Winthrop Hall, The University of Western Australia
architect, architecture, bell tower, benefactor, bequest, campanile, clock tower, Conrad Sayce, Crawley, Hackett Hall, Italian influence, Mediterranean style, “Renaissance†style, Rodney Alsop, Romanesque style, Sir John Winthrop Hackett (1848-1916), The University of Western Australia, tower, university buildings, Western Australia, Winthrop Hall
A view of Winthrop Hall and the clock tower at the University of Western Australia. They are built in an Italian or Mediterranean Romanesque style, typified by rounded arches, arcading, thick walls (they are 9ft thick) and the large square campanile tower. When asked about the style of the design, the architect described it variously as “Renaissanceâ€, and as being of Italian ancestry, but notably “anglicised and adapted to the local conditions†(See Western Mail, 21 April 1932, pp.14: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38891565). There was at first, as historian Fred Alexander noted, some concern over “the wisdom of preferring a boldly Mediterranean or Spanish type of architecture to the more familiar neo-gothic style generally favoured by academic authoritiesâ€, but these concerns faded as the buildings began to take shape and by the time Winthrop Hall was officially opened on 13 April 1932, it was highly praised as a fitting commemoration to its founder (See Fred Alexander, Campus at Crawley: A Narrative and Critical Appreciation of the First Fifty Years of The University of Western Australia, F.W. Cheshire, Melbourne, 1963, p.136).
Winthrop Hall was designed by Melbourne architects Rodney Alsop and Conrad Sayce, whose joint entry won an architectural competition held by the University Senate in 1927. The impetus for the competition was a large bequest left by the University’s first Chancellor, Sir John Winthrop Hackett, who had died in 1916. Alsop, the senior of the pair, was employed as the lead architect and they began the project of building Winthrop Hall and the Hackett Buildings together. However, they fell out in the process and Sayce left before the buildings were completed. One of the points on which they disagreed was Alsop’s replacement of the clock tower in the original design with the Italian Campanile style tower that stands today (See R. J. Ferguson, Crawley Campus: The Planning and Architecture of The University of Western Australia, University of Western Australia Press, Perth, 1993).
McEwan, Joanne
3 February 2011
No Copyright
Digital Photograph
University Buildings. 51 Competitive Designs.
Adjudicators’ report, Administration Building, architect, architecture, Athelson Saw, benefactor, bequest, commemoration, competition, Conrad Sayce, Crawley, “Early Western Australian Renaissance†style, Great Gate, great hall, Hackett Hall, Leslie Wilkinson, loggia, monument, Rodney Alsop, Romanesque style, Senate, Senate Chamber, senators, Sir John Winthrop Hackett (1848-1916), The University of Western Australia, tower, university buildings, Western Australia, Winthrop Hall
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: x-small;">In 1926, an architectural competition invited new designs for Winthrop Hall and the Hackett Memorial Buildings at The University of Western Australia. </span><a name="12de6d791188df37__GoBack"></a><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">A bequest by the University’s first Chancellor, Sir John Winthrop Hackett, had provided £150,000 for this purpose. This article from the <em>West Australian</em> informs readers of the competition’s outcome. It identifies Melbourne architects Rodney Alsop and Conrad Sayce as the winners, Donald H. McMorran from Harrow-on-the-Hill as the first runner-up and Gummer and Ford from Auckland as the second runner-up. The article reports that 51 designs had been considered by the panel, which was comprised of Professor Leslie Wilkinson, Professor of Architecture, Mr A. R. L. Wright, President of the Royal Institute of Architects of Western Australia and Dr Athelson Saw, the Chancellor of the University, and that they had particularly commended the general layout and the design for the great hall, the loggia and the tower in the winning design. The conditions of the competition had stipulated that the winner would be employed as the architect for the project unless the adjudicators in consultation with the Senators objected. During this discussion, Professor Ross asked what style the winning design represented. Professor Wilkinson is reported to have answered “it is in the style which our grandsons will call ‘Early Western Australian Renaissance’.” <span> </span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Construction of the buildings began soon after, and Winthrop Hall was officially opened in April 1932. Alsop and Sayce began the project together, although Alsop was the senior architect and assumed responsibility for all correspondence about the project, but fell out in the process and Sayce left before the buildings were completed. One of their disagreements centred on Alsop’s replacement of the original clock tower with an Italian style campanile. For more information, see R. J. Ferguson, <em>Crawley Campus: The Planning and Architecture of The University of Western Australia</em>, (University of Western Australia Press, Perth, 1993), pp. 24-33. </span></span></span></p>
Anon.
National Library of Australia
The West Australian
31 August 1927, p. 11.
The West Australian
Newspaper Article
Winthrop Hall Clock Tower, The University of Western Australia
architect, architecture, bell tower, benefactor, bequest, campanile, clock tower, Conrad Sayce, Crawley, Hackett Hall, Italian influence, Mediterranean style, “Renaissance†style, Rodney Alsop, Romanesque style, Sir John Winthrop Hackett (1848-1916), The University of Western Australia, tower, university buildings, Western Australia, Winthrop Hall
A view of Winthrop Hall and the clock tower at the University of Western Australia. They are built in an Italian or Mediterranean Romanesque style, typified by rounded arches, arcading, thick walls (they are 9ft thick) and the large square campanile tower. When asked about the style of the design, the architect described it variously as “Renaissanceâ€, and as being of Italian ancestry, but notably “anglicised and adapted to the local conditions†(See Western Mail, 21 April 1932, pp.14: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38891565). There was at first, as historian Fred Alexander noted, some concern over “the wisdom of preferring a boldly Mediterranean or Spanish type of architecture to the more familiar neo-gothic style generally favoured by academic authoritiesâ€, but these concerns faded as the buildings began to take shape and by the time Winthrop Hall was officially opened on 13 April 1932, it was highly praised as a fitting commemoration to its founder (See Fred Alexander, Campus at Crawley: A Narrative and Critical Appreciation of the First Fifty Years of The University of Western Australia, F.W. Cheshire, Melbourne, 1963, p.136).
Winthrop Hall was designed by Melbourne architects Rodney Alsop and Conrad Sayce, whose joint entry won an architectural competition held by the University Senate in 1927. The impetus for the competition was a large bequest left by the University’s first Chancellor, Sir John Winthrop Hackett, who had died in 1916. Alsop, the senior of the pair, was employed as the lead architect and they began the project of building Winthrop Hall and the Hackett Buildings together. However, they fell out in the process and Sayce left before the buildings were completed. One of the points on which they disagreed was Alsop’s replacement of the clock tower in the original design with the Italian Campanile style tower that stands today (See R. J. Ferguson, Crawley Campus: The Planning and Architecture of The University of Western Australia, University of Western Australia Press, Perth, 1993).
McEwan, Joanne
3 February 2011
No Copyright
Digital Photograph