ABSTRACT

The New South Wales colonial project was a land-centred enterprise that became dependent on the surveying and sale of land. The process of land alienation was a significant factor in the configuration of the colonial territory as well as the development, distribution and typologies of architecture. This article considers a building that was central to this project: the Lands Building in Sydney that housed the Lands Department, the bureaucracy responsible for implementing the governmental instruments relating to Crown land. An analysis of the building suggests that systems of governance were deeply entwined in its form, planning and use. Of particular concern is the integration of symbols and technologies of surveying and land recording that are integrated into the design of the building and its subsequent adaptation. These include the configuration and expression of the façade, the organisation of the plan, a domed observatory and measuring instruments. At stake is the reframing of the architecture of the State as a technology of governance with territorial reach.

摘要

新南威尔士州殖民项目是一个以土地为中心的企业，依赖于土地的测量和销售。土地转让过程是殖民领土的配置以及建筑的发展、分布和类型的一个重要因素。本文考虑的是该项目的核心建筑：悉尼的土地大楼，其中设有土地部门，该部门负责执行与国有土地相关的政府文书。对这座建筑的分析表明，治理系统与其形式、规划和使用紧密相连。特别值得关注的是测量和土地记录的符号和技术的整合，这些符号和技术被整合到建筑物的设计及其随后的改造中。其中包括立面的配置和表达、平面的组织、圆顶天文台和测量仪器。关键在于将国家架构重新构建为具有领土影响力的治理技术。