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Vision Magazine
HIGH-PERFORMANCE VIRIDIAN GLASS
HELPS OVERCOME ISSUES AND TRANSFORMS
VICTORIAN-ERA SPACES INTO THE MODERN,
THERMALLY EFFICIENT CONTEXT.
Peter Hyatt spoke with Julian Brenchley to discover
the challenges of recycling old buildings and the
pleasures of an enduring, often surprising career
in television:
Is there a single recurring question fans and
contemporaries want to know when they learn
of your role on The Block?
JB: The conversation normally goes along the line
of: ‘But you’re not involved with any of the fit-out of
the units’. I explain my role as designer of the base
building to ensure the overall concept will work and
that it will look half decent at the end of the day.
You must feel like The Invisible Man.
JB: Not really. The Block is essentially about
a TV series, it’s not about my role as architect.
You describe architecture as the program’s
‘value insurance’.
JB: The advantages of having a strong plan is that
no matter how well or questionably contestants
might pick say, paint colours in an apartment, at
least the building is going to appear decent when
it’s filmed. My role really involves a lot of the unseen
coordination work in the six months to a year prior
to filming, before cameras and contestants show up.
Above Staircase leads to
roof deck and lower floor.
Right Courtyard reveals slender
structural reinforcement.
Vision 17 The Glasshouse