(COUNTRY) Bidjigal, Birrabirragal and Gadigal
The “pavilion” has become a cultural and architectural preoccupation. The word immediately triggers images of the architecture of the Serpentine, MPavilion and NGV pavilion programs, which display the dominant characteristics of the type. Many cultivate a sense of singularity in their relationship to landscape or public space. Most operate as points of intensity and focus that are multi-directional in their spatial structure. Almost all develop an instantly legible architectural imagery tied to the visual signature of their author. Typically, they are studies in lightness or demountability.
The Bondi Pavilion, on Sydney’s most famous beach, is hard to reconcile with many of these characteristics. The result of a competition-winning scheme by Robertson and Marks in 1923, the original design was reworked several times and constructed in stages between 1928 and 1932. Additions and uses have accreted over its life. In 1974,There was no clarity of imagery, purpose, planning, authorship or use in the pavilion that Tonkin Zulaikha Greer (TZG) inherited in 2015; it was a beloved, degraded and calcified Gordian knot.
