AJC Architects

Last updated

AJC
Practice information
Founders
  • John Allen (1952—1993)
  • Russell Jack (1956—1976)
  • Keith Cottier AM (1964—2008)
[1]
Founded14 June 1952 (1952-06-14) [2]
Location Sydney, Australia
Significant works and honors
BuildingsJack House, Rothbury Estate Winery
ProjectsMoore Park Gardens, 2000
Awards
Website
https://architectsajc.com/

AJC Architects, formerly Allen Jack+Cottier and before that John Allen and Russell C. Jack, is an urban design, architecture, and interior design practice in Sydney, Australia. It was founded in 1952 by John Allen and Russell C. Jack, who were joined by Keith Cottier in 1964. As of January 2025, the practice is headed by director and CEO Michael Heenan.

Contents

History

Denis (John) Allen began his own practice in 1952, and on 1 July 1956 formed a partnership with university friend Russell Jack, calling their firm John Allen and Russell C. Jack. [2]

In July 1956 John Allen and Russell Jack formed an equal partnership. For the first few years their clientele was relatively small, limited to Allen focusing on some factory designs and Jack designing a few houses. Allen's pre-fabricated steel design for Wolfe Electric Tools Factory 1957, at Homebush was the basis for future industrial structures, notably Qantas, and Keith Cottier's Domaine Chandon California. In 1964 the firm was renamed Allen Jack+Cottier. [3] [2]

In 2001, Cottier was awarded the Australian Institute of Architects' highest honour, the Gold Medal. [2]

Founding partners

John Allen

Denis John Wigram Allen (1926–2022) was born into an Sydney old legal family, Allens and his father had encouraged him to become a solicitor and was accepted into University of Sydney’s Law School in 1945. A year later Allen's interest in art and design prompted him to instead enrol in Architecture at Sydney Technical College. To gain practical experience during his six-year course Allen worked for Fowell & Mansfield until late 1948 and then for Rudder, Littlemore & Rudder. An economic downturn in 1951-1952 saw Allen redundant and lead to him to become a sole practitioner by July 1952. [2] [4]

Initially Allen limited his work to small-scale additions and alterations for friends and family. His first significant entirely new project was a house completed in Vancouver Street, Red Hill, Australian Capital Territory.[ citation needed ]

Russell Jack

Russell Callum Jack (1925—2025) was a contemporary of JOhn Allen's at Sydney Technical College and with him at Rudder, Littlemore and Rudder whilst completing his studies. Jack aspired to be an architect from a young age and during his years in the Royal Australian Air Force he studied building construction and freehand drawing by correspondence.[ citation needed ]

Jack won many prizes after graduation, including the Byera Hadley Travelling Scholarship. In May 1952 Jack set off with fellow architects to London, where he worked for Tripe & Wakeham Architecture Firm for a few months. His work there included a harem for the Sheik of Kuwait. He also travelled in Europe. This experience developed and broadened Jack's understanding of townscapes and urban spaces. Upon his return to Australia he gained more professional experience at Rudder, Littlemore & Rudder for two years.[ citation needed ]

Jack's first major award was in 1958 with the RAIA Sir John Sulman Medal for his own house in Wahroonga, Sydney. [2]

Keith Cottier

Keith Eric Cottier was born in 1938. [5] He joined the firm in 1957, after Allen and Jack had recognised his architectural talent in his designs for Clubbe Hall. In 1964 the firm was renamed Allen Jack+Cottier. [3]

In 2001 Cottier was awarded the Royal Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal. [3]

Cottier was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2004 for service to architecture as a member of a range of planning, heritage protection and property management organisations, and as a practising architect. [6] Cottier was awarded an the degree of honorary Doctor of Science in Architecture (honoris causa) at the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning graduation ceremony, University of Sydney 27 November 2009.

He was a trustee of Historic Houses Trust and a member of Sydney Opera House Eminent Architects Panel. [7]

The practice today

As of January 2025, Michael Heenan is CEO and director of AJC Architects. The studio is located in Chippendale. [8]

Award-winning projects

Kogarah Town Square Kogarah3.jpg
Kogarah Town Square

Significant project by Allen Jack+Cottier:

CompletedProject nameLocationAwardNotes
1958Jack House [9] 62 Boundary Road, Wahroonga [2]
1963Jacobs House36 Cleveland Street, Wahroonga
1965Cater House [10] 145 Mugga Way, Red Hill, Canberra
1965Clubbe Hall, Frensham School Mittagong
  • RAIA NSW Blacket Award for a Building of Outstanding Merit (1967)
 [2] [3]
1971Rothbury Estate Winery Pokolbin
  • RAIA NSW Blacket Award for a Building of Outstanding Merit(1971) [11]
[2] [3]
1975 Seymour Centre University of Sydney
  • RAIA NSW Merit Award (1975)
1988 Apple Headquarters Frenchs Forest
  • RAIA NSW Merit Award (1988)
1990 Domaine Chandon California Winery Coldstream
1994 Wylie's Baths Coogee
  • RAIA NSW Greenway Award for Restoration (1995)
 [3]
1996 Penfolds Magill Estate Winery Adelaide
  • RAIA SA Merit Award, Recycling (1996)
  • RAIA SA Merit Award, Commercial (1996)
  • Master Builders Association, CSR Award, Excellence in Commercial/Industrial Buildings (1996)
  • Australian Institute of Building Award – Outstanding Professional Excellence (1995)
  • Master Builders Association, Ansett Award for Excellence in Heritage Work (1996)
 [3]
2000 Moore Park Gardens Redfern
2001 Woollahra Council Chambers Double Bay
  • National Trust Heritage Awards – Winner Adaptive Reuse, Corporate/Government (2001)
2002Schaeffer Fine Arts Library University of Sydney
  • RAIA NSW Award for Interior Architecture (2002)
2003Kogarah Town Square Kogarah
  • UDIA NSW Award for Excellence in Urban Development–Energy Efficiency (2003)
2006 Lake Ainsworth Sports & Recreation Hall Lennox Head
2008 Rouse Hill Town Centre Rouse Hill
2009 A1 @ SW1 South Bank Brisbane

See also

References

  1. ↑ Heenan, Michael (26 July 2022). "Vale Denis (John) Allen, 1926–2022". Architecture AU. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Houses that Russell, John and Keith built". Sydney Morning Herald . 23 April 2003. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "RAIA Gold Medallist 2001". Architecture Australia . 90 (2). 1 March 2001. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  4. ↑ Heenan, Michael (26 July 2022). "Vale Denis (John) Allen, 1926–2022". Architecture AU. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  5. ↑ Jackson, Davina (2015). "Biography: Keith Cottier". Design and Art Australia online. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  6. ↑ "COTTIER, Keith Eric: Member of the Order of Australia". It's an Honour. 26 January 2004. Archived from the original on 6 May 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  7. ↑ "Contributor profile: Keith Cottier". Architecture Australia. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  8. ↑ "People • AJC Architects". AJC Architects. 21 January 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  9. ↑ Capurro, Annalisa (20 September 2025). "Joyful, original and it has a waterfall: The house that Jack built". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  10. ↑ "Cater House (1965) revisited". ArchitectureAU.com. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  11. ↑ "Radburn prototype wins award". The Canberra Times . 16 October 1971. p. 3. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  12. ↑ "Moore Park Gardens". Architects AJC. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  13. ↑ "2025 NSW Architecture Awards". ArchitectureAU. 20 June 2025. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.