Johannes Schuster

School Founder

Johannes was the founding Class Teacher and former School-Coordinator of the Little Yarra Steiner School. (www.lyss.vic.edu.au ) From the early beginnings of the school his vision for the school was that of an inspiring, spiritually grounded, purpose designed and built cultural- educational center in the Yarra Valley, outer Melbourne.

School Coordinator

His passion was to create a place of both natural as well as architectural beauty, where the architectural forms reflected the educational and spiritual principles of the education and where music, the arts and natural sciences could  flourish within a vibrant social, rural and artistically crafted physical environment. Out of this vision he helped guide the school’s development, designing and project managing its buildings during the first two decades of its establishment phase. Over the 20 years of his involvement he witnessed the school’s growth from a handful of children in a hired public hall, to a full Kindergarten to Class 12 School on its own 60 acre property in the outer reaches of Melbourne, Australia.

Architect

During this time Johannes pioneered a particular approach to design, subsequently known as “Biosculptural” Architecture, which he documented in 2007 as part of the school’s new Master Plan. It was this approach which brought the Little Yarra Steiner School to the attention of colleagues from the European Organic Architecture Movement. The school was featured in a number of overseas publications and was part of a traveling exhibition on “Organic Architecture” displayed in various capital cities in Europe and Asia.

Course Creator

Initially starting out as a teacher coming from a purely educational perspective, as Johannes became involved with the design and building program of the Little Yarra Steiner School, the question of how FORM relates to Life forces and spiritual values became a central focus. His architectural work and interest in the 4 Ethers eventually led him to formulate an Anthroposophically based theory and practical methodology of Transformative Art & Architecture (TAA) which placed the morally transformative power of inspired artistic form as its central aim.

Tutor/Lecturer

Over the years TAA grew into an 8 Module course, which Johannes, together with his wife Sue have been teaching in full or in part time events in Australia, Europe (at the Goetheanum in 2015 and 2016 ), Argentina, China and Taiwan, going online during the Covid years.

Consultant

In addition to lecturing and tutoring, Johannes and Sue also work internationally as Biosculptural Design Consultants, collaborating with organizational and private clients interested in architecture from a spiritual perspective. As Biosculptural Consultants they collaborate with the client and the leading architect to formulate and give tangible expression to a spiritual  higher purpose unifying the overall forms of the design.

Author

As part of a planned book series about Transformative Art & Architecture, the first volume is currently in preparation and expected to be published in late 2025 under the title:

AS ABOVE, SO BELOW – The Universal Creative Process and the Modern AI Challenge