COX Architects and Planners

From its origins as a leading proponent of the 'Sydney School of Architecture' in the 1960's, COX Architects & Planners (COX) has grown to become one of Australia's largest and most successful practices with hundreds of projects and awards, spanning four continents. COX Architects & Planners is the most comprehensive overview to date of this journey. Featuring some 90 key projects and the work of leading Australian photographers such as Max Dupain and Patrick Bingham-Hall, this monograph eschews elements of the highly technical approach that typifies many architectural publications. Instead, its non-chronological construction is like that of a photographic essay, one that explores the poetry of COX's design and its ability to adapt to a truly international range of urban, environmental and social contexts. COX Architects & Planners also threads a connection between the distinct Australian vernacular that characterizes the practice's earlier projects, such as CB Alexander College Tocal and the Uluru township of Yulara, and its most recent commissions wherein technology, design and engineering coalesce to produce exciting and environmentally responsive organic forms. Current projects such as the DNA-like structure of Singapore Marina Bay Bridge and the Melbourne Football Stadium's lightweight-steel Bio Frame are key examples in this regard. Punctuating the book's photographic narrative are essays by established and emerging architectural critics Sandra Kaji-O'Grady, Anna Johnson and Stuart Harrison. These critics explore a range of issues, including: the conundrum of operating a large-scale, international architectural practice; the structurally expressive sports buildings for which COX is renowned; and the role of COX in the evolution of contemporary Australian architecture. A foreword by practice founder Professor Philip Cox АО discusses the milestones and philosophy that have been emblematic of COX's work over the past 40 years, and those that will guide it into the future.