John Wardle is a Melbourne-based architect. He graduated from the

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public university, public research university in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1887 by Francis Ormond, RMIT began as a night school offering cla ...

with a degree in Architecture.

Biography

John Wardle established his architectural practice, John Wardle Architects (JWA), in Melbourne in 1986 and has led the growth of the practice from working on small domestic dwellings to university buildings, museums and large commercial offices. In 2001 he completed a Master of Architecture at RMIT University, and he was Adjunct Professor at the School of Art, Architecture and Design,

University of South Australia The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...

(now UniSA Creative, and he is not listed as staff). Wardle has formed strong links with both artists and public art galleries and, as a practicing architect and board member of both the Anne & Gordon Samstag Museum of Art and the

Ian Potter Museum of Art The Ian Potter Museum of Art at the University of Melbourne in Melbourne, Australia was established in 1972. It houses the art collection of the University of Melbourne. Current director, Kelly Gellatly, was appointed in 2013. It is not to be con ...

, has contributed to important public art programs.

Projects

Award winning projects by John Wardle Architects include: * 1997 25 William St. Office, Richmond, Melbourne * 1999 RMIT Printing Facility, Brunswick Campus, Melbourne * 2000 Kew Residence, Melbourne * 2002 RMIT Biosciences Building, Bundoora Campus, Melbourne * 2006 Uni SA Kaurna Building, Adelaide * 2008 Nigel Peck Centre for Learning and Leadership, Melbourne * 2008 Hawke Building, Adelaide * 2008 Queensland Brain Institute * 2009 Jane Foss Russell Building, University of Sydney * 2011 Victoria University Learning Commons and Exercise Sports Science Project * 2012 Shearer's Quarters, Bruny Island, Tasmania * 2013 Fairhaven Beach House

2018 & 2020: ''Somewhere Other''

The 2020 Adelaide//International exhibition at the

Samstag Museum The Samstag Museum of Art, also known as the Samstag Museum, was opened in October 2007 as the Anne & Gordon Samstag Museum of Art, in the Hawke Building of the CityWest campus of the University of South Australia (UniSA). The museum is named in ...

centred around an installation called ''Somewhere Other'' by John Wardle Architects, in collaboration with

Natasha Johns-Messenger Natasha Johns-Messenger (born 1970) is an Australian conceptual artist and filmmaker, who has lived and worked in New York and Melbourne. Johns-Messenger is best known for her large-scale site-determined installations that examine spatial perce ...

. It had also been Australia's entry in the 2018

Venice Architecture Biennale Venice Biennale of Architecture (in Italian Mostra di Architettura di Venezia) is an international exhibition of architecture from nations around the world, held in Venice, Italy, every other year. It was held on even years until 2018, but 202 ...

. Due to run from 28 February to 12 June, the exhibition was cut short by the closure of the Samstag in March 2020 owing to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first confirmed case in Australia was identified on 25 Januar ...

Awards

In 2002 and 2006, JWA was awarded the Australian Institute of Architects Sir Zelman Cowen Award for the most outstanding work of public architecture in Australia. The practice has also been awarded the Harold Desbrowe-Annear Residential Award on three occasions, the Victorian Architecture Medal for a second time in 2008 and the Esmond Dorney Award for Residential Architecture in 2012. In 2012 the Shearers Quarters received the

Robin Boyd Award The Robin Boyd Award for Residential Architecture is an Australian architectural prize presented by the Australian Institute of Architects since 1981. The award is presented in memory of the Australian architect Robin Boyd, and is awarded to r ...

for Residential Architecture.ABC By Design
"Conversation with John Wardle"
7 November 2012 In 2016 JWA was jointly awarded the

Melbourne Prize The Melbourne Prize is an Australian architectural award. It is awarded annually at the Victorian Architecture Awards by a jury appointed by the Victorian chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects to architectural projects that have made ...

for the Tanderrum Bridge in collaboration with NADAAA. Most recently John Wardle was awarded the 2020 Australian Institute of Architecture's Gold Medal.

References

External links