Dr Peter Kohane
PhD (Penn), BArch(Melb), MArch (Melb), MSc (Penn)
- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
Faculty Research Project Grant, UNSW 2007: ‘Doors and Windows’, $20,000.
ARC Discovery Grant 2002-2005: ‘Decorum as an Idea in Architecture, Renaissance to the Present’, $150,000.
Faculty Research Excellence Award, Faculty of the Built Environment, 2012
Outstanding Faculty Researcher Award, University of New South Wales 2007.
John Yu Fellowship, University of New South Wales 2003.
Peter’s work examines the relationship of the individual to the collective in the making of modern society; decorum as a principle relevant to understanding institutions and buildings; space defined in terms of its fluidity or limits; the relationship of ornament to structure; and the human body valued as a type worthy of imitation in architecture. The significance of these topics is illuminated through historical research, involving the interpretation of the buildings, cities and architectural treatises from antiquity to the present.
Completed research projects: (it would be great if these were linked to the research reports)
· the nineteenth century British architectural debate between Fergusson, Cockerell and Ruskin on the human body in architectural production;
· Cockerell’s theories of empathy, decorum and history as outlined in his unpublished Royal Academy lectures;
· the urban vision implemented in Sydney by James Barnet;
· the nineteenth century development of Melbourne;
· Louis Kahn’s defence of spatial limits;
· issues of ornament and urbanism in current Australian architecture.
Work in Progress:
· Publications on Louis Kahn and “The Room”.
· Research on C. R. Cockerell’s architectural theory and practice.
Memberships
- President of the Society of Architectural Historian of Australia and New Zealand 2007- 2009
- Member of Editorial Board or Advisory Board, Architectural Theory Review 1995-2015
- Member of Editorial Board of Fabrications 2003-2011
- ARC Board Nominated Referee, ARC Large/Discovery Grant Applications, 1998-
Exhibitions
CONFERENCES CONVENED
- The Decorum of Doors and Windows, jointly sponsored by RAIA (NSW Chapter) and the Faculty of the Built Environment, University of NSW, June 2005 (Conference organiser)
- On Monumentality: Place, Representation, and the Public R.ealm, jointly sponsored by RAIA (NSW Chapter), Universities of Sydney and NSW, November 2002 (Member of the organising committee, convenor of sessions and speaker)
- Romaldo Giurgola Symposium, Faculty of the Built Environment, University of NSW, November 2000 (Member of the organising committee, convenor of sessions and speaker)
- A City in Four Acts: Theories of the City, Faculty of the Built Environment, University of NSW and University of Sydney, July 1995 (Conference organiser, convenor of sessions and speaker)
My Teaching
Areas of specialisation: architectural history, theory and design.
Peter’s teaching focuses on past buildings and treatises, as well as their interpretation in contemporary contexts. His teaching methods favour open learning, as well as an approach to design that encompasses both respect for the past and the need for invention.
Peter is available to supervise student research projects.