Jeffrey Howlett (1928–2005) was a Western Australian modernist architect. Howlett was born in India, but later traveled to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

for his studies and then moved to

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 ...

, Australia for training to become an architect. Throughout his life, he won various competitions with his partner Donald Bailey. Howlett acknowledged the reality of late-twentieth-century cities and, through his architecture, suggested a way of making sense of the disorder. He was a founding partner of Howlett & Bailey, along with Bailey, which designed a number of Australian landmarks such as

Council House A council house, corporation house or council flat is a form of British Public housing in the United Kingdom, public housing built by Local government in the United Kingdom, local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing ...

and the Perth Concert Hall.

Biography

Howlett was born in, and spent his early life in

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

, India. In 1945, he accepted a scholarship to the

Architectural Association School of Architecture The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, commonly referred to as the AA, is the oldest private school of architecture in the UK. The AA hosts exhibitions, lectures, academic conference, symposia and publications. Histo ...

in London. After five years Howlett completed his diploma and worked at the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

under the direction of

Leslie Martin Sir John Leslie Martin (17 August 1908, in Manchester – 28 July 2000) was an English architect, and a leading advocate of the International Style. Martin's most famous building is the Royal Festival Hall. His work was especially influenced ...

for a year before returning to India to marry. He moved, along with his family to

. While in Perth, Howlett started working with several local practices before relocating to

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 ...

. He was granted a position as senior design Architect with the architectural firm of

Bates Smart Bates Smart is an architectural firm with studios in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1853 by Joseph Reed, it is one of Australia's oldest architectural firms. Over the decades, the firm's practices involving architecture, interior ...

. While in Melbourne, Howlett, together with Donald Bailey, won the Australia-Wide competition for the design of the new Perth City Council administration buildings. This brought him back to Perth where he would stay for the remainder of his life. Later, Howlett And Bailey won "The Public Suite", a competition for a series of performance halls. In 1993, Howlett survived a major

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

. The stroke caused him serious damage making him unable to continue practicing as an architect though he eventually learned to work with his left hand on small tray-bound paper which was later assembled into larger sheets. He used oil pastel as paint with a rich surface and startling colours. His forms were bold and simple, and his drawings became his major form of communication, a way of evoking memory and telling stories of his past and present. Later on in his life, Howlett and Bailey won many design awards and competitions from 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 ...

(RIFA), and in 1973, Howlett was honored by the RAIA with Life Fellowship.

Projects

Howlett, along with Bailey, were the architects for the Perth Concert Hall located in the

Perth central business district 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 ...

, which was constructed between 1971 and 1973. It is used mainly for musical performances and other events. The architectural design mainly consists of two buildings. One building has offices and the other, which is oval in shape, contains the auditorium. Throughout 1969, the plans were adjusted several times. These adjustments included beautification and landscaping of the main pedestrian approach from St Georges Terrance and one construction of a subway system under the terrace. This building is an example of

brutalist architecture Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by Minimalism (art), minimalist constructions th ...

, with its solid opaque interior, imposing projecting roof, and use of white off-form concrete. The Perth Council House is a 13-story office built beside

Stirling Gardens Stirling Gardens is a small public park in Perth, Western Australia. Located on the corner of St Georges Terrace and Barrack Street, west of the Government House and north of the Supreme Court buildings, it contains a group of significant scul ...

St Georges Terrace St Georges Terrace (colloquially known as "The Terrace") is the main street in the city of Perth, Western Australia. It runs parallel to the Swan River and forms the major arterial thoroughfare through the central business district. Its ...

. The building was designed by Howlett and Bailey and opened in 1963. Known for its modernist style, there has been many debates about its heritage value. Some consider this building to be an important example of

modernist architecture Modern architecture, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural architectural movement, movement and architectural style, style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco Architectu ...

. Known as "a remarkably simple solution to a complex situation", the building is the first to have a complete window walling to reduce heat from entering the building.

Exhibitions

In 1992, a retrospective exhibition titled the "Howlett Architectural Projects" was curated by Michael Markham and Peter Brew. It took place at the

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

, focusing on the periods when Howlett was a visiting professor at the school of Architecture. In 2002, an exhibition on Howlett's pastel works was held at Perth Galleries featuring his drawing, which showed him staring straight out, foursquare, strong and forthright, his jaw thrusting forward in a determined set. It also portrayed his life and the changes he made to various buildings in Perth.

Awards

* Australia-wide design competition (New Perth City Council Administration Buildings) * The Public Suite (Perth concert Hall) * Competition for the Reserve Bank in Canberra * RAIA (RAIA with Life Fellowship) with Life Fellowship

External links

* http://www.architecturemedia.com/aa/aaissue.php?issueid=200603&article=16&typeon=3 * https://web.archive.org/web/20121125225844/http://www.perthconcerthall.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=63 {{DEFAULTSORT:Howlett, Jeffrey 1928 births 2005 deaths Alumni of the Architectural Association School of Architecture Architects from Perth, Western Australia