1956 Australian Architectural Convention Exhibition Collection
Architecture Museum, University of South Australia
Royal Australian Institute of Architects. South Australian Chapter.,
Series
215
Biography
Architects formed the South Australian Institute of Architects (SAIA) in 1886 as a professional body representing architects which also helped to redefine architecture as a profession. The SAIA worked on behalf of architects with regard to architectural education, codes of ethics, regulations, conditions of contract and architectural competition regulations. In 1904 Walter Bagot designed the seal of the SAIA. A federation of all state institutes of architects in Australia was established and the Royal Australian Institute of Architects was incorporated in 1930. However the SAIA continued to call itself by its original name rather than become a chapter of the RAIA. In 1940 the Architects Board of South Australia was established in order to register architects under the newly passed Architects Act 1939. In 1962 the SAIA voted to surrender its identity and became the RAIA (SA Chapter). Also in the 1960s the RAIA (SA Chapter) operated a Small Homes Service which provided architect designed house plans for a nominal fee to the general public. The chapter was also a strong advocate for the Planning and Development Act of 1967. Since the federation of the institutes in 1930, many South Australians have served as national President of the RAIA: Philip Claridge, Guy St John Makin, Louis Laybourne Smith, Jack Cheesman, Wilfred Haslam, James Irwin, Jack McConnell, Gavin Walkley, Robert Hall, Robert Cheesman, and David Parken. In August 2008, the Royal Australian Institute of Architects changed its name to the Australian Institute of Architects.
Sources
Australian Institute of Architects http://www.architecture.com.au/
Freeland, J.M. (1971) The making of a Profession, Angus and Robertson, Sydney.
Page, M. (1986) Sculptors in Space: South Australian Architects 1836-1986, RAIA (SA), Adelaide.
Collection Description
Contains a single series of material related to the 1998 retrospective exhibition of an RAIA Convention Exhibition held 26 May to 16 June 1956 in the Adelaide Parklands. Staged by the South Australian Institute of Architecture and the Royal Australian Institute of Architects, in conjunction with the Sixth Australian Architectural Convention, the exhibition was designed to foster interest in the latest developments in architecture through models and buildings. Botanic Park was the site for pavilions intended to show ‘how beauty and logic can be combined to make more pleasing surroundings for daily living’. The exhibition was covered in national and international architectural journals and in the Australian and overseas press. The Architectural Convention and exhibition of 1956 changed architecture in Adelaide and beyond, introducing contemporary architecture to the South Australian public.
Includes enlarged printed photographic panels from the 1998 retrospective exhibition, as well as research notes and copies of original documents relating to the 1956 exhibition.
See also Cheesman collection (Series S209) for the 1956 Programmes for the Convention and for the Exhibition held in Park Lands, registration, and personal invitations to peers and lists of delegates attending with personal notations; Neighbour collection (Series S294) for original slides, plans and ephemera; Griggs collection (Series S167) for programmes and ephemera, and Hurren collection for programmes.
Series List
| Series | Description |
| S215 | RAIA Exhibition |
| S215/1 | Miscellaneous material on the 1956 Australian Architectural Convention Exhibition |
| S215/1/1 | Brochure for 1956 Sixth Australian Architectural Convention Exhibition |
| S215/1/2 | A4 laminated photocopies from brochure of 1956 6AAC exhibition |
| S215/1/3 | Magazine clipping on Sixth Australian Architectural Convention Exhibition |
| S215/1/4 | Laminated and mounted enlargements of slides and photographs of the Sixth Australian Architectural Convention Exhibition of 1956 |
| S215/1/5 | A1 laminated photocopies of pages from catalogue of 1956 Sixth Australian Architectural Convention exhibition |
| S215/1/6 | Biographical information on contributors to the 1956 Sixth Australian Architectural Convention Exhibition |
| S215/1/7 | Bob Dickson - Recollections |
| S215/1/8 | Professor Frank Bull - Recollections |
| S215/1/9 | Colin Schumacher - Recollections |
| S215/1/10 | Sixth Australian Architectural Convention, map of Adelaide |
| S215/1/11 | Copy of article on Sixth Australian Architectural Convention in Cross Section magazine |
| S215/1/12 | Copy of article on people at the convention, from Arts and Architecture magazine |
| S215/1/13 | Copy of article on 1956 Sixth Australian Architectural Convention Exhibition form the Sunday Mail |
| S215/1/14 | Site map of Botanic Park showing location of Exhibition pavilions |
| S215/2 | Entrance Canopy |
| S215/3 | Concrete Pavilion |
| S215/4 | Trades Pavilion |
| S215/5 | SA Govt Pavilion |
| S215/6 | Timber House |
| S215/7 | Steel Pavilion |
| S215/8 | Glass Pavilion |
| S215/9 | Plastics Dome exterior |
| S215/10 | CSR Pavilion |
| S215/11 | International Pavilion |
| S215/12 | Sculpture |
| S215/13 | Mural |
| S215/14 | Banner of Sponsors |
| S215/15 | Notes on 1956 Australian Architectural Convention Exhibition |