Glenn Murcutt

Glenn Murcutt
Glenn Murcutt in 2004
Born	(1936-07-25) 25 July 1936 (age 80) London, England
Nationality	Australian
Occupation	Architect
Awards	RAIA Gold Medal (1992) Pritzker Architecture Prize (2002) American Institute of Architects Gold Medal (2009)
Buildings	Marie Short House (1975), Fredericks House (1982), Ball-Eastaway House (1983), Magney House (1984), Marika-Alderton House (1994), Arthur and Yvonne Boyd Education Centre (1999)

Glenn Marcus Murcutt AO (born 25 July 1936) is a British-born Australian architect and winner of the 1992 Alvar Aalto Medal, the 2002 Pritzker Architecture Prize and the 2009 AIA Gold Medal.

Murcutt was born in London to Australian parents. He grew up in the Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea, where he developed an appreciation for simple, vernacular architecture. After moving to Sydney, he was educated at Manly Boys' High School and studied architecture at the Sydney Technical College, from which he graduated in 1961, and where he became friends with other soon-to-be-prominent students, including director Jim Sharman, theatre designer Brian Thomson and film producer Matt Carroll. Murcutt's early work experience was with various architects, such as Neville Gruzman, Ken Woolley, Sydney Ancher and Bryce Mortlock, which exposed him to their style of organic architecture focussing on relationships to nature. By 1969, Murcutt established his own practice in the Sydney suburb of Mosman.

Murcutt works as a sole practitioner, producing residential and institutional work all over Australia. Although he does not work outside the country or run a large firm, his work has a worldwide influence, especially since Murcutt teaches master classes for beginning and established architects. Filmmaker Catherine Hunter, who is making a documentary on the architect, has said: "He gives everything, he can’t help himself. He’s unstoppable, he’s this force. Long before we started talking about things such as sustainability, Glenn was practicing those things."