Uploaded December 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
From the exhibition 'Lust for lifestyle : modern Adelaide homes 1950-1965' at the State Library of South Australia 3 December 2021 - 31 May 2022
In the mid-1940s, Maurice Doley joined Jack Cheesman and George Lawson to set up an architectural practice that evolved into the Adelaide firm, Lawson Cheesman and Doley, considered the ‘most highly regarded by the public, by fellow architects, both locally and nationally’ (Maurice Edward Doley, 1907–1992,’obituary Architect, South Australia March 1993). From 1964 to 1966 Doley was President of the South Australian Chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects.
At the Doley house, the arrangement of landscape and architectural elements, transparent glass and openings allow for a sensory approach to the pre-existing terrain. The house is sited along the contours of First Creek that runs through the approximately 4000 square metre property and shows a more informal aesthetic in which the structure of the house is concealed.
There is a sensitivity to the natural world with a sequence of rooms and settings leading to an indoor/outdoor connection. This is strengthened though the consistency of materials used inside and outside ‘in harmony with their wooded surroundings’ (John Chappel Advertiser, 10 June 1960). Stone from the creek was brought into interiors and walls, Hopper windows (small-hinged windows) regulate ventilation, steel trusses are concealed in the roof, and load bearing steel window frames conceal structure while enabling an enlarged opening. Protected by foliage, fixed glass within the openings provide views of the garden and allow light to enter. The house provides ‘a very desirable integration of garden and home, of interior and exterior, along with necessary sun control’ (Maurice Doley The Architect, June 1965).
Having apprenticed at Kemp’s Nursery in Kingswood in 1952, Robin Hill went into partnership with Richard Massey to establish the first landscape design practice in South Australia, Massey & Hill. He had been exposed to American ideas in contemporary landscape design, in particular those of highly regarded landscape architect Thomas Church. In 1958 Hill became a sole practitioner in which for a short period he worked as Lasscock’s Nurseries & Robin Hill. Hill’s landscape design for the Doley house dates from this period.
The house won the 1966 Institute of Architects Award for Excellence
The property was upgraded in 1998 by Phillips/Pilkington Architects who worked collaboratively with noted landscape designer Viesturs Cielens to maintain the design spirit of the house and gardens.
Camera Paul Moses, Direction Sam Jozeps
State Library of South Australia : the stories that make us https://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/events/lust-for-lifestyle-modern-adelaide-homes-1950-1965
From the exhibition 'Lust for lifestyle : modern Adelaide homes 1950-1965' at the State Library of South Australia 3 December 2021 - 31 May 2022
In the mid-1940s, Maurice Doley joined Jack Cheesman and George Lawson to set up an architectural practice that evolved into the Adelaide firm, Lawson Cheesman and Doley, considered the ‘most highly regarded by the public, by fellow architects, both locally and nationally’ (Maurice Edward Doley, 1907–1992,’obituary Architect, South Australia March 1993). From 1964 to 1966 Doley was President of the South Australian Chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects.
At the Doley house, the arrangement of landscape and architectural elements, transparent glass and openings allow for a sensory approach to the pre-existing terrain. The house is sited along the contours of First Creek that runs through the approximately 4000 square metre property and shows a more informal aesthetic in which the structure of the house is concealed.
There is a sensitivity to the natural world with a sequence of rooms and settings leading to an indoor/outdoor connection. This is strengthened though the consistency of materials used inside and outside ‘in harmony with their wooded surroundings’ (John Chappel Advertiser, 10 June 1960). Stone from the creek was brought into interiors and walls, Hopper windows (small-hinged windows) regulate ventilation, steel trusses are concealed in the roof, and load bearing steel window frames conceal structure while enabling an enlarged opening. Protected by foliage, fixed glass within the openings provide views of the garden and allow light to enter. The house provides ‘a very desirable integration of garden and home, of interior and exterior, along with necessary sun control’ (Maurice Doley The Architect, June 1965).
Having apprenticed at Kemp’s Nursery in Kingswood in 1952, Robin Hill went into partnership with Richard Massey to establish the first landscape design practice in South Australia, Massey & Hill. He had been exposed to American ideas in contemporary landscape design, in particular those of highly regarded landscape architect Thomas Church. In 1958 Hill became a sole practitioner in which for a short period he worked as Lasscock’s Nurseries & Robin Hill. Hill’s landscape design for the Doley house dates from this period.
The house won the 1966 Institute of Architects Award for Excellence
The property was upgraded in 1998 by Phillips/Pilkington Architects who worked collaboratively with noted landscape designer Viesturs Cielens to maintain the design spirit of the house and gardens.
Camera Paul Moses, Direction Sam Jozeps
State Library of South Australia : the stories that make us https://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/events/lust-for-lifestyle-modern-adelaide-homes-1950-1965
