Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country
Swanston Central Tenancy 3, Upper Mezzanine
160 Victoria Street, Carlton VIC 3053

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We respectfully acknowledge the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation, who are the Traditional Owners of the land on which Foreground Architecture meets and works, and pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging. Our Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan demonstrates our commitment to First Nations recongnition and reconcilation.

Vale John Andrews, Architect (1933 – 2022)

By Greg Anson | 24 November 2022

It was an emotional and inspiring experience attending John Andrews’ memorial gathering in Sydney this time last week. The University of Melbourne’s Professor of Architecture, Paul Walker, addressed the crowd, remembering Andrews’ original approach via details of his soon-to-be released book, “John Andrews: Architect of Uncommon Sense.”

I started my career working at JAI and can certainly agree with Walker that Andrews had a visionary style. I benefited greatly from his experience and perspective – and that of his business partner, John Simpson. Supported by a small team of talented architects, urban designers and drafters, we designed and documented projects such as the original Building 8 at RMIT in Melbourne from our Pittwater boatshed loft: an outpost of the Palm Beach-based practice. Later, at JAI’s Washington D.C. office, working on projects like the Intelsat Headquarters cemented my understanding of the power of public architecture.

Professor of Architecture Paul Walker holds his book John Andrews: Architect of Uncommon Sense

Brutalist building with recessed waffle high ceilings as large meeting space

Walker’s upcoming book includes Andrews’ seminal works: Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, Gund Hall, and the renowned, brutalist, Scarborough College (now the University of Toronto, Scarborough), in Canada. At the memorial, Simpson explained Andrews’ idea that universities should not simply be places to attend lectures or study chosen subjects. He noted Scarborough’s design encouraged curious interactions across disciplines, campus-wide, that would promote understanding of others’ specialisations. At Harvard’s Gund Hall, too, its stepped, open plan was a melting pot, where students and teachers could interact with colleagues and learners from all year levels. These opportunities for observation and incidental learning impacted everyone – from first year to master’s students, as well as the lecturers and tutors charged with more formal curriculum delivery. Projects like these demonstrated JAI’s capacity to set new design precedents (lessons taught via closed circuit television in the 1960s seem almost prescient after the online learning modes of recent pandemic-induced lockdown education.) They fostered new methods of collaboration and open learning that profoundly impacted the evolution of modern day educational facilities.

The Andrews Building meeting place, Scarborough College, Toronto Canada

A section view sketch of the Andrews Building, Scarborough College, Toronto

One of the surprise speakers at Andrews’ memorial was the renowned Sydney architect, Richard Leplastrier, who revealed that it was Andrews who convinced him – at the age of 16 – to consider studying architecture instead of science. It is my sincere hope that I will one day reflect on having provided younger architects with even a fraction of the guidance I was so privileged to have received from John Andrews.

Images: Professor Paul Walker with his upcoming book, John Andrews: Architect of Uncommon Sense; Black and white image and section of Andrews Building, Scarborough College, University of Toronto courtesy of the University of Toronto Scarborough College via Ontario Association of Architects; Colour image of Andrews Building courtesy of Thomas Guignard, via architectmagazine.com

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