Richard Francis-Jones

Last updated

Richard Francis-Jones (born 1960, Hertfordshire, England) is a highly awarded Australian architect. He is the design director of the Multidisciplinary design practice Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp (FJMT), which was renamed in April 2023 as Francis-Jones Carpenter (fjc). [1] [2] He is a Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects, an honorary fellow of the American Institute of Architects [3] and a Member of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Contents

Education

Francis-Jones graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Science (Architecture) in 1981 and a Bachelor of Architecture with First Class Honours and the University Medal in 1985. He attended Columbia University on an ITT Fellowship, where he studied under Kenneth Frampton, completing a Master of Science in Architecture and Building Design in 1987. He subsequently taught at Columbia University as an Adjunct Associate Professor of Architecture. Francis-Jones has taught at many Schools of architecture in Australia, is a former Visiting Professor at the University of New South Wales, and is currently teaching at the University of Technology Sydney.

Practice

Following his studies at Columbia University, Francis-Jones practised at firms in New York, Los Angeles and Paris before returning to Sydney in 1989 where he joined FJMT’s predecessor, MGT Sydney. He became a director of the firm in 1996 and was a founding partner of Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp in 2003.

FJMT has a reputation as an ideas-driven practice "with an agenda for strong public engagement and masterful resolution of tectonics" [4] and the firm’s work demonstrates "an extraordinary ability to uncover the real and often contradictory issues and potentials of a project by a very careful analysis of purpose and place". [5]

Most of the firm’s major commissions have been won by competition and Francis-Jones is supportive of the power of the architectural competition to produce good architecture and create new opportunities for practices: "the more public the competition… the greater the contribution to the wider culture of architecture." [4]

Francis-Jones’ approach is a response to the transition from industrial to digital economies and investigations utilising emerging sciences and technologies are evident. Yet, Francis-Jones considers, the potential of this knowledge to address society’s challenges and give architects new scope for imagination is limited by the tendency for architecture to be reduced to fetishised object for consumption. [6] "An authentic contemporary architecture should not only attempt to somehow begin to reconcile humanity’s place in the world but also be directed towards rejuvenating, repoliticising our desiccated public realm. We should pursue an architecture appropriate to citizens rather than consumers." [7]

‘…Francis-Jones has possibly been at his best in civic works... More than any other contemporary practice of comparable calibre in Australia, FJMT has been consistently engaged in the design and construction of large-scale public and/or commercial buildings ...Many of these works derive their plastic character from the unique, rather theatrical concept of lateral exfoliation, that is to say the folding out of brises soleil so as to visually engage the surrounding landscape, thereby emphasising a topographical affinity between the building and its context. In all of this work the issue of sustainability is given priority…’

Francis-Jones was the creative director of the Australian Institute of Architects’ 2008 National Conference, Critical Visions: Form Representation and the Culture of Globalisation, and is an editor of Skyplane and Content: a journal of architecture. Francis-Jones was President of the RAIA (NSW Chapter) from 2001–2002 and was a member of the NSW Architects Registration Board from 2001-2004.

Books

Notable projects

Awards

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Seidler</span> Austrian-Australian architect

Harry Seidler was an Austrian-born Australian architect who is considered to be one of the leading exponents of Modernism's methodology in Australia and the first architect to fully express the principles of the Bauhaus in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clover Moore</span> Australian politician

Clover Margaret Moore is an Australian politician. She has been the Lord Mayor of the City of Sydney since 2004 and is currently the longest serving Lord Mayor of Sydney since the creation of the City of Sydney in 1842. She was an independent member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1988 to 2012, representing the electorates of Bligh (1988–2007) and Sydney (2007–2012). Her "recurrent motif" is described as "making Sydney more liveable for individuals and families". Moore is the first popularly elected female Lord Mayor of Sydney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenn Murcutt</span> Australian architect

Glenn Marcus Murcutt is an Australian architect and winner of the 1992 Alvar Aalto Medal, the 2002 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the 2009 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and the 2021 Praemium Imperiale. Glenn Murcutt works as a sole practitioner without staff, builds only within Australia and is known to be very selective with his projects. Being the only Australian winner of the prestigious Pritzker Prize, he is often referred to as Australia's most famous architect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Institute of Architects</span> Professional body (organisation)

The Australian Institute of Architects, officially the Royal Australian Institute of Architects, is Australia's professional body for architects. Its members use the post-nominals FRAIA (Fellow) and RAIA. The Institute supports 14,000 members across Australia, including 550 Australian members who are based in architectural roles across 40 countries outside Australia. SONA is the national student-membership body of the Australian Institute of Architects. EmAGN represents architectural professionals within 15 years of graduation, as part of the Australian Institute of Architects.

Australian non-residential architectural styles are a set of Australian architectural styles that apply to buildings used for purposes other than residence and have been around only since the first colonial government buildings of early European settlement of Australia in 1788.

Andrew Andersons is an Australian architect. Buildings he has designed include various extensions to art museums, a number of theatres and concert halls as well as public, commercial and residential buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Leplastrier</span> Australian architect

Richard Denis Leplastrier is an Australian architect and AIA Gold Medal recipient. He was a Professor of Practice (Architecture) at the University of Newcastle, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Architecture Festival</span>

The World Architecture Festival (WAF) is an annual festival and awards ceremony, one of the most prestigious events dedicated to the architecture and development industries. The first four events were held in Barcelona, from 2008 to 2011, at which point the festival moved to Singapore for four years. Since 2016, host cities have included Berlin and Amsterdam. It is the only event where around 550 shortlisted architects present their projects live in crit rooms to a judging panel. One of these projects is awarded the World Building of the Year title. Each year the World Architecture Festival publishes a list of the winners of the awards on their official website.

John Gollings AM, is an Australian architectural photographer working in the Asia Pacific region.

Kerry Clare and Lindsay Clare are a wife and husband duo who are Australian architects, founders of Clare Design and joint recipients of the Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ANZ Bank Centre</span> Office building in Sydney, Australia

ANZ Bank Centre is a premium grade commercial office building in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The skyscraper measured to the top of its roof is 180 metres (591 ft) tall, with an architectural height of 195 metres (640 ft).

Bankstown City Library and Information Service was a library service in Sydney. Bankstown situated in the south-west of Sydney, Australia. Part of Bankstown City Council, the library service includes the Central Library, located in Bankstown Central Business District, and four branch libraries Chester Hill, Greenacre, Padstow and Panania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Perkins Centre</span> University of Sydney, an Australian medical research institute, clinic and education hub

The Charles Perkins Centre (CPC) is an Australian medical research institute, clinic and education hub that primarily focuses on diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity, as well as other related conditions. The centre is affiliated with the University of Sydney and is located within the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital health precinct at the Camperdown campus of the university in Sydney, New South Wales. The centre is named in honour of alumnus Charles Perkins, the first man of Aboriginal descent to graduate from an Australian university. The centre's academic director is Professor Stephen Simpson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Concourse, Chatswood</span> Building in Chatswood, New South Wales

The Concourse is a cultural centre in the North Shore suburb of Chatswood, which is a 20-minute journey from the Sydney Central Business District. In 2007, the City of Willoughby commissioned new designs to replace the old Chatswood Civic Centre.

Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp (FJMT) was a multi-disciplinary Australian design studio established in 2002 and noted for design excellence and a commitment to enhancing the public realm. FJMT had a reputation as an ideas-driven practice "with an agenda for strong public engagement and masterful resolution of tectonics" and the firm's work demonstrates "an extraordinary ability to uncover the real and often contradictory issues and potentials of a project by a very careful analysis of purpose and place".

Crown Group Holdings is a property group that deals with the development and investment of properties in Australia. It was co-founded in 1996 by Paul Sathio and Iwan Sunito. The group is headquartered at Sydney, Australia and has branches in Indonesia.

The year 2020 in architecture involved some significant architectural events and new buildings.

Laura Harding is an Australian architectural practitioner and critic. Harding works across architecture and urban design, with a particular focus on the public realm. She is also an architectural critic and an active participant in the public culture of architecture. Harding regularly contributes to architectural education as a visiting critic at the University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney. From 2006 to 2012, she taught with Glenn Murcutt in the third year design program at the University of New South Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Law School building, University of Sydney</span>

The New Law School building of the University of Sydney is designed by Sydney-based architectural firm Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp (FJMT). The building is located at the university's Camperdown campus in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and was officially opened on 30 April 2009. It serves as the new building for the Sydney Law School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UTS Central</span> Public in Ultimo, New South Wales

UTS Central, also known as Building 2, is the building housing the Faculty of Law and UTS Library at the University of Technology Sydney. It is the final building to be opened under the A$1 billion City Campus Master Plan. The building is designed by Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp (FJMT), with elements of an original podium design by Lacoste+Stevenson in association with DJRD. Construction was overseen by head contractor Richard Crookes Constructions. The building is located next to the UTS Tower in Ultimo. It opened in August 2019.

References

  1. ↑ "fjmtstudio becomes fjcstudio". fjc studio. 3 April 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  2. ↑ "FJMT becomes fjc". LinkedIn. 3 April 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  3. ↑ http://www.aia.org/practicing/awards/2012/honorary-fellows/index.htm "2012 Honorary FAIA Announcement"
  4. 1 2 Watson, F. & Hook, M. (March–April 2010). "Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp (FJMT)". Architectural Design. 80 (2): 118–125. doi:10.1002/ad.1055.
  5. ↑ Heneghan, T. (May–June 2006). "Max Webber Library". Architecture Australia. 95 (3): 86–95. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  6. ↑ Jackson, Davina (2005). "Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp, Sydney". 10 x 10_2: 10 Critics 100 Architects. Phaidon Press. pp. 120–123. ISBN   978-0-7148-3922-6.
  7. ↑ Francis-Jones, Richard (2000). "The (im)possibility of slowness: a note on globalisation, ideology and speed in contemporary architecture". 10 x 10: 10 Critics 100 Architects. Phaidon Press Limited. pp. 433–434. ISBN   978-0-7148-3922-6.
  8. ↑ "Architecture as Material Culture, the Work of Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp with Kenneth Frampton by Richard Francis-Jones | 9781935935148 | Booktopia".
  9. ↑ "Truth and Lies in Architecture : Richard Francis-Jones : 9781954081659".
  10. ↑ "UTS Central".
  11. ↑ "Inner Sydney High School". 12 March 2021.
  12. ↑ "EY Centre by fjmtstudio". 20 June 2017.
  13. ↑ "Te Ao Mārama Project, Auckland War Memorial Museum/ Tāmaki Paenga Hira | Best Awards".
  14. ↑ "The Frank Bartlett Library and Moe Service Centre - FJMT".
  15. ↑ Architecture Now: "Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki"
  16. ↑ "Craigieburn Library".
  17. ↑ Surry Hills Library & Community Centre
  18. ↑ John Niland Scientia, University of New South Wales
  19. ↑ Red Centre, University of New South Wales
  20. ↑ Darling Quarter, Sydney
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.