Hassell is a multidisciplinary architecture, design and urban planning practice with offices in Australia, China, Singapore, USA and the United Kingdom. Founded in 1937/8 in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, the firm's former names include Claridge, Hassell and McConnell; Hassell, McConnell and Partners; and Hassell and Partners Pty. Ltd. They are particularly known for the Adelaide Festival Centre complex, which opened in 1973.

History

Hassell was founded in Adelaide, South Australia in 1938. From 1937, Colin Hassell worked with Philip R. Claridge and Associates, with Claridge, Hassell and McConnell being established as a partnership which included Jack McConnell. Hassell served in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, resuming his place in the firm in 1945. After Claridge retired in 1949, the firm became Hassell, McConnell and Partners, and established offices in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

. In 1962 John Morphett joined the practice, who was very influenced by the

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...

and

modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

movements. In the 1970s the firm became Hassell and Partners Pty. Ltd., with Hassell as Senior Principal and also Managing Director of the group. During this period, additional offices were opened 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 ...

, Melbourne and

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. Hassell and Partners Pty Ltd designed the Adelaide Festival Centre in 1970, with the Adelaide Festival Theatre opened in 1973. Said to be designed "from the inside out" by chief designer John Morphett, the complex has been "hailed as a major step forward in modern architecture in South Australia". After 1978, the firm became simply Hassell. In 2010 the firm was ranked the largest architecture company in Australia and the 25th largest in the world, and retained the Australian ranking for the following two years in the BD World Architecture 100 annual survey. In 2019, Hassell, then the second-largest design firm in Australia, announced that they would be closing their Adelaide office upon completion of existing projects in 2021, so it could focus on larger urban centres. The existing projects included the Adelaide GPO development, the Adelaide Festival Centre redevelopments, and the expansion of

Adelaide Airport Adelaide Airport, also known as Adelaide International Airport, is an International airport, international, Domestic airport, domestic and general aviation airport serving Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. Located approximately 6 km ...

terminal. Although the physical office closed, the firm continued to undertake work in Adelaide, via a consultancy which set up by the three principal architects based in Adelaide.

Accolades

The firm has received Australian Institute of Architects national awards for the Sydney Olympic Park railway station (1998), the VS1/SA Water building in Adelaide (2009), ANZ Centre in Melbourne's Docklands and the railway stations of the Epping to Chatswood railway line (2010) and the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

Birch Building Refurbishment (2022). In 2023, the firm won a

Civic Trust Award The Civic Trust Awards scheme is a British awards scheme to recognise outstanding architecture, planning and design in the built environment. It was established in 1959, and is the longest-standing built environment awards scheme in Europe. The ...

for the First Light Pavilion Visitor's Centre at

Jodrell Bank Observatory Jodrell Bank Observatory ( ) in Cheshire, England hosts a number of radio telescopes as part of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester. The observatory was established in 1945 by Bernard Lovell, a radio as ...

Selected projects

The firm's first major project was the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

building at 2 King William Street for the

Bank of New South Wales The Bank of New South Wales (BNSW), also known as The Wales, was the first bank in Australia. It was established in 1817 in Sydney. During the 19th century, the bank opened branches throughout Australia and New Zealand, expanding into Oceania ...

Australia

* Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide, Australia, 1973 * Olympic Park railway station,

, Australia, 1998 * North Ryde railway station,

North Ryde North Ryde is a suburb located in the Northern Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. North Ryde is located 15 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Ryde. One of ...

, Australia, 2009 *ANZ Centre, Docklands, Australia, 2010 * Fiona Stanley Hospital, Perth, Australia 2013 *

National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, it offers bachelor's, master's and vocational degrees in subjects including acting ...

Graduate School, Sydney, Australia, 2015 *

Perth Stadium Perth Stadium, commercially known as Optus Stadium due to sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the Burswood, Western Australia, Burswood suburb of Perth, Western Australia. It was completed during late 2017 and officially opened ...

, Perth, Australia, 2017 *

Western Australian Museum The Western Australian Museum is a statutory body, statutory authority within the Culture and the Arts Portfolio, established under the ''Museum Act 1969''. The museum has six main sites. The state museum, WA Museum Boola Bardip, is located i ...

(WA Museum Boola Bardip),

, Australia, 2019, Designed with OMA *UWA EZONE Student Hub, Perth, Australia, 2020 *AMRF First Building (as part of the Aerotropolis Masterplan for Western Sydney Airport), Sydney, In progress *Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation, Melbourne, In progress

United Kingdom

Sky UK Sky UK Limited (formerly British Sky Broadcasting Limited (BSkyB)), Trade name, trading as Sky, is a British broadcasting, broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television, broadband internet, fixed line and mobile telephone ...

London HQ (Sky Central Workplace), London, 2016 * Brighton Business School, Brighton, 2021 *First Light Pavilion Visitor's Centre (

), Macclesfield, 2022

China

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc ( zh, t_hk=滙豐; initialism from its founding member The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business li ...

QRC Suites, Hong Kong, 2021

Gallery

File:Olympicrailstationsydney.jpg, Olympic Park railway station, Sydney, Australia File:North Ryde station entrance.jpg, North Ryde railway station, Sydney, Australia File:ANZ Docklands.jpg, ANZ Centre, Docklands, Australia File:New WA Museum construction, December 2019 01.jpg,

(WA Museum Boola Bardip), Perth, Australia

References

External links

* {{Authority control Architecture firms of Australia Australian companies established in 1938 Design companies established in 1938