Post-war and polygonal: Special plans for Australian architecture 1950-1970

Abstract

This paper outlines the complex reasons behind the adoption of the polygon in post-war Australian architecture by architects of diverse design approach and geographic location. These were design experiments also explored internationally. It will be argued that the appearance of the polygon plan has diverse origins and parallels that include concepts of context and place, neo-platonic form, panoptic planning, the desire to produce organic compositions and prototypes of parametric design, and a host of other reasons which suggest a logical and necessary expansion, even clarification, of what can be defined as contemporary modern architecture in the post-war decades. © 2010 Taylor & Francis.