David Karotkin, managing director of Perth firm Sandover Pinder, has recently taken over the helm of the Australian Institute of Architects’ WA Chapter.
He graduated from Curtin University in 1989 and has international architectural experience in Australia and overseas in Israel, Asia and England.
A&D spoke to Karotkin about his work overseas, Perth’s ‘frontier’ architecture and building a 30-storey hospital next to a flood-prone river.
You’ve worked as an architect in Israel. Can you tell A&D about some of your experiences there as an architect?
Israel is a land of contrasts — ancient cities and new cities; eastern culture and western culture. I worked in Tel Aviv, which is known as the first Jewish city to be built since biblical times. Tel Aviv is now on the world heritage register due to the proliferation of Bauhaus architecture. So even though it is a new city in an ancient land, it has already established a heritage of its own.
The architecture in Tel Aviv is influenced by the many different countries that its inhabitants have come from, mainly Europe, plus the influence of the local middle eastern culture and environment. The result is a unique variation on modernism. I visited Israel again last year and whilst international style architecture has emerged in the burgeoning CBD, the unique modernist style is still dominant. To me, modernism symbolises a time of optimism about the future. I feel that optimism is evident in the current architecture in Tel Aviv.
Sandover Pinder works on projects in India and Indonesia. Is architecture in those countries still adhering to traditional architecture or is it becoming more westernised?
Our success in securing international projects is based on our areas of specialist knowledge — health projects and aquarium buildings. Our experience on these projects has been that our clients have engaged us to bring western expertise and they want that to be reflected in the style of the architecture.
What is the most important thing you've learnt being involved with international architecture?
Despite all of the obvious differences in the overseas countries I have worked in, the process required to understand and respond to our clients' functional and aspirational needs is the same everywhere. We have been engaged as experts, so the change of culture and environment should not derail us from the fundamentals of our design process.
Sandover Pinder is particularly involved in public and institutional architecture. What is it about these sectors which interest you?
Working on civil and institutional projects gives us access to many different project types, so we are always exploring and learning. That certainly keeps things interesting. Additionally, we have the opportunity to make a significant contribution to the public realm, which means our influence extends beyond just the client to many more people.
What is one project which has particularly challenged you and why?
Choosing the most complex project I have undertaken is difficult, however, the recently completed Mochtar Riady Cancer Hospital in Jakarta would certainly have to be a contender. In addition to delivering a project in a busy overseas location with an international consultant team spread over south east Asia, the project brief was also very technically challenging.
The site was very small, resulting in a 30-storey solution — surprisingly still only the third tallest hospital in Asia. It is located immediately adjacent to a river which regularly floods and we had to include two deep basement levels to house radiation generating medical equipment, all below the water table.
You graduated from Curtin University 22 years ago. How are graduate architects now different from 22 years ago?
Graduates these days are technically savvy. With the technical confidence comes a willingness to explore more sophisticated design concepts. We need to embrace and encourage the new generation in order to benefit from their inventiveness.
You are based in Perth, which is a long way from the financial hub of the East Coast. How has its architecture reflected that?
It still has a bit of a frontier feeling. I believe the economic boom cycles that have occurred through our history have resulted in short-term responses to the development of our built environment, rather than a steady evolution. We need to learn to appreciate what we have in Perth and then to develop a vision for how we can build on, and enhance, the positive elements of our city, rather than always looking for opportunities to ‘start again’.
