- Beach houses are in the realm of the politics of manners and while this might seem marginal to the set issues and debates of the urban policy makers it is the zero point at which an architecture, a city, will be livable or not. –
I recently took a visiting English architect to the beach to see some of the best recent Queensland architecture. Surf, prawns, avocado and beer perhaps added to my friend 's enthusiasm but I was pleased at his genuine admiration for the quality of the work. These are buildings, which can be enjoyed. My friend expressed some envy as detached houses in idyllic settings are the sorts of commissions of which European architects might dream. Is there not also something to regret here? He asked: these young architects producing innovative designs with a surprising degree of resolution are not getting urban commissions. The city of Brisbane which is developing with a gross deficit of architectural ideas has expelled the best of its talent to the city's edge, to draw endless details for second homes which may be pleasurable but which can hardly be important. My friend is largely correct. Architecture does quite well as niche player in the lifestyle market, while we are clearly not setting the agenda on the form of the city. But this just complaint should not be seen as a call for a seriousness which is lacking in beach houses. Undoubtedly for some commentators the opportunities of the design for the leisured client brings architecture much too close to sensual pleasure to permit of any 'discourse ', any overcoming of conceptual difficulties. But this Kantian interdict against the pleasures which... The rest of this article is available to subscribers of Eyeline