Woods Bagot

Woods Bagot is a global architectural and consulting practice founded in Adelaide, South Australia. It specialises in the design and planning of buildings across a wide variety of sectors and disciplines. Former names of the practice include Woods & Bagot, Woods, Bagot & Jory; Woods, Bagot, Jory & Laybourne Smith; Woods, Bagot, Laybourne-Smith & Irwin; and Woods Bagot Architects Pty Ltd.

Founded in 1905, some of their most significant early work includes buildings at the University of Adelaide, including Bonython Hall and the Barr Smith Library. 21st-century projects include the Qatar Science & Technology Park, Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre and the SAHMRI building in Adelaide.

Woods Bagot is now established worldwide, with studios in five regions: Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and North America. In 2015, the firm was named as the world's seventh largest architecture firm by employee count in Building Design magazine.

History Woods Bagot's origins date back to 1869, when architect Edward John Woods was commissioned to improve and expand the design of St. Peter's Cathedral in Adelaide. In 1905 he joined forces with another prominent local architect, Walter Bagot, and the pair created Woods & Bagot.

Woods retired from the practice known as Woods, Bagot & Jory on 30 June 1915, and Louis Laybourne-Smith became a partner in the practice, causing the practice to be renamed Woods, Bagot, Jory & Laybourne Smith. Woods died in January 1916. Jory left to practise on his own and the practice was dissolved on 30 September 1930, with James Campbell Irwin (later Lord Mayor of Adelaide) joining the practice, now called Woods, Bagot, Laybourne-Smith & Irwin. Note: Not all of the dates in this document are correct.J. C. Irwin, Smith, Louis Laybourne (1880-1965), Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 11, Melbourne University Press, 1988, pp 656-657.Bridget Jolly, Irwin, Sir James Campbell (1906-1990), Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 17, Melbourne University Press, pp 576-577. Irwin was a senior partner in the firm from 1965 until he retired in 1974.

A summary of the practice's early names: 1905—1913: Woods & Bagot 1913—1915: Woods, Bagot & Jory 1915—1930: Woods, Bagot, Jory & Laybourne-Smith 1930—1974: Woods, Bagot, Laybourne-Smith & Irwin

From 19 June 1974, the firm was registered firstly as Woods Bagot Architects Pty Ltd (until at least 1996), and subsequently as Woods Bagot Pty Ltd.

Current practice In 2015, the firm was named as the world's seventh largest architecture firm by employee count in Building Design magazine's World Architecture 100 list.

, Woods Bagot has 18 offices globally including six in Australasia; Adelaide, Auckland, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth; Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen in China; London; Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and Dubai in the Middle East; Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco in the USA; and Singapore.

Architectural style

Inevitably for a firm with whose history spans more than a century, Woods Bagot has embraced a wide variety of architectural styles since its inception. Early Australian buildings such as Bonython Hall were built in the classical Gothic style popular at the time, but the firm's steady expansion into Asia, Europe and North America was accompanied by a corresponding shift in style and approach that embraced a variety of modern and progressive themes.

The firm's latest work is often inspired by the natural world. The South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) building's exterior surface is inspired by a pine cone, for example, with a so-called 'living skin' designed for optimal passive solar performance. A new extension to the Adelaide Convention Centre, designed in association with American architect Larry Oltmanns, references local geological forms, in particular the distinctive colours and stratification of the South Australian landscape.

Some recent designs have focused on philosophical as well as environmental and geological themes. The design of the Nan Tien Institute in Wollongong, New South Wales, reflects Buddhist teaching principles, specifically avoiding hierarchical components and providing a neutral environment free of materialism and excess. A new bridge and plaza connecting the Institute to the nearby Nan Tien Temple complex has been designed as a practical, mixed-use focus point for community gatherings, as well as a notable development in its own right. Outside Australia, the Cubism-inspired Cubus, a 25-storey retail tower completed in Hong Kong in 2011, is equipped with geometric lighting panels that emulate the shapes and forms of ice cubes.

Accolades Woods Bagot was named as the 2009 Architects' Journal AJ100 International Practice of the Year.

Notable projects

Woods Bagot has designed some landmark buildings throughout Australia and the world, including the following major architectural projects: Completed Project name Location Award Notes 2022 Deakin Law Building Melbourne, BurwoodAIA Educational Architecture Award, 2022 (Victoria) WAN Awards Gold Award for Higher Education and Research Facilities, 20022 || See also; Sarah Ball 2017 Bodi Center Complex Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou 2017 Adelaide Convention Centre redevelopment Adelaide National Australia Bank building Melbourne Docklands 2016 1 William Street, Brisbane Brisbane Greenland Centre Sydney 2013 SAHMRI building Adelaide Ham Yard Hotel London, England 2010 Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre Melbourne National Award for Public Architecture, 2010 Melbourne Prize, 2010 William Wardell Award for Public Architecture, 2010 (Victoria) Steel Architecture Award, 2010 (Victoria) Award for Sustainable Architecture, 2010 (Victoria) Joint venture with NH Architecture Student Learning Center, Cornell University School of Hotel Administration Ithaca, New York 2016 Wynyard Walk Sydney Eccleston Square Hotel London 2009 Qatar Science & Technology Park Doha Australian Institute of Architects International Architecture Award, 2009 World Trade Center Bhubaneswar Odisha College of the North Atlantic Doha, Qatar Nan Tien Institute and Cultural Centre Wollongong Cubus Hong Kong Delhi One Noida, India Wanxiang Century Centre Hangzhou, China Ningbo Youth Culture Plaza Ningbo, China Wanda Plaza Kunming, China One Shelley Street Sydney The Ivy George Street, Sydney AIA Harry Seidler Award for Commercial Architecture, 2009 Lloyd Rees Award for Urban Design, 2009 (NSW) 1931 National War Memorial Adelaide 1932, + later (1960s) alterations. Barr Smith Library, University of Adelaide Adelaide 1936 Bonython Hall, University of Adelaide Adelaide

Early work

In 1915, Woods, Bagot, Jory & Laybourne Smith designed a recreation hall for the Keswick Repatriation Hospital in Keswick, which opened on 11 February 1916.

Woods Bagot

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