The Ethos of ‘the Queenslander’: A Journey into the Art of Building in North Queensland

• Main Author: Stephen Naylor
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: James Cook University 2010-12-01
• Series: eTropic: electronic journal of studies in the tropics
• Subjects: architecture; culture; environment; history; material culture; domestic architecture; the queenslander; north queensland; tropical architecture
• Online Access: https://journals.jcu.edu.au/etropic/article/view/3424/3362

In 1753 the Jesuit priest Marc-Antonie Laugier’s published Essai sur l’architecture (Essays on Architecture) a small philosophical text where he introduced the fundamentals of authentic architecture. Laugier recognised the gap between that which the natural world provides and the additional needs and features we must embrace to produce usable shelter. The general principles of architecture can be understood through the story of the ‘rustic hut’, suggesting that from our primal needs we have developed systems to create buildings. Our buildings are significant as they show an authentic account of who we are, how we see ourselves and how others see us. Buildings take the form of the clothes we wrap our families, pets and possessions within; they speak of culture, environment, history, struggles, triumphs and tragedies. Our domestic architecture in North Queensland is a living history of our relationships to materials, design, skills, technology, attitudes to houses and homes, rules and regulations, development, aesthetics, marketing and innovation.