Adrian Snodgrass - Curriculum Vitae November, 2006
1. Influence on Australian Architecture
He has had considerable influence on architects and architectural and art students in Sydney and elsewhere in Australia, introducing them to Asian thought, art and architecture. In the 50s and early 60s, at a time when there was little or no interest in Asian or Japanese art and architecture, he aroused an interest in these areas of study, inducing a number of them, such as Peter Muller, Ian McKay, Alan Gilbert, Bert Read, Neville Gruzman and others to visit Japan and study the traditional architecture. This interest resulted in Japanese-inspired influences being apparent in the work of these architects, which in turn influenced a later generation of architects, and especially Richard Leplastrier, Peter Armstrong, and others to study in Japan and absorb its influences.
He can claim to have drawn the attention of a number of Sydney architects to the characteristics of Japanese architecture, and these influences (coupled with the influence of Frank Lloyd Wright, who was himself influenced by Japanese architecture) make themselves apparent in such things as the use of natural materials, especially unpainted timber, open planning, broken by free-standing vertical planes; the straightforward expression of constructional details and methods of jointing; an intimate relationship between exterior and interior; the use of understatement and empty space as aesthetic devices; the use of connecting spaces and verandahs as mid-spaces; a greater awareness of nature, with appreciation of the special characteristics and beauty of Australian landsacpe and native flora; the garden as an integral part of architectural design; the use of water as a design component; and most importantly, a revised sensitivity to the manner in which buildings relate to the landscape.