Architecture Museum, University of South Australia

21/12/2025

As part of the transition to Adelaide University, this page has been retired.

Please note, as of today, 22 December 2025, comments and messages will no longer be monitored.

Thank you to everyone who’s been part of the UniSA Architecture Museum community – your support and engagement over the years have meant so much.

You will be able to follow us instead on our Instagram account: .architecturemuseum from 5 January 2026.

Follow to stay connected and discover what’s next as we begin an exciting new chapter together in 2026.

17/12/2025

As part of the transition to Adelaide University, this page will be retired on 22 December 2025. Thank you to everyone who’s been part of the UniSA Architecture Museum community – your support and engagement over the years have meant so much.

You will be able to follow us instead on our Instagram account: .architecturemuseum from 5 January 2026.

You can also follow to stay connected and discover what’s next as we begin an exciting new chapter together in 2026.

09/12/2025

As part of the transition to Adelaide University, the UniSA Architecture Museum page will be retired on 22 December 2025, but you will be able to follow us instead on our Instagram account: .architecturemuseum from 5 January 2026.

28/11/2025

Don't miss this wonderful exhibition!

From a seafaring tea set to a vintage motorcycle, David Roche Gallery has tapped the private collections of anonymous Art Deco-philes around Adelaide to mark the movement’s centenary in style.

27/11/2025

https://robinboyd.org.au/walkley-house/

Have you watched the Robin Boyd Foundation's Walkley House tour yet?

Discover Walkley House designed by Robin Boyd in 1956. Learn about the breakthrough of Boyd’s ‘glass box on top of a glass base’ on Kaurna Country/Adelaide which is an important contributor to architectural history and architectural education locally.

Developed by the Robin Boyd Foundation Digital Team, in collaboration with the Walkley Family, this film is generously supported by the Alastair Swayn Foundation, Arup and Phoria.

Featuring contributions of Stuart Symons, Dr James Curry, Georgina Downey, Dr Julie Collins, Associate Professor Stephen Ward, Dr Rachel Hurst, Prof Philip Goad and the Walkley family.

Discover Walkley House designed by Robin Boyd in 1956. Learn about the breakthrough of Boyd’s ‘glass box on top of a glass base’ on Kaurna Country/Adelaide which is an important contributor to architectural history and architectural education locally. Discover Walkley House designed by Robin B...

19/11/2025

19/11/2025

During the 1930s, when architectural jobs were scarce, Adelaide Architect Harold Griggs supplemented his income with work as a graphic designer with his company Poster Art Studios. This commemorative Ashes writing pad cover was one of his designs. Seems timely this week to look back on the days when Douglas Jardine toured the country with his bodyline bowling team to do battle with our Don Bradman and Bill Woodfull.

Griggs collection S168/20 Architecture Museum, University of South Australia.

12/11/2025

One of the treasures that the Architecture Museum has lent for the David Roche Gallery Exhibition - 'Art Deco: A Modern Vision' (8 November 2025 to 31 January 2026) is the original architects' model of the Savings Bank of South Australia.

A favourite building from King William Street, Adelaide - the Savings Bank of South Australia head office designed by McMichael and Harris Architects and engineered by Hurren, Langman and James Engineers. It took from 1938 to 1943 for the building to be completed owing to the wartime shortages both of materials and labour. The new office building was McMichael and Harris’ largest-ever commission and came just prior to the outbreak of World War Two.

The pair was well qualified to take on what was to become Adelaide’s tallest building. According to the centenary history of the Savings Bank of South Australia (1948), the bank’s head office was designed after McMichael, the bank’s trustees and executives had visited Sydney and Melbourne to inspect the most modern buildings there. The style is Art Deco with Classical elements. The motifs depicting South Australian agriculture were significant in defining this style, as was the use of the parallel line motif, the polished granite base and the monumental entrance.

Architecture Museum, University of South Australia.

See more and get tickets:
https://www.rochegallery.com.au/exhibitions/

12/11/2025

The Architecture Museum is proud to have lent some architectural items for the David Roche Gallery Exhibition - 'Art Deco: A Modern Vision' on 8 November 2025 to 31 January 2026.

You can see the original architects' model of the Savings Bank of South Australia, blueprints for the Capri Cinema, and drawings of the Sands and McDougall Facade among other treasures. Private collectors and institutional collections have lent an incredible selection of Art Deco items from motorcycles and gramophones to travel posters, fashion and glassware, for the exhibition.

In celebration of 100 years since the 'Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes', David Roche Gallery has brought together over 180 stunning works of art, design, and technology to highlight Art Deco’s far-reaching effect on how we lived.

Through the exhibition you will discover the origins of Art Deco, explore its global journey, and see how this distinctive style became a part of everyday Australian life. From its extraordinary debut in 1920s Paris to its lasting influence on Australian art and architecture, explore the timeless legacy of this modern vision.

See more and get tickets:
https://www.rochegallery.com.au/exhibitions/

22/10/2025

Announcing a new PhD opportunity commencing in 2026 at Adelaide University: ‘A design study of retrofitting Australian housing for health, climate and cost’! The project comes with a full scholarship, including $36,500 AUD annual tax-free stipend.

Go to: https://adelaideuni.edu.au/research/research-degrees/research-projects/
and search ‘retrofit catalogue’ to read more and submit your Expression of Interest. EoIs close 17 November 2025.

---Project outline ---
Retrofit catalogue: A design study of retrofitting Australian housing for health, climate and cost.
Australia has a vast existing housing stock that is underperforming and unfit for the future climate. It is expensive for households to run, and impacts physical and mental health. Yet, Australians spend billions of dollars on renovations per year. The project will draw on design research methods including archival work, indoor environmental analysis and design communication, to produce a visual catalogue of deployable retrofit opportunities for Australian homes to meet society's changing ways of living, support cost-of-living and households' health needs, and future climate demands.

This project principally speaks to the Equitable Futures Pillar of the Creative and Cultural Strategy, with strong synergies to the Built, Production and Natural Landscapes and Society Pillars of the Sustainable Green Transition Strategy, and the Thriving Communities Pillar of the Personal and Societal Health Strategy. This engaged research aligns with the ambitions of the ReAL – Creativity strategic initiative.

Supervisory Team: Assoc Prof Lyrian Daniel, Assoc Prof Damian Madigan, and Dr Julie Collins.

22/09/2025

Adelaide University (AU) announces its 2026 Society of Interior Designers of Australia (SIDA) Foundation and David Roche Gallery (DRG) Research Fellowship.

Open to researchers and practitioners across all disciplines, the 2026 Fellowship invites applications (individual or group) that seek to shape the future of design and creative arts research.

Fellowship purpose and project overview
AU and DRG welcome fellowship project proposals that engage with DRG collection and vision, reflect the legacy of the SIDA Foundation, and make use of AU College of Creative Arts, Humanities and Design resources and research expertise. The Fellowship is focused on interior design and decorative arts, but proposals may come from adjacent disciplines, including broader fields of design, art, craft or material culture.

Proposed engagement could include traditional scholarship; design, art, craft or curatorial activities resulting in exhibition; public talks and workshops; or other activities leading to publications and/or creative works. Collaboration with UniSA Creative researchers is encouraged.

DRG operates exhibition space at Fermoy House on Melbourne Street, North Adelaide, including the Roman Room. Depending on the requirements and timing of the project proposal, exhibition space may be available to the successful applicant(s).

Fellowship funding
A stipend of $28,000 will be provided to undertake the research, paid in three instalments. The proposed project should begin no later than 1 March 2026, with all project costs and deliverables, including 3 page report, completed by 30th June 2027.

Who can apply
The Research Fellow will be appointed through competitive application. Applications are open to practitioners or researchers from all levels of experience and career. Applications that develop collaborations with College of Creative Arts, Design and Humanities researchers and propose co-produced outcomes will be considered favourably. Adelaide University welcomes both national and international applications; estimated travel costs should be included in the anticipated budget.

Deadline Extended:
Applications close 28 November 2025.

More information and application process at: https://unisa.edu.au/connect/galleries-museums-and-centres/architecture-museum/

Images: Doppelgänger and Zombies (2022) Rochus Urban Hinkel. Photo by Sam Roberts; David Roche Gallery, courtesy of David Roche Gallery; Graphic Heritage of Sands & McDougall façade, Central Market signage, David Roche Ribbons Photo Robert Harland