Michael Anthony Rayner is an Australian

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and

urban designer Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

. He was a director of Cox Rayner Architects (now

Cox Architecture Philip Sutton Cox is an Australian architect. He is the founding partner of Cox Architecture, one of the largest architectural practices in Australia. His work has won him multiple awards, the first being in 1963, one year after graduat ...

) for 33 years before commencing a new practice, Blight Rayner Architecture, in 2016. He has led the designs of many major Australian public buildings. He is an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, but the term is gen ...

at the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

and a Life Fellow and Past President of 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 ...

in Queensland. He 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 2011.

Early life and education

Michael Anthony Rayner was born 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 ...

. He grew up in a street adjoining the houses of such noted architects as

Bryce Mortlock Harold Bryce Mortlock , LFRAIA, (14 October 1921 – 3 July 2004) was an Australian architect and planner, alongside Sydney Ancher, Stuart Murray and Ken Woolley. His career spanned the era which saw the consolidation of modern Australian ...

, Peter Keys, and John Fisher. From observing their work as a child, Rayner determined early on to become an architect. Rayner attended

North Sydney Boys High School North Sydney Boys High School (abbreviated as NSBHS) is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded, Single-sex school, single-sex, Selective school (New South Wales), academically selective secondary day school for boys, loc ...

and undertook his architecture studies at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

, graduating with first class honours in 1980 and winning the 1980 Thesis Medal in Architecture. date? He was awarded the

NSW Architects Registration Board The Department of Customer Service is a department of the New South Wales Government that functions as a service provider to support sustainable government finances, major public works and maintenance programs, government procurement, inform ...

Byera Hadley Travelling Scholarship Byera Hadley (1872 – 26 November 1937) was an Australian architect and educator. He led the architecture programme at Sydney Technical College, which was the forerunner of the University of New South Wales Faculty of the Built Environment's arc ...

in 1989, studying urban waterfront renewal.

Career

Sydney

After graduating, Rayner joined Philip Cox and Partners, working closely with Cox for the next ten years and designing such noted public buildings as the Australian National Maritime Museum and the

Sydney Exhibition Centre The Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre was a convention, exhibition and entertainment complex in Darling Harbour, Sydney. The Exhibition Centre was designed by architect Philip Cox and the Convention Centre by John Andrews (architect), John ...

(now demolished) in

Darling Harbour Darling Harbour is a harbour and neighborhood adjacent to the city centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, that is made up of a large recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central busines ...

Brisbane

Rayner moved to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

in 1990 and established Cox Rayner Architects. He designs using the overarching ethos of structure, craft, art and nature as guidelines for all projects, large or small. Rayner left the Cox practice in 2016 to establish Blight Rayner Architecture, as a smaller firm where he could devote more time to thinking about the future of architecture and of cities, and to hands-on designing of buildings. In 2019, the firm won the international competition to design the New Performing Arts Venue at Brisbane's South Bank and subsequently the National Rugby Training Centre at Ballymore.

Planning and urban design

Although primarily an architect, Rayner worked on the

Brisbane CBD Brisbane City is the central Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb and central business district of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It is also colloquially referred to as the "Brisbane CBD", "the city", or simply "to ...

Planning Strategy in 1995, and subsequently prepared the master plan for Newstead-Teneriffe (1996), Brisbane's largest urban waterfront redevelopment. His "Smart Cities: Rethinking the City Centre" was a 2006 study proposing a series of pedestrian bridges constructed and forthcoming. In that year, he was involved in a workshop entitled Tabula Rasa which was held to reflect in the city's possible futures. He has also produced the master plans for

Griffith University Griffith University is a public university, public research university in South East Queensland on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of Australia. The university was founded in 1971, but was not officially opened until 1975. Griffith ...

's Nathan and Logan campuses, and for Singapore's Marina Bay.

Other activities

Rayner is a past Queensland President of the Australian Institute of Architects (2000–2002) and was a Creative Director of the institute's National Convention in 2012. He was a member of the Queensland Premier's Smart State Council (2006–2012) and Queensland Design Council (2009–2012). Rayner was a juror for the

World Architecture Festival The World Architecture Festival (WAF) is an Architecture, architectural and design event held annually and considered to be one of the most prestigious events dedicated to the architecture and development industries. It was founded by Paul Fin ...

Awards in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

in 2014 and 2015. He was a speaker at the Affirmative Architecture Brisbane 2014 symposium. is on the Queensland State Board of Advisors of the Property Industry Foundation.

Recognition and honours

Rayner was appointed a

(AM) in 2011. Rayner is an adjunct professor at the

(2009-) and he chairs

’s Architecture Industry Advisory Board. He is a long-term member of the Queensland Government's Urban Design and Places Panel. Rayner is a Fellow of the

Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) is an independent Learned society, learned academy that helps Australians understand and use technology to solve complex problems. History The Australian Academy of Technological S ...

(ATSE) and a Life Fellow of the

Notable projects

Personal life

Rayner married Kylie Broad in 1996. They have two sons. Rayner is an avid art collector and philanthropist. He donated 97 works from his collection to the

University of Queensland Art Museum The University of Queensland Art Museum is the art museum and public gallery of the University of Queensland in the James and Mary Emelia Mayne Centre at the St Lucia, Queensland, St Lucia campus. The University of Queensland Art Collection is no ...

in 2015.

References

External links

* * Queensland State Archives, 2021.
The Queensland Cultural Centre: then, now and new
''Livestream''. 13 March. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rayner, Michael Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century Australian architects Fellows of the American Institute of Architects Members of the Order of Australia University of New South Wales alumni People educated at North Sydney Boys High School