THE CITY AS ARCHITECTURAL LABORATORY
(WRITER) Ken Maher
Philip Thalis is a remarkable architect whose practice has been architecture as the art of city-making. In his momentous co-authored book Public Sydney: Drawing the City, he observed: “Making the city is one of humanity’s longest and most patient undertakings, and the public elements are the most stable within it.”1
It has been my great pleasure and privilege to have known Philip as a colleague and a friend for much of his professional life. He is rare in the comprehensive reach of his cultural and architectural interests, and the impacts these have had on the design of many Australian cities. Since he was a young graduate, he has shared his thoughtful insights and infectious optimism about architecture with me. He has always had an intensity of purpose, yet a beguiling charm, warmth and gentle humour.
Philip’s passion for city-making emerged when he was a student. In 1985, following graduation, he joined McConnel Smith and Johnson’s masterplan design team for Darling Harbour in preparation for the 1988 Australian Bicentenary. Disillusioned by the approach of the Darling Harbour Authority and its focus on developing a precinct isolated from its city context – and excluding housing – he resigned and joined Ken Maher and Partners. There, where he contributed to urban and public housing projects for several years, his intellect, discipline, curiosity and emerging design talent became clear. Slipping away from the office in lunch breaks to distribute pamphlets, he made his first foray into urban activism as co-founder of Sydney Citizens Against the Monorail.
Perhaps Philip’s early interest in the city and urban design, which was not common in young architects at the time, could be attributed to his Greek and French heritage. It is unsurprising that he chose to study and work in Paris, graduating in 1991 from the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris-Belleville with a Certificat d’études approfondies en architecture (CEAA). He studied under Bernard Huet, Bruno Fortier and Jean-Louis Cohen while working in leading French practices Yves Lion and Paul Chemetov, gaining a holistic and long-term theoretical framework that informed his understanding of cities in a historical and cultural context.
On his return to Sydney in 1989, Philip developed his interest in housing and urban projects in the offices of Howard Tanner and Conybeare Morrison. In 1991, I collaborated with Philip, Peter John Cantrill and Everard Kloots to win the Royal Australian Institute of Architects’ Woolloomooloo Wharf Ideas Competition. Influenced by Philip’s Paris experience, the design extended the focus beyond the wharf to subtle yet transformative interventions within the adjacent urban fabric of Woolloomooloo. For Philip, this was the first of many competition successes that distilled ideas for enriching the city.
In establishing Hill Thalis Architecture and Urban Projects in 1992 with his partner Sarah Hill, Philip committed very deliberately to focusing on “urban projects” and the key urban challenge of housing. His mode of practice, which continues today, was a studio-based collaborative informed by thoughtful research and engagement with academia. His design approach has been incisive yet evolutionary, drawing on a wide range of influences, including historical precedent as well as writings of theorists and practitioners.
The practice had early success when, in 1992, Hill Thalis with Cantrill, David Haertsch, Peter McGregor, Phillip Arnold and Malcolm Utley jointly won the national competition for the Sydney Olympic Village at Homebush Bay. The project was handed over to a developer-led consortium, but Philip’s resilience remained unaffected. In 1995, both Philip and I were appointed to a design team led by Lawrence Nield – with Andrew Andersons, Daryl Conybeare and Oi Choong – to prepare the Sydney Olympic Park Master Plan. Here, Philip’s singular determination to focus on the long-term benefits of the precinct and its contribution to the life of greater Sydney was evident. Although the politics of the Olympics made this difficult to achieve, Philip took the opportunity to redress this in 2003 with the Sydney Olympic Park 2025 Vision Plan (with Tony Caro Architecture and Jane Irwin Landscape Architecture).
Philip has an outstanding record of teaching in architecture and urban design, particularly during the 12 years he led programs at UTS with Cantrill. Together, they were able to investigate issues of city and civic design that shaped the careers of numerous students and influenced the future of the city. The pair’s research into the city as a laboratory formed the basis of Public Sydney, a publication of great significance for the precision of its mapping and recording of public spaces and public buildings. Philip’s thinking about city-making is revealed in his opening essay, “The public project.” His positive influence on the discipline and the city’s future continues through his current role as professor of practice in the UNSW School of Built Environment.
Philip’s preoccupation with the complexity of urban projects demonstrates the importance of strategic thinking, research and a deep knowledge of the evolution of cities. His work also benefits from his commitment to maintaining a consistently small team enhanced by a broadly based collaboration ethic. This is evident in his shared open studio. His distinct lack of ego and total focus on the project has resulted in close engagement with colleagues on many projects, including his friend and landscape architect Jane Irwin of Jane Irwin Landscape Architecture (JILA).
His contribution has extended far beyond Sydney through innovative urban planning strategies, including a seminal City of Adelaide plan, and influential masterplanning and public space design in Canberra. Notable Sydney works range from modest projects, such as the elegantly sited canopy and reclaimed bay at Pyrmont’s Pirrama Park (with Aspect Studios and CAB Consulting), and the subtle interventions and connections of Lennox Bridge Portals in Parramatta (with Design 5);2 to the 2003 UNSW Master Plan (with Sue Holliday); and the sadly unrealised 2006 competition-winning East Darling Harbour (Barangaroo) proposal (with Paul Berkemeier and JILA), which would have unified the
