The Practice
Michael graduated from Sydney University Architecture School in 1984 and subsequently worked for 5 years with John Andrews International and Ridley Smith and Partners before establishing Michael Robilliard and Associates in 1989. It is a sole practice.
At the heart of every commission is a client who is looking for a building that will fulfill certain needs. The commission comes with a particular site and a budget.
However, there is also a desire to be delighted. The delight can be in the well-ordered solution to the brief. The delight can be a harmonious and joyous surprise in how the house relates to its surroundings or it can be how the light enters and is reflected within the building.
The desire is part conscious and partly reflects urges which may be coloured by experience or culture. What we know is that the desire tells us a lot about the individual and his/her life. What the building tells us is a reflection of that energy of the client and the architect. Communication of these ideas through architecture can be very exciting.
I am very interested in Persian and Arabic architecture, courtyard houses and houses of earth. The development of masonry structural systems in domes has long fascinated me. The Baroque architecture of Borromini and Guarini in Italy are high points for me in European architecture. In the C20th the clarity and didactic quality of Louis Kahn’s buildings in America inspires me, as do the freedom of forms in Aalto’s Finnish buildings. The poetry of Carlos Scarpa or the clarity of Peter Zumthor inspire us. Alberto Perez-Gomes’s writing has influenced our later work
In many of the projects shown here much of the houses are supported by and linked to thoughtful gardens.
I have enjoyed working closely with Landscape designer Graeme Greenhalgh of Tropic of Sydney.
Builders Tim Rooney of the Construction Connection built most of the houses shown here.
Aldis Birzulis and Richard Faustino of Birzulis Associates Structural Engineers have provided invaluable advice for many years.
— Michael R