World-class architect praises Adelaide's heritage

Alumni

One of the greatest architects in the Asia-Pacific has defended Adelaide's skyline, and has warned against making changes that would damage Adelaide's reputation as a heritage city.

Hijjas Kasturi was a student at the University of Adelaide from 1960-63 and has gone on to become one of the most prominent architects in Malaysia, responsible for some of the Asia-Pacific's most distinctive high-rise buildings.

He returned to Adelaide for one week recently to give a free public lecture, "In Search of Identity in Architecture", and to launch a week-long exhibition at the University's School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture & Urban Design. The exhibition showcased some of the best examples of 30 years of his company's work.

Although Mr Kasturi and his company are renowned for their cutting-edge work, including a number of skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, he said that approach shouldn't necessarily be taken with all cities.

"How does a city create its own unique architecture and identity? Adelaide has its churches, easily identifiable and characteristic. Classical buildings set in spacious parks create a tremendous impact, and the well-defined grid system of the street layout also is characteristic of Adelaide," Mr Kasturi said.

"It isn't necessary to change the texture and fabric of the city just because you want to keep up with the rest of the world, because Adelaide has its own uniqueness: solid, orderly and well established. One has to be sympathetic in future development, so as not to demolish the image and familiarity of a place that has taken generations to create."

Mr Kasturi was visiting Adelaide at the invite of the University of Adelaide's Heritage Foundation. His visit helped to raise awareness of the distinctiveness of Adelaide's heritage buildings, including the many heritage buildings at the University of Adelaide.

"Adelaide has a very sound appreciation for its heritage that you want to preserve, and that is the beauty of the city - it can't be changed, it has a sense of stability and permanence that others would envy," he said.

While in Adelaide, Mr Kasturi also gave seminars to University of Adelaide architecture students and used his years of experience to provide feedback on their work.

Born in Singapore, Mr Kasturi represents the unique impact of Australian tertiary education on students from Singapore and Malaysia in the 1950s and 1960s - students who have gone on to become leaders in their fields in their home countries and right around the world.

Mr Kasturi said he had feelings of "nostalgia, fondness, familiarity of the old, a sense of belonging that can't be replaced, especially as I was in Adelaide at the most impressionable stage in my life".

"Adelaide remains solid and rooted in my affections," he said.

"I am forever indebted to the Australian Government for giving me the opportunity to study in Australia under the Colombo Plan."

For more information about the University of Adelaide's Heritage Foundation, contact Development & Alumni on (08) 8303 5800.

Story by David Ellis