Richard Denis Leplastrier (born 1939,

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 ...

, Australia) is an Australian architect and

AIA Gold Medal The AIA Gold Medal is awarded by the American Institute of Architects conferred "by the national AIA Board of Directors in recognition of a significant body of work of lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture." It is the Ins ...

recipient. He was a Professor of Practice (Architecture) at the

University of Newcastle, Australia The University of Newcastle is a Public university#Australia, public university in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1965, it has a primary campus in the Newcastle suburb of Callaghan, New South Wales, Callaghan. The univers ...

Career

After graduation from

Sydney University 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 ...

School of Architecture, Design and Planning in 1963, he worked in the Sydney office of

Jørn Utzon Jørn Oberg Utzon (; 9 April 191829 November 2008) was a Danish architect. In 1957, he won an international design competition for his design of the Sydney Opera House in Australia. Utzon's revised design, which he completed in 1961, was the b ...

from 1964 to 1966 assisting with documentation of the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

. He later studied at

Kyoto University , or , is a National university, national research university in Kyoto, Japan. Founded in 1897, it is one of the former Imperial Universities and the second oldest university in Japan. The university has ten undergraduate faculties, eighteen gra ...

under Tomoya Masuda and worked in the office of Kenzo Tange in Tokyo. Leplastrier established his own practice in 1970 and works from his studio in Sydney's Lovett Bay. He teaches master classes for beginning and established architects with his colleagues

Glenn Murcutt Glenn Marcus Murcutt (born 25 July 1936) is an Australian architect and winner of the 1992 Alvar Aalto Medal, the 2002 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the 2009 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and the 2021 Praemium Imperiale. Glenn ...

and Peter Stutchbury. He has contributed several unique and thoughtful ideas during preservation and development discussions around Sydney’s

Pittwater Pittwater is a semi-mature tide dominated Ria, drowned valley estuary, located about north of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia; being one of the bodies of water that separate greater Metropolitan Sydney from th ...

area. During the 1980s he raised the idea of resurrecting the creekline natural corridor which leads from

Avalon Beach Avalon Beach is a northern beachside suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 28 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council, in the Northern Beache ...

through Elba Lane up through Toongari and Nandina reserves and down past Avalon sailing club, linking the sea to the bay. He has strong opinions regarding the re-development and re-commercialization of the Pasadena wharf the point of embarkation for commuters to Western Pittwater, submitting the 'lePlastrier plan' to the debate.

Selected works

* 1974–1976: Palm Garden House, Bilgola Beach, Sydney * 1981–1984 and 1989–1990: Bellingen House and Studio,

Bellingen, New South Wales Bellingen ( ) is a small town in the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia. Located on Waterfall Way on the Bellinger River,it lies approximately halfway between the major Australian cities of Sydney and Brisbane. It is the council seat ...

* 1988–1991: Rainforest House, Mapleton, Queensland * 1988–1992:

Tom Uren Thomas Uren (28 May 1921 – 26 January 2015) was an Australian politician and Deputy Leader of the Australian Labor Party from 1975 to 1977. Uren served as the Division of Reid, Member for Reid in the Australian House of Representatives from ...

House, Balmain, Sydney * 1994: Lovett Bay House, Sydney * 1996: Cloudy Bay Retreat,

Bruny Island Bruny Island is a coastal island of Tasmania, Australia, located at the mouths of the Derwent River and Huon River estuaries on Storm Bay on the Tasman Sea, south of Hobart. The island is separated from the mainland by the D'Entrecasteaux C ...

, Tasmania * 1997:

Watsons Bay Watsons Bay is a harbourside, Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Watsons Bay is located 11 km north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, ...

House, Sydney * 1997–1998 and 2000: Blue Mountains House and Studio,

Leura Leura (postcode: 2780) is a suburb in the City of Blue Mountains local government area that is located west of the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the series of small towns stretched along the Main W ...

, New South Wales * 2002: Design Centre Tasmania,

Launceston, Tasmania Launceston () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk River, North Esk and South Esk River, South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River, Tasmania, Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, the Launc ...

, (with David Travalia)

Awards

Architecture Awards

In 1996, he received the New South Wales

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 ...

'Special Jury Award'. He was awarded the

Royal Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal The Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal is the highest individual award of the Australian Institute of Architects, awarded annually since 1960. The award was created to recognise distinguished service by Australian architects who have: ...

in 1999. In 2004 he was awarded the Spirit Of Nature Wood Architecture Award, presented in Finland. In 2009, he was awarded the Dreyer Foundation Prize of Honour 2009 for his commitment to sustainability.

Honours

On 13 June 2011, he was made an Officer 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 ...

for distinguished service to architecture, particularly through the application of environmentally sensitive design, and as an educator and mentor.

Legacy

At the 2020 NSW Chapter AIA Architecture Awards the Palm Garden House at Bilgola Beach was presented the New South Wales Enduring Architecture Award. Later in 2020 at the national awards the Palm Garden House was awarded the National Award for Enduring Architecture by 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 ...

References

Sources

External links

Spirit of Nature Wood Architecture website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leplastrier, Richard 1939 births Living people Recipients of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects’ Gold Medal Architects from Sydney 20th-century_Australian_architects 21st-century_Australian_architects