Firm foundations

In 2003, four friends formed the Architecture Foundation Australia. Led by the former Dean of the Faculty of Architecture Building and Design at the University of Newcastle, Professor Lindsay Johnston AM, Glenn Murcutt AO, Richard Leplastrier and Peter Stutchbury believed that teaching and learning in architecture was as important outside universities as it was inside.

In 2006, noted Queensland architect, and recipient of the 2002 Gold Medal for architecture, Brit Andresen joined the team as a collaborator and tutor in the Glenn Murcutt Masterclass, held annually by the Foundation.

Over the last 20 years, the Foundation has delivered the Glenn Murcutt masterclass, with over 700 alumni now living and practicing in more than 80 countries around the world. The Foundation has also staged major exhibitions that have travelled internationally, convened conferences and hosted visiting architects from its vast network of friends and associates. 

On 24 June 2024, the Foundation decided to recognise the outstanding contribution made by Glenn Murcutt AO to Australian architecture by renaming the Foundation the Glenn Murcutt Architecture Foundation (Australia). 

While there’s a change in our name, our focus remains on fostering a generation of architects committed to an architecture in harmony with its surrounds; responsive to its landscape and climate, and the culture and people of a place.