• Title
  Item 1: Theodorus (Tao) Gofers interview by Colin Bisset, 22 March 2018
• Level of description
  item
• Date
  
  22 March 2018
• Type of material
  Nonmusical Sound Recordings, Oral Histories
• Reference code
  9622839
• Physical Description
  2 audio files (138 min.) - digital, WAV, stereo (48 kHz, 24 bit)
  
• Scope and Content
  Tao Gofers describes his early life in Eindhoven in The Netherlands during the war, where his father was a talented welder for the Philips company. In 1951 the family emigrated to Canada, settling first in Prince Rupert before moving to Kitimat, British Columbia, a company town near the Alaskan border. Tao describes his school life and his experience working in a hardware store, where he learned about building tools and earning money. He left school and worked on a geology exploration project based in Calgary before going to University of British Columbia to study science and English. He then decided to study architecture, and gives an account of a teaching expedition where he learned the importance of team building. He set up an architectural advisory centre before graduation which showed him the importance of finding the appropriate solution to a problem, and his involvement in student politics showed him the value of original thought. He met Arlene at the university and they decided to get married and move back to her native Australia, which they did in 1973.
  Tao worked for a very short time with Hanson Todd Littlemore and then Jackson Teece Chesterman Willis architectural practices before getting a job as a Grade 1 architect for the NSW Housing Commission, chaired by Jack Bourke. His first large job was in 1974, The Laurels in Sans Souci NSW, where he used Revlon eyeshadow boxes to demonstrate his idea. This led to his involvement in 1975 with the larger Sirius housing complex in The Rocks. Tao explains the political complexity of the project dealing with Green Bans, Premier Asquin’s office, and trades unionist Jack Mundey. He describes the process of presenting a choice of schemes and the Sirius design’s acceptance when Premier Tom Lewis took over. He talks of his involvement with the building since Premier Mike Baird’s decision to sell the building in 2014. He reflects on Sirius’ Brutalist label and the importance of architecture being solution-focussed.
  The interview ends with his reflections on the value of communication, going back to the early advisory centre in Canada, and talks with pride of his own family, describing the houses he has designed and built for his daughters, as well as his work on a time-share-style project he undertook in the Snowy Mountains.
  Reference:
  Library correspondence file
  
• Copying Conditions
  Copyright status:: In copyright
  Copyright holder:: State Library of New South Wales
  Rights and Restrictions Information:: Download available for research, personal use and public use
  Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales
• General note
  
  Recorded at Beecroft, New South Wales, on 22 March 2018
  
  Acquired in digital format; access copy available online
• Subject
  Architects--Interviews.
  Gofers, Tao--Interviews.
  
• Open Rosetta viewer
  IE13145299
• Digital Collection
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