Dr Elizabeth Margaret Farrelly (born

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, New Zealand), is a Sydney-based author, architecture critic, essayist, columnist and speaker who was born in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

but later became an Australian citizen. She has contributed to current debates about

aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed t ...

and

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...

; design,

public art Public art is art in any media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and physically acce ...

and architecture;

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

and natural environments; society and politics, including criticism of the treatment of

Julian Assange Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. WikiLeaks came to international attention in 2010 when it published a series of leaks provided by U.S. Army int ...

. Profiles of her have appeared in the ''New Zealand Architect, Urbis,

The Australian Financial Review ''The Australian Financial Review'' (abbreviated to the ''AFR'') is an Australian business-focused, compact daily newspaper covering the current business and economic affairs of Australia and the world. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New Sou ...

,'' the Australian ''Architectural Review, and

Australian Geographic Australian Geographic is a media business that produces the ''Australian Geographic'' magazine, ''DMag'' magazine, specialist book titles, travel guides, diaries and calendars and online media. It published editions of the Australian Encyclopa ...

.'' Farrelly's range of interests and contributions are wide enough to have caused her to be described by broadcaster Geraldine Doogue as a "Renaissance woman". She was elected to the 2021 board of the National Trust of Australia (NSW). Her portrait by Mirra Whale was a finalist in the 2015

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor ...

at the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...

Education and training

Farrelly was born in

, New Zealand and trained as an architect in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

. She left New Zealand in 1983 for London, moved to Sydney in October 1988 and became an Australian citizen in 1991. She holds a PhD in architecture from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. Her thesis examined of the intellectual, cultural and political background to development control in Sydney's city centre from 1900–1960.

Career

Architectural practice

Farrelly practised as an architect in London until 1988, working at Pollard Thomas and Edwards Architects, London; at JASMaD Architects,

; and Warren and Mahoney,

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

Public service

In Sydney, she served as an independent Councillor of the

City of Sydney The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842, th ...

from 1991 to 1995, where she was a member of the Central Sydney Planning Committees, Chair of the Civic Design Sub-Committee and member with Paul Keating of the Project Control Group for the East Circular Quay redevelopment adjacent to the Sydney Opera House. Her interest focussed on the quality of the city's public spaces. She served as a juror for design awards such as Parramatta Design Excellence Awards and the Royal Australian Institute of Architects Awards. Farrelly also ran in the 2022 Strathfield state by-election, coming in 3rd place and receiving 9.85% of total first preference votes.

Teaching

Farrelly has taught at the University of Sydney as well as the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...

where she is Associate Professor (Practice) in the UNSW Graduate School of Urbanism; the

University of Technology, Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Although its origins are said to trace back to the 1830s, the university was founded in its current form ...

, where she was Adjunct Associate Professor of Architecture; the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

; the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It ...

, London; the Humberside Polytechnic and the

Architectural Association School of Architecture The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, commonly referred to as the AA, is the oldest independent school of architecture in the UK and one of the most prestigious and competitive in the world. Its wide-ranging programme ...

, London. Farrelly has set writing for Wikipedia as a task for post-graduate students, and has commented that its demand for every input to be traceable and published, enables "genuine crowd-sourcing of scholarship" and is both "a revelation and a revolution".

Criticism and commentary

As a professional architecture

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or gover ...

, Farrelly has quoted a study saying that architecture is "the most public art form and, curiously, the least subject to public debate" but that its task is to "distinguish the good, the bad and the reasons". As an urban design professional, she wrote: "Towns are public things. They centre on shared delight, with roosting space not just for the rich but for all, and not just for the body, but the soul." Her essays have been published internationally in specialist, professional and academic journals, including ''The Architectural Review'', for which she was assistant editor and contributor from 1985 to 1987 and ''The Architects' Journal'' (London); ''The Architecture Bulletin''; ''

Architecture Australia ''Architecture Australia'' is a national magazine covering the practice and works of architects and architecture in Australia. It is published bi-monthly by Architecture Media, and is the journal of the Australian Institute of Architects. Histor ...

''; ''Architectural Theory Review;'' ''

Architectural Record ''Architectural Record'' is a US-based monthly magazine dedicated to architecture and interior design. "The Record," as it is sometimes colloquially referred to, is widely-recognized as an important historical record of the unfolding debates in a ...

'' (New York); ''Architectural Design'' (Moscow); ''Metropole'' (New York); ''Statement'' (The Hague); and ''Bauwelt'' (Germany). As well as analyses and reviews for academics and practitioners, Farrelly writes for the general public about the principles, morality, aesthetics and function of architecture, especially on Sydney. Critiques of major social issues encompass those relating to urban development, in particular transportation and building standards, as well as those relating to environmental degradation, and

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

. Contributions for the general public appear in newspapers such as the ''New Zealand Herald'' and the ''

National Business Review The ''National Business Review'' (or ''NBR'') is a New Zealand online news publication aimed at the business sector. It has journalists based in Auckland and Wellington. History The ''NBR'' was founded in 1970 by then-23 year old publisher Hen ...

'' (NZ), and in ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'', for which she wrote a weekly column and regular essays until 2021. Writer Tim Blair has written about Farrelly in the ''Daily Telegraph'', calling her a 'frightbat' and criticising her for charging people to work on her farm digging holes. Her essay on "the destructive myth of professionalism" was noted as among the editor's best comment pieces of 2015. Critiques concerning other significant Australian buildings include those relating to proposed changes to the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving pe ...

in Canberra, and the proposed destruction of Sydney's

Powerhouse Museum The Powerhouse Museum is the major branch of the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS) in Sydney, the others being the historic Sydney Observatory at Observatory Park, Sydney, Observatory Hill, and the newer Museums Discovery Centre at Castle ...

along with the break up of its unique collections. In December 2021, Farrelly's three-decade association with ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' came to an end when her column was terminated by editor Bevan Shields, after Farrelly had registered as a Labor Party candidate for

Strathfield Strathfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the Municipality of Strathfield. A ...

in the 2021 local government elections and had subsequently written a piece criticising Liberal and independent candidates in that election without declaring her own potential candidacy. In her role as critic and commentator, Farrelly has had reviews of books and exhibitions published in a range of journals. She has also been interviewed by the television and radio media, including the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

(ABC) and the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

. Reviews include "Superior Seidler - Review of

Harry Seidler Harry Seidler (25 June 19239 March 2006) was an Austrian-born Australian architect who is considered to be one of the leading exponents of Modernism's methodology in Australia and the first architect to fully express the principles of the Bauh ...

" in ''Architectural Review'' (London). Interviews include for the programs of

Philip Adams Sir Philip George Doyne Adams KCMG (17 December 1915 – 14 October 2001) was a British career diplomat. He was born in Wellington, New Zealand and was educated at Lancing College, Sussex, before going on to read Philosophy, Politics and Eco ...

Mike Carlton Michael James Carlton, (born 31 January 1946) is an Australian former media commentator, radio host, television journalist, author and newspaper columnist. He formerly co-hosted the daily breakfast program on Sydney radio station 2UE with Peter ...

, David Marr, Kerry O’Brien,

Margaret Throsby Margaret Ellen Throsby AM, (born 1941) is an Australian radio and television broadcaster. She is known for having interviewed thousands of notable people for Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio programs. Early life Margaret Ellen Throsb ...

, and Alan Saunders.

Public speaking

Farrelly has been invited to speak at a wide range of public events, including panels, symposia, conferences, and festivals. Examples include as speaker in 2004 and 2005 on "Sydney's Working Harbour" at the Working Harbour Forum in the

Sydney Town Hall The Sydney Town Hall is a late 19th-century heritage-listed town hall building in the city of Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales, Australia, housing the chambers of the Lord Mayor of Sydney, council offices, and venues for meetings and ...

; in July 2007 at the Byron Bay Writers Festival; in May 2009 and 2013 at the

Sydney Writers' Festival The Sydney Writers' Festival is an annual literary festival held in Sydney, with the inaugural festival taking place in 1997. The 2020 event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. The festival's interim artistic director since ...

; in October 2010 and 2015 at the

Festival of Dangerous Ideas The Festival of Dangerous Ideas (FODI) is Australia's original disruptive festival that encourages debate and critical thinking, co-founded in 2009 by The Ethics Centre (formerly known as the St James Ethics Centre) held in Sydney, Australia. ...

in the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

in October 2011 at the

Adelaide Festival of Ideas The Adelaide Festival of Ideas (AFOI) is a festival held in Adelaide, South Australia since 1999, usually biennially. It aims to foster the public promulgation, discussion and critique of culturally and socially relevant ideas from around the wo ...

; in October 2012 as panellist at the

's Sesquicentenary Colloquium Dinner, where her topic was "Dreaming Spires: Architecture and the learning game"'';'' in 2011 and 2012 as speaker at the ''Art After Hours'' program in the

; in May 2012 at the

Museum of Contemporary Art Australia The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA), located on George Street in Sydney's The Rocks neighbourhood, is solely dedicated to exhibiting, interpreting, and collecting contemporary art, from across Australia and around the world. It is ...

on "Writing Architecture"; in August 2014 as keynote speaker at the Green Buildings Conference in South Africa; in October 2015 for the year's final Utzon lecture at the University of New South Wales on "Architecture and Morality," exploring the relationship between ethics and aesthetics in architecture; in 2015 at the

New Zealand Institute of Architects Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) is a membership-based professional organisation that represents 90 per cent of all registered architects in New Zealand, and promotes architecture that enhances the New Zealand livi ...

and on "Beauty" at the

St James Saint James or St. James may refer to: People Saints *James, brother of Jesus (died 62 or 69), also known as James the Just *James the Great (died 44), Apostle, also known as James, son of Zebedee, or Saint James the Greater **Saint James Matamoro ...

Institute in Sydney; in 2018 on "Architecture, cities and houses, design, the arts, planning, the environment and social commentary" at Sydney University's Sydney Centennial Symposium: "Cathedral Thinking – Designing for the Next Century".

Published works

Books

* (1993) ''Three Houses by

Glenn Murcutt Glenn Marcus Murcutt AO (born 25 July 1936) is an Australian architect and winner of the 1992 Alvar Aalto Medal, the 2002 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the 2009 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and the 2021 Praemium Imperiale. Gle ...

,'' Phaidon, London, * (2007) ''Blubberland -The Dangers of Happiness: A Critique of Western Living Patterns,'' NewSouth Books, Sydney and MIT Press, Boston (2008) * (2012) '' Potential Difference: Assays and Sorties,'' Sydney, NSW, * (2012) ''H2o Architects to 2012,'' Macmillan Art Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria * (2014) ''Caro Was Here,'' Walker Books, Australia * (2021) ''Killing Sydney - The fight for a city's soul'', Picador Australia

Part books

* (1991) " ‘Why Sydney Finds it so Hard to Shape Up,’ review of planning failures in Ultimo-Pyrmont" in ''Waterfront housing and inner city redevelopment: proceedings of the Sydney seminar'', Lea, J.P. and Dalton S., (Eds), Ian Buchan Fell Research Centre, Faculty of Architecture, University of Sydney, Sydney * (1998) "Architecture and Urban Design" in ''The Best of Sydney'', Ross Muller (ed), Sydney Morning Herald Books, Sydney, * (2005) "Pipedreaming the Harbour" in ''Sitelines: aspects of Sydney Harbour: a collection of essays celebrating Sydney Harbour,'' Federation Trust, *(2005) "Powerhouse, Dreaming House", in ''Yesterday's Tomorrows: the Powerhouse Museum and its precursors 1880-2005,'' Graeme Davison and Kimberley Webber (eds), Powerhouse Publishing with UNSW Press, Haymarket, NSW, *(2006) "‘Beauty, Exclusionism and Stuff; the basis of community''?’"'' in ''Talking about Sydney: population, community and culture in contemporary Sydney,'' Robert Freestone, Bill Randolph and Carol Butler-Bowdon (eds), UNSW Press with Historic Houses Trust, *(2008) "‘Tall Tales’, the advent of Sydney high-rise" in ''Modern Times: the untold story of modernism in Australia'', Ann Stephen, Philip Goad and Andrew McNamara (eds) Miegunyah Press, Carlton, Victoria, *(2008) "

Sidney Nolan Sir Sidney Robert Nolan (22 April 191728 November 1992) was one of Australia's leading artists of the 20th century. Working in a wide variety of mediums, his oeuvre is among the most diverse and prolific in all of modern art. He is best known ...

" and "‘The Corner Shop" in ''Australian Greats,'' Peter Cochrane (ed) William Heinemann Australia, North Sydney NSW, *(2009) "

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

" in ''The Great Cities in History,'' John Julius Norwich (ed) London; New York, N.Y.: Thames & Hudson,

Awards for writing

* (1991) CICA International Award for Architectural Criticism (Paris) * (1994) & (2002) Adrian Ashton Award for Architectural Writing * (2001) Pascall Prize for Critical Writing * (2002) Marion Mahony Griffin Prize

References

External links

Elizabeth Farrelly website

Elizabeth Farrelly at Facebook
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Farrelly, Dr Elizabeth University of Sydney faculty University of Sydney alumni Australian columnists Living people Sydney City Councillors 1957 births Australian women architects New Zealand women architects Australian architecture writers Architecture critics People from Auckland Writers from Sydney New Zealand architects Women local councillors in Australia Australian women columnists