History | Harold Thomas Griggs (14/3/1899–1992) is one of South Australia’s lesser-known but prolific architects. His work, which spanned approximately five decades, is significant because it represents the range of typical small- to medium-sized architectural commissions undertaken by sole practitioners in the twentieth century.
Griggs received a well-rounded education in architecture, studying selected subjects at the South Australian School of Art, the South Australian School of Mines and Industries (School of Mines) and the University of Adelaide. During World War One he served in the 43rd Battalion, Australian Imperial Force as a Signaller. While stationed overseas he travelled as much as possible to further his knowledge of architecture and when the war finished he toured Great Britain, Europe and New York City.
After returning to Australia in 1920 Griggs continued his architectural studies and in 1924 gained his Architectural Draftsman’s Certificate from the School of Mines. His passion for learning led him to undertake further study from 1928 to 1929; he was awarded a South Australian Institute of Architects (SAIA) Annual Prize and in 1929 an ‘evening studentship’. His academic education was balanced by articled training from July 1926 to July 1929 at the well-known firm of Woods, Bagot, Jory and Laybourne Smith. This training and his Draftsman’s Certificate allowed him to be admitted as an Associate to the SAIA in 1929 and a Fellow in 1939. In 1941, with the introduction of the Architects Act, he registered as an architect.
Griggs commenced private practice in Adelaide in August 1929 and, although he at times employed contractors, his practice remained small. He varied his working life by occasionally undertaking professional duties outside of his practice and in 1937 gave an educational broadcast for the Australian Broadcast Commission’s (ABC) ‘Homes and Habits Series’. In 1956 he attended the Sixth Australian Architectural Convention in Adelaide that largely introduced modernism to the state. In 1968 he was on the planning committee for the Symposium ‘Tomorrow’s Housing’ held by the RAIA (SA Chapter) in Adelaide.
In the first 10 years of his practice Griggs undertook many residential projects and experimented with a range of construction techniques, including a ‘wood-framed stucco finish’ at Salisbury (1933) and numerous ‘brick stucco’ houses in Tusmore (1935), Beaumont (1935) and Unley Park (1935). In the late 1930s he designed modern ‘flat roof’ residences at Ashford (1937) and Somerton (1936). His numerous commercial commissions included modernising Adelaide Arcade for Netter & Solomons (1935) and Gladys Sym Choon’s premises in Rundle Street (1938). He balanced the design of warehouses with hospital additions in Mannum (1935) and the Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital at Pinnaroo (1935), not to mention clubhouses, hostels, flats and housing schemes. One of his most well-known hostel projects was additions and renovations to the Salvation Army’s 1899 People’s Palace (1938) that provided low-cost, short-term accommodation.
Griggs’s contribution was not limited to his active service in both world wars and during World War Two he designed air raid shelters, for example at the Ramsgate Hotel at Henley Beach and modifying the Port Adelaide Town Hall to provide air-raid precautions. He also prepared munitions drawings for the Department of Interior, Salisbury and Cheltenham Works. He was one of the architects who worked on numerous Adelaide buildings that had sustained damage during an earthquake in the mid-1950s. In the latter decades he continued to work on a diverse range of commissions.
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