AARDVARK 3

Foreword


























This is the third issue of Aardvark, still Melbourne's only guide to contemporary architecture. Along with the standard features of previous issues it features a number of innovations which are briefly described below.
The desire to feature the best contemporary work has led to the application of a ten year span of time to the work featured. Significant projects from the late 1970's and early 1980's, important to the understanding of later work, fall outside this time frame. The retention of these projects has been made possible by the introduction of a 1970's supplement which includes the key projects from this period. This section is introduced by a brief essay by the noted Melbourne architect and critic Norman Day which locates the projects in the context of their time.

Advances in communications technology since publication of the first Aardvark have made it possible to communicate Melbourne's vibrant architectural culture via the Aardvark CD - ROM. So powerful is this technology that considerably more visual information is included on the CD - ROM than in the guidebook itself, much of it in full colour.

The CD - ROM obviously permits remote accessing of the material contained in the guide, all the user needs is a computer, but the obvious next step in this process is to put the material online so that it can be more or less continually updated and accessed instantaneously from anywhere in the world. This we have done with the Aardvark web site. Aardvark is available from this issue via its site on the world wide web. Its web address is http://Aardvark.tce.rmit.edu.au

The contents of the web page are in the first instance identical with the CD - ROM and are freely accessible but updates will be available only on payment of a subscription fee. Information about this will be placed on the web site as and when appropriate.

Standard features of previous issues still available include:
Full map referencing for easy location of the projects.
Indexing by practice and individual architect to permit the user to design tours either by architect or by architectural practice as well as by area.
Bibliography and brief professional profile for the principal architects whose work is featured, facilitating study of the architects themselves.
Brief, often insightful, occasionally whimsical, statements from the architects themselves on their own, featured projects.

The Editor doug.evans@rmit.edu.au