Building: What is wow?

John Prescott, Tony Blair's deputy prime minister, and responsible for urban planning in the UK throughout the early 2000s, was continually asked, "What is wow?". His response? "It's buildings that strike you and you say, 'bloody 'ell'".

Prescott, in his typically raw manner, has described what has gradually become architectural consensus over the past decade-or-so. For architecture to be good, we are told, it needs to be so spectacular, so radical, so mind-blowing, that we should unanimously say "bloody 'ell". And many buildings elicit exactly that response - great buildings like PTW's Water Cube, Foster's Gherkin or Gehry's beautiful but ridiculous aluminium franchises that have sprung up everywhere from LA to Bilbao (there was even talk of him building one in Geelong, for chrissakes).

For me, 'wow' doesn't have to equate to spectacular. A perfect example is Casey Brown's Mudgee Tower. Here is a building that is small in proportion (only a 3 sqm footprint), yet with a wow factor beyond comparison. It's setting, sense of place and permanency, innovation and simplicity are what gives the Tower its 'wow' factor.

And if, when viewing such a building, you still say "bloody 'ell", then so be it.

Building: Albury LibraryMuseum

Growing up in Albury in the 1980s, I was immersed in an architectural landscape consisting of a few federation buildings, 1970s tract housing and a really, really long railway station. It took a vivid imagination, a stack of old magazines, and hours trawling architecture books from the local - and, it should be said, poorly-designed - library for a kid to garner architectural inspiration.

So, when recently in town, I was delighted and surprised to discover the library had been replaced by the stunning Albury LibraryMuseum, designed by AshtonRaggattMcDougall.

The LibraryMuseum’s architecture references that same really, really long railway station, as well as local bridge and building design, and the region's natural features of rivers and trees. It aims to be the “city’s living room”, and what a stunning living room it has become.

I’ve admired ARM’s work since first laying eyes on Storey Hall as a wide-eyed 15 year old on my first solo trip to Melbourne, and now they have made their mark in my home town. Hopefully, with this striking addition, children growing up in Albury today will find inspiration a little closer to home.