Bunning and Madden is an Australian

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

and

urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

firm based in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

and

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. The firm was founded by

Walter Bunning Walter Ralston Bunning (19 May 1912 – 13 October 1977) was a prominent Australian architect and urban planner. Early life Bunning was born in Brisbane. During the depression he moved to Sydney to study at East Sydney Technical College grad ...

in 1945 in Sydney.Sydney: Self-published, 1970. his copy signed by partners Walter Bunning, Kevin Smith, Noel Potter & Arthur Robb The firm's most notable commission was the design of the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

and the firm was most prominent between 1955 and 1970s.

Background

was born on 19 May 1912 in

South Brisbane South Brisbane is an inner southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , South Brisbane had a population of 7,196 people. Geography The suburb is on the southern bank of the Brisbane River, bounded to the north-west, ...

. Bunning studied art at

East Sydney Technical College The National Art School (NAS) is a tertiary level art school, located in , an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The school is an independent accredited higher education provider offering specialised study in studio arts p ...

. He attending

Sydney Technical College The Sydney Technical College, now known as the TAFE New South Wales Sydney Institute, is a technical school established in 1878, that superseded the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts. The college is one of Australia's oldest technical education i ...

at night and worked in the offices of

Carlyle Greenwell Carlyle Greenwell (16 March 1884 – 7 February 1961) was an Australian architect whose houses, designed in the first half of the 20th century, are often heritage-listed. He was also a philanthropist who made bequests to the University of Sydn ...

and Stephenson & Meldrum. Bunning won the Kemp medal on qualifying in 1933 and became an associate of the college in 1936. He was awarded a Board of Architects Travelling Scholar (NSW) to study urban planning aboard during 1936–39. Bunning became an associate of the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

in 1938 was awarded the Australian Medallion in 1939. Bunning returned to Sydney and was elected an associate of the

Royal Australian Institute of Architects (United we advance architecture) , predecessor = , merged = , successor = , formation = , extinction = , status = Professional body; members association , headquarters = L1/41 Exhibition St, Melbourne , leader_title = CEO , leader_ ...

in 1940; and later Councillor of the New South Wales chapter, 1940–44 and Fellow in 1951). In 1945 he was appointed town planner under a Commonwealth scheme to redevelop the munitions plant at as factories. And also elaborated his view in ''Homes in the Sun''. According to Robin Boyd, the book established Bunning as 'the best known architectural publicist in the country.

Foundation of the firm

Bunning's firm was founded by him on 19 May 1945 in an office on the first floor of 15 York Street, Sydney. In the first year the practice produced many houses and number of town planning schemes. Bunning invited Charles Madden to join him and the partnership of Bunning and Madden was founded on 29 May 1946. Bunning and Madden won the Australia and New Zealand-wide competition to design Anzac House, the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

official memorial for returned servicemen and women in

WWI World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1953 the firm was commissioned by Grace Bros. Limited to design a large suburban store at

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

. It was the first store in Australia with roof-top carpark. Kevin Smith and Noel Potter were on the staff of the firm for some years and become Associates in 1955 and 1957. On 16 July 1960, Madden died and Bunning took Smith and Potter into the partnership and Arthur Robb became an Associate of the firm. In 1961 the firm was commissioned to design the National Library of Australia by the

National Capital Development Commission The National Capital Authority (NCA) is a statutory authority of the Australian Government that was established to manage the Commonwealth's interest in the planning and development of Canberra as the capital city of Australia. Timeline of the ...

, Potter was the project architect on the National Library and finally opened Bunning and Madden's permanent office in Civic in 1964, and remained the firm's partner in charge in Canberra until retiring in 1996. The firm completed International House for the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

in 1967. Robb joined the partnership on 1 July 1969. Bunning and Madden architects also work for the National Headquarters of The Institution of Engineers, Australia and Australian National University projects. Over many years the firm has carried out a large volume of work for the Department of Public Works in New South Wales and Housing Commission of New South Wales. Bunning was appointed

Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

in 1975 and a Life Fellow of the Royal Australian Planning Institute in 1976.Papers of Walter Bunning: http://nla.gov.au/nla.ms-ms5543 He died of a cerebral tumour on 13 October 1977. In 2006 Potter was awarded Clem Cummings Award by the

Australian Institute of Architects (United we advance architecture) , predecessor = , merged = , successor = , formation = , extinction = , status = Professional body; members association , headquarters = L1/41 Exhibition St, Melbourne , leader_title = CEO , leader_ ...

, and in 2010 he was appointed an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

for exceptional services to architecture.

Notable projects

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunning and Madden Architecture firms of Australia Australian urban planners 1945 establishments in Australia

Background

Foundation of the firm

Notable projects

Further reading

See also

References