Allen Jack Cottier
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AJC Architects, formerly Allen Jack+Cottier and before that John Allen and Russell C. Jack, is an urban design, architecture, and interior design practice in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, Australia. It was founded in 1952 by John Allen and Russell C. Jack, who were joined by Keith Cottier in 1964. , the practice is headed by director and CEO Michael Heenan.


History

John Allen began the firm in 1952, and in 1956 formed a partnership with university friend Russell Jack, calling their firm John Allen and Russell C. Jack. In July 1956 John Allen and Russell Jack formed an equal partnership. For the first few years their clientele was relatively small, limited to Allen focusing on some factory designs and Jack designing a few houses. Allen's pre-fabricated steel design for Wolfe Electric Tools Factory 1957, at
Homebush Homebush is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Strathfield. The name o ...
was the basis for future industrial structures, notably
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, and Keith Cottier's Domaine Chandon California. In 1964 the firm was renamed Allen Jack+Cottier. In 2001, Cottier was awarded the
Australian Institute of Architects The Australian Institute of Architects, officially the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (abbreviated as RAIA), is Australia's professional body for architects. Its members use the post-nominals FRAIA (Fellow), ARAIA (Associate Member) an ...
' highest honour, the
Gold Medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...
.


Founding partners


John Allen

John Allen's father encouraged him to become a solicitor and he was accepted into
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
’s
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in 1945. A year later Allen's interest in art and design prompted him to instead enrol in Architecture at
Sydney Technical College The Sydney Technical College, now part of TAFE NSW, 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 institutions. History The Sydney M ...
. To gain practical experience during his six-year course Allen worked for Fowell & Mansfield until late 1948 and then for Rudder, Littlemore & Rudder. An economic downturn in 1951-1952 saw Allen redundant and lead to him to become a sole practitioner by July 1952. Initially Allen limited his work to small-scale additions and alterations for friends and family. His first significant entirely new project was a house completed in Vancouver Street,
Red Hill, Australian Capital Territory Red Hill is a suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. The suburb is named after the northernmost hill of the ridge to the west of the suburb. The ridge is a reserve and managed as part of the Canberra Nature Park. The hill ...
.


Russell Jack

Russell Callum Jack was a contemporary of Allen's at Sydney Technical College and with him at Rudder, Littlemore & Rudder whilst completing his studies. Jack aspired to be an architect from a young age and during his years in the
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he studied building construction and freehand drawing by correspondence. Jack won many prizes after graduation, including the Byera Hadley Travelling Scholarship. In May 1952 Jack set off with fellow architects to
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, where he worked for Tripe & Wakeham Architecture Firm for a few months. His work there included a
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for the Sheik of Kuwait. He also travelled in Europe. This experience developed and broadened Jack's understanding of townscapes and urban spaces. Upon his return to Australia he gained more professional experience at Rudder, Littlemore & Rudder for two years. Jack's first major award was in 1958 with the RAIA Sir John Sulman Medal for his own house in
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, Sydney.


Keith Cottier

Keith Cottier was born in 1938. He joined the firm in 1957, after Allen and Jack had recognised his architectural talent in his designs for Clubbe Hall. In 1964 the firm was renamed Allen Jack+Cottier. In 2001 Cottier was awarded the
Royal Australian Institute of Architects The Australian Institute of Architects, officially the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (abbreviated as RAIA), is Australia's professional body for architects. Its members use the post-nominals FRAIA (Fellow), ARAIA (Associate Member) an ...
Gold Medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...
. Cottier was appointed a
Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...
in 2004 for service to architecture as a member of a range of planning, heritage protection and property management organisations, and as a practising architect. He is a trustee of Historic Houses Trust and a member of
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Eminent Architects Panel.


The practice today

, Michael Heenan is CEO and director of AJC Architects. The studio is located in Chippendale.


Award-winning projects

Allen Jack+Cottier has designed some major architectural projects:


See also

* Architecture of Australia


References


External links

* {{authority control Architecture firms of Australia Cottier, Keith 1952 establishments in Australia