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Cameron Chisholm & Nicol (CCN) is an Australian architecture firm with offices in Perth and Brisbane. Established in Perth in 1884 by James William Wright, the firm has operated continuously in Western Australia since then, and opened its Brisbane offices in 1986. The two offices operate collectively under the title CCN Group. In 2015, Cameron Chisholm Nicol has a staff of about 40 people.
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History
In 1884, James William Wright opened a private architectural practice in Perth, Western Australia, which was the only one in the colony at the time. He had arrived in the colony three years earlier, from South Australia, and had completed government contracts for engineering projects in both colonies. The first commission for the new firm, known as J. W. Wright & Co., was Woodbridge House, which Charles Harper had built on the Swan River near Guildford. It designed a wide range of buildings over the following decades, including office buildings, hotels, banks, grandstands, and the York Town Hall. In 1906, Wright accepted two of his former apprentices as partners, and the firm became known as Wright, Powell & Cameron. Wright's name was dropped after his death in 1917, and the company was known as just Powell & Cameron until 1930, when Oswald Chisholm became a partner and the firm's name was changed to Powell, Cameron & Chisholm.
In the 1950s, Oswald Chisholm’s son Ross began work in the practice, working with Gil Nicol. Ross Chisholm became a partner in the practice in 1958.
In 1986, managing director Henry Peel established an office in Brisbane operating under the name CCN Group (QLD) Pty Ltd. Designs for which it has been commissioned include The Australian Chancery and Ambassadors residence in Brasilia. The company's architects acted as key consultants to the Urban Development Authority in Malaysia. CCN Group has designed projects internationally in China, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Iran, Jakarta, Japan, Malaysia and Yemen.
In 2014, the managers, all registered architects, are Dominic Snellgrove (Managing Director), Gavin Broom (practice manager), Duncan Jordan, (heritage, defence, and multi-residential architecture); Keat Tan (large scale and urban projects) and Peter Keleman (large scale projects, particularly in the areas of health and sport).
Notable projects
The firm's first commission building was the Woodbridge House in Guildford in 1885. Since that time the firm has designed many structures. Some of the better known projects are:
The Reid Library, at the University of Western Australia, was awarded a RIBA Gold Medal in 1964. Gil Nicol was the leading architect on the project, as he was for many Perth buildings, including the Alexander Library, Wesfarmers Building and the Metropolitan Water Centre.
In 1970 the firm also designed award winning National Carillon tower in Canberra, which was a gift to Australia from Britain and was constructed on Aspen Island in Lake Burley Griffin.
Allendale Square, in Perth, was designed by Cameron Chisholm Nicol in 1970 and was completed in 1976. The building has been celebrated with such awards as the RAIA (WA Chapter) Architecture Design Award and Bronze Medal Award as well as the ACI Energy Conservation Award and Alcoa of Australia Award for Architecture. I
Perth Arena
In recent years Cameron Chisholm Nicol, alongside Ashton Raggatt McDougall Architecture, has designed the award winning Perth Arena. This construction has been awarded the George Temple Poole Award at the AIA Awards in Perth. It won the Best in State Award from the Western Australia Design Institute of Australia in 2013. The building also won Best Public Building at the 2015 Property Council of Australia / Rider Levett Bucknall Innovation and Excellence Awards.