First Project: TCL

Box Hill Community Arts Centre, Box Hill (1989 – 1991)

Kevin Taylor and I met in 1989 while sharing a space in architect Gregory Burgess’s studio, a freezing old bakery building in Richmond. Initially, we didn’t really get along so well. I had a small design and construct business creating residential gardens and Kevin was working on a range of community projects. Armed with a consultation report and building brief, Kevin and a switched-on arts officer, Michelle Howard, had convinced the Box Hill council to fund the first purpose-built community arts centre in Australia, rather than renovate an old building as previously planned. He recommended that the council engage Greg as
the architect.

Kevin and Greg had just completed the sketch design phase and we started working together on the detail design in 1990. I loved to watch the collaborative interplay between Greg and Kevin, which would usually start with a plan overlaid with trace paper. The laying of the trace was done in a somewhat reverential way, with either one smoothing out the paper with careful strokes. Each drawn idea was very carefully considered and discussed but not necessarily seized upon; rather, another layer of trace would be laid down, stroked into position and worked on until the underlying plan was almost imperceptible. This trusting, layered process allowed for possibilities to percolate and resulted in an intertwining of landscape and building.

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Box Hill Community Arts Centre, Box Hill by Kevin Taylor and Kate Cullity with Maggie Fooke

Maggie Fooke was engaged to collaborate on the design of the building and landscape, and to work with the community to create ceramic works. With degrees in architecture and landscape architecture, Maggie understood scale and context, and although not trained in ceramics, her vision was vast and involved embellishing both the building and the landscape with works inspired by the Heidelberg School.

I felt I had reached landscape architecture heaven. I was surrounded by talented, inspiring and fabulous people, working with an engaged local community and collaborating with artists and artisans. To top it off, Kevin and I turned our relationship into a romantic one while working late one Saturday night.

The project ran out of funds for a fence between the centre and an adjacent community garden, so we salvaged seconds timber from a nearby timber yard for a few slabs of beer and held picket-making days with the community. It was a great success and a wonderfully inclusive way to complete the project.

Project credits: Box Hill Community Arts Centre, Box Hill (1989 – 1991)

Landscape architect Kevin Taylor and Kate Cullity with Maggie Fooke Client Box Hill City Council (now Whitehorse City Council) Architect Gregory Burgess Architects Craftspeople Karl Millard, Andrew Otto