Robin Boyd: A life

Robin Boyd, gifted architect, writer, teacher and social commentator, was the leading Australian propagandist for the International Modern Movement in architecture. In partnership with Roy Grounds and Frederick Romberg, he was noted for his innovative domestic buildings. Indeed the suburban home was often a focus of Boyd’s thinking, writing and criticism, and in Australia’s Home (1952) he provided the first substantial interpretation of Australia’s architectural history.

But the most popular and controversial of Boyd’s nine books was The Australian Ugliness (1960) in which he scourged prevailing tastes in both architecture and popular culture.The sentiments he expressed here made him one of Australia’s liveliest social critics. But his criticism sprang from patriotism and ambition for his country.

Boyd was a very private man who left few personal letters or records. In this highly acclaimed and beautifully-illustrated book Geoffrey Serle writes predominantly about Boyd’s work and public activities, allowing key selections from Boyd’s writings to reveal the inner man.