Stephenson and Turner

Arthur George Stephenson

Sir Arthur George Stephenson (1890–1967), architect, born in 1890 at Box Hill, Victoria. In 1907 Stephenson worked for Swansson Brothers while studying construction at the Working Men’s College. He joined the Australian Imperial Force in 1915 as a lieutenant, promoted to captain and awarded the Military Cross. After WWI, Stephenson remained in London and studied at the Architectural Association School (AA) and joined the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 1920. He returned to Melbourne and established Stephenson & Meldrum in 1921.

Stephenson was largely responsible for the firm’s direction to specialize in hospital and industrial architecture. He also lectured, wrote widely and was a member of numerous committees, including the International Hospitals Federation, the Hospital Advisory Council (Melbourne) and a trustee of the National Museum of Victoria. In 1954 Stephenson was knighted for services to architecture and was the first Australian to receive a RIBA Gold Medal in 1964. The Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) awarded him a Gold Medal in 1963 and was made honorary fellow by The American Institute of Architects in 1964.

Percy Meldrum

Percy Meldrum (1887–1968), architect, born in 1887 at Casterton, Victoria and educated at Ballarat College. In 1907 he studied architecture and articled to Melbourne Architect A. A. Fritsch from 1907 until 1913, where he won the Royal Victorian Institute of Architects Bronze Medal. In 1913 Meldrum travelled to Chicago and admired the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. Then travelled to England in 1914 and worked with the War Office designing aircraft hangars. In 1919 Meldrum joined the AA, where he met and taught Arthur Stephenson and Donald Turner. A fine draftsman and watercolorist, Meldrum was the artistic director and collaborated with some of Melbourne’s prominent artists, including Napier Waller, whose mosaic featured on the façade of the Newspaper House in Melbourne (1933). Stephenson and Meldrum’s partnership ended in 1937, with Meldrum moving on to practice with Arthur Noad, to form Meldrum and Noad.

Donald Turner

Donald Turner (1895–1964), architect, was born at Maitland, NSW. He began his architectural career as a student with Ross & Rowe in 1912. In 1915 he enlisted in the First All and served as captain until 1919 with the Field Artillery in Egypt and France. After WWI he also studied at the AA in London where he met Arthur Stephenson and Percy Meldrum. Turner joined the RIBA in 1921 and was appointed assistant architect for the Imperial War Graves Commission. Returning to Melbourne in 1924, he joined Stephenson & Meldrum and was promoted to director in 1936. With Meldrum’s departure in 1937 the firm’s name changed to become Stephenson & Turner in 1938.

Hospitals

Many of the major hospitals built in Australia from the 1920s to the 1960s reflected Stephenson’s influence. Robin Boyd wrote in his book, Victorian Modern (1947), “hospitals gave modern architecture in Australia its first big break”. The early 20th century saw advancements in medical technology and treatments, which transformed hospitals into a symbol of modern and healthy society. Stephenson took full advantage of this and traveled to America in 1927 to research the most modern developments in hospital design and equipment. The firm’s first major hospital commission, St Vincent’s Hospital in East Melbourne (1932), although a restrained blocky brick building applied Stephenson’s approach to efficient planning to accommodate modern medical technology.

It wasn’t until after Stephenson’s research trip in 1932–33 to continental Europe did hospital design in Australia drastically change. Stephenson was inspired by European Modernism, particularly Bijvoet and Duiker’s Zonnestraal Sanatorium (1928) in the Netherlands, and the Paimio Sanatorium (1929–33) in Finland by Alvar Aalto, which Stephenson described as a way “to express in the simplest form the function of the building in the most appropriate materials". It is in the design of the Mercy Hospital (1934) that Stephenson’s new approach to hospital design becomes apparent: a six level reinforced concrete building with streamlined, cantilevered balconies and large sweeping windows that allowed for sun control and the wellbeing of patients. The efficiency of the design was described by Professor John Freeland as “clean-cut with the precision of a machine”.

The success of the Mercy was followed by a succession of hospital commissions in Australia for Stephenson and Meldrum, including the Freemason’s Hospital (1936) in East Melbourne, the United Dental Hospital (1940) in Sydney and the Royal Women's Hospital (1939) in Melbourne. During the Second World War, Stephenson and Turner worked on military and defence projects for the Commonwealth government. The Royal Melbourne Hospital (1936–41), the largest hospital of its time, served as an American military hospital during WWII then for civilian use later in 1944. The façade design was a slight departure from the sweeping horizontality that Stephenson’s hospitals were known for; instead opted for a simple and pared back International Style that would characterise Post-war architecture.

World Fairs

The Australian pavilions at the World Fair in Paris (1936) and at the Wellington Exhibition, New Zealand (1939), were built by the firm. New York honoured Stephenson with citizenship for his work on its 1939 World Fair.

Commercial works

Stephenson and Turner were closely involved in the post-war manufacturing revolution in Australia, designing plants for Holden – General Motors plant in Dandenong, Ford, BHP, Fibremakers as well as Australia’s first experimental nuclear reactor in Lucas Heights for the Atomic Energy Commission. They applied the same rigorous approach to researching and engaging with state of the art technologies and methods of manufacturing. Their design for the Holden Factory complex (1954–56) in Dandenong featured a completely functional curtain wall system.

As well as major buildings in every capital city in Australia, in New Zealand and a hospital in Basra, Iraq, Stephenson and Turner grew to become the largest Australian architecture firm at its time with 300 – 400 staff at its peak. They opened offices internationally in Singapore (1949), New Zealand (1956) and Hong Kong. Stephenson and Turner were one of the many architectural firms that were hit hard by the global economic downturn during the mid 1980s and merged with John Castles to become Castles, Stephenson and Turner in 1995. Since 2000, all Australian operations have closed down, with offices operating in New Zealand by name only.

Buildings List

Awards

1941 RAIA Street Prize, the Royal Women’s Hospital, Melbourne.

1941, Sulman Award, King George V Hospital, Sydney.

1942 Meritorious Street Architectural Medal, King George V Women’s Hospital, Melbourne.

1946 Sulman Award, Yaralla Military Hospital, Concord.