings that have been awarded at the state and national level.
While it is not clear why a partnership with Google was necessary to achieve this (can’t anyone add their own content, 3D models etc to Google Earth? Am I wrong in thinking this?) it is certainly a very large step in the right direction by an Institute that has for a long time been a little tardy in keeping up with the technologie nouveau.
Currently, all state and national award winning buildings from the last six years are represented by little fact sheet like overlays. This is only marginally interesting if only to assist in geographically locating buildings in our minds that have previously been pinned to the pages of magazines and websites.
Of far greater interest are the sixty buildings that have been modelled in Sketchup and added as 3D objects onto their site. This information leverages the connection between Sketchup and Earth to bring 3D models and out of date aerial photography into perfect harmony.
It is a strange sight.
Anzac Hall, an extension to the Australian National War Memorial is a building that purposefully adopts the language of the stealth bomber, that sits low to the ground, and is largely invisible behind the original war memorial building. In the alternate reality of Google Earth, it is as though it has been caught unawares with its pants down, its circulation appendage extended grotesquely, aimlessly in space.
Down the road, at the Curtin Medical School, the Sketchup modellers seem to have had difficulty modelling the entry facade; the most significant and identifiable element of the building. And while it could be said that for many architects, lowering the polygon count of their buildings is very much and active pursuit, Lyons Architects do not fall into this camp.
As far an archive of award winning buildings this is an intriguing resource even if it is unclear exactly to what purpose this information exists. The claim is that it is for the education of the public, however I would be surprised to hear that the public at large had made or were likely to make the effort of navigating to the RAIA website, and dowmloaded the KML file and scooting around Australia marvelling at the work of architects. It is likely that the primary role of the information is as information. Not that this is a problem; we are all for information for information’s sake; but it is intriguing.
For the buildings themselves, rendered in 3D within the primarily two dimensional world of Google Earth, context becomes completely irrelevant. Commonwealth Place – again in Canberra – is a project that is predicated on an understanding of its position with respect to the Old and New houses of Parliament. Perhaps here, in google earth where it sits alone among the low lying hills of Canberra, it has achieved its goal of refocussing attention away from the flagpole of New Parliament House a little too successfully.
Another one: the Brickpit Ring at Homebush Bay, a structure defined by the carved, vertiginous topography that it sits within.
It is possible that the argument s along the lines that this is just the start, that at some point, Google Earth will be populated in accurate texture mapped psuedo-accuracy like New York currently is, and the buildings will be surrounded by their neighbours and it will all make sense. Presumably, however, when they do get around to modelling all the buildings (which is inevitable) they will be courteous enough to include the award winning ones as well, so, we are back where we started – with a whole lot of buildings sitting like shags on rocks.
Currently, it is like all built context and topography less distinct than a mountain ran off while the buildings judged the best in Australia were not looking. Embarrassed and confused, they hold their ground, as they are by their nature, inanimate things.
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