Sydney Living Museums is holding a series of fascinating talks over eight Thursday nights at the Mint, beginning 12 September 2013. Sydney Open Talks: Rooms in the House offers a room-by-room perspective on changing lifestyles and living environments, pairing architects with historians, curators and a social researcher, to talk about our changing connections to our homes. Each duo will explore different facets of how the design, use and relationship of different rooms in the house have changed over time – and what these changes say about us.
The Changing Home: 12 September – Architect Howard Tanner and social researcher Rebecca Huntley look at the evolution of the Australian home from its early British beginnings to its embracing of the climate and outdoors.
Dining Room: 19 September – Curator Scott Hill and senior UNSW lecturer Judith O’Callaghan track the changing social mores around dining in.
Bathroom: 26 September – Houses editor Katelin Butler and curator Michael Lech look at the evolution of this most personal of spaces from outdoor loo to in-home spa and sanctuary.
Living Room: 3 October – Author Karen McCartney and architect Anthony Gill explore changing uses of our public rooms in private homes.
Bedroom: 10 October – Curator Joanna Nicholas and architect Koichi Takada look into the room of rest and intimacy.
Verandah: 17 October – Heritage director Ian Innes and landscape architect Brendan Moar step outside, but only just.
Kitchen: 24 October – Design historian Michael Bogle and architect Hannah Tribe look at the room where technology meets creative expression.
As a bonus to the talks, the experts at the Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection are also supporting three of these talks with a curator-led tour of pieces from the collection. It’s a great opportunity to see a range of contemporary sources including architectural pattern books, magazines, trade catalogues and photographs, not usually on public display.
