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Ian Norman Macdonald was born on 14 December 1911 in Bairnsdale Victoria. Ian’s childhood was spent in the wealthy agricultural district bordering the Gippsland Lakes, including the prosperous towns of Bairnsdale, Sale, Orbost and Maffra. Sale was his home town, situated at the head of the Sale Canal to the Gippsland Lakes, where its turning bridge was an engineering device of great interest for a curious young man focussed on engineering. In these towns Ian’s maternal grandparents ran a chain of Lloyds’ department stores while his Macdonald forbears ran medical practices.
The Macdonald family house in Sale was home to his parents and younger sister Jean. Although Ian later eschewed religion to become a humanitarian atheist, his Presbyterian father, Norman, was the Church organist on Sundays. Norman made a comfortable living with a secure income as a company secretary, managing two major entities in the Sale and Gippsland Lakes districts; Norman Macdonald was a professional administrator of the Gippsland Lakes Steamboat Company, essential for transport across the lakes, and at the same time, the Gippsland Base Hospital of which he was Secretary and Superintendent for 24 years from 1920 to 1944. Ian's Uncle Chips, Dr Archibald Macdonald, was a significant character in Sale and sat on the Hospital board.
This family involvement with hospital management and his familiarity with a community hospital, provided Ian with insights into the role and importance of hospitals in community life and contributed to his later altruistic decision to use his design talents on making hospitals better, instead of designing domestic housing.
As a bright student Ian won scholarships to study first at Geelong College and then at the Gordon Institute. Here he was privileged to study Architecture in Australia’s first school of Architecture, set up by the renowned designer and teacher, George R. King.
Ian’s first employment with a Melbourne residential firm, Buchan Laird and Buchan, did not hold him long as he preferred to put his talents to the betterment of others and elected to work on hospital design with the exciting architectural practice Stephenson and Turner, which he joined in the early 1930s.
Although Ian was a pacifist, in 1941 he enlisted in the Australian Army, believing his personal opinions were overshadowed by the national emergency of WWII in the Pacific theatre. Following his discharge in January 1946, after 6 years as an Army engineer a Warrant Officer Class 2 (from the 13 Australian Small Ship Coy (AIF)), Ian married his work colleague Maberly Eleanor Mary Pitt. Maberly was known as Pitti, derived from her surname Miss Pitt, just as as Ian was Mac from his surname. Ian and Pitti had been colleagues in the Melbourne office of Stephenson and Turner, Stephenson and Turner from the late 1930s.
With the ever increasing outreach of Stephenson and Turner, Ian and Pitti soon left Melbourne in 1946 to live in Newcastle. Their task was to establish the Newcastle office for Stephenson and Turner while Ian supervising the Royal Newcastle Hospital project for Stephenson and Turner, bringing it to fulfilment after spending some nine years on the project. The Macdonald family lived 152 Grinsel St, Kotara, in a modernist house ahead of its time, designed by Ian for a semi bushland setting.
It was a very supportive marriage. After the Newcastle Hospital was opened the couple were again persuaded to be relocated, with their young family. This time it was to Adelaide for another major hospital project requiring Ian’s hospital design and technical skills; the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woodville, Adelaide. By now their two children, Peter and Lucy, were of school age, and the family settled in Hazelwood Park in the second family home Ian had designed for them in 10 years. Peter has lived in England most of his working life, occupied with high performance and fine automotive machinery. Lucy attended the South Australian School of Art to become an art teacher and involved in public and community aspects of the Adelaide art scene.
It was natural that as a socially aware young architect, Ian would gravitate to working at the Melbourne-based practice of Stephenson and Turner Architects. This practice, under the driving presence of Arthur Stephenson, had established a formidable reputation in hospital design. At his own expense Stephenson travelled widely and frequently throughout the world to be familiar with current developments and practices in hospital design. He introduced his findings into the Australian commissions for hospitals he was increasingly being awarded. By ever widening his internationally acquired knowledge of hospital design, Stephenson ensured his most senior colleagues, including Ian, also experienced overseas hospital research.
Ian spent 4 months overseas in 1955, developing relationships with innovative hospitals in the USA and UK, thus building crucial information links for Stephenson and Turner’s hospital work in Australia. Over time the firm designed major hospitals in many Australia's capital cities and regional centres, including some overseas such as the 1960s Basrah Teaching Hospital project in Iraq (destroyed in the Iran-Iraq war). By the 1970s the firm’s branches in all mainland states of Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and New Zealand comprised 24 partners and a total staff of 400. Given Sir Arthur Stephenson's incredible drive in achieving his goal of improved hospital design in Australia, it is no surprise that acknowledgements and honours he received for this work would include a Knighthood in 1954, the Royal Gold Medal of the RIBA in 1954 in the Gold Medal of the RAIA in 1963 (Willis 2012, 652-4; Shaw 1987).
Ian’s philosophy as an architect was unusual. By temperament, and despite his widely acknowledged talents and breadth of interests, he took little personal concern in seeking media acclaim or a public profile as a designer of notable buildings. He was known more publicly as a socially aware planning thinker.
Working on large complex hospital buildings, from design to detailed construction, Ian always saw himself as part of a team rather than being concerned with producing buildings under his own name, as many architects are given to do. He eschewed ego. Ian believed that a building’s design under the singular hand of one person is very difficult to sustain since in fact, many contribute to its successful realisation. While a building’s built-form and possibly its planning, is often attributed to one person it is important to acknowledge they can only ever do a fraction of the entire task.
Whilst the public's image of an architect may be contained to this singular point of view, it is one of convenience and not highly accurate or necessarily one of merit. Ian's conviction that a fine building is the work of many hands was not his alone and can be found and reinforced in other highly respected practices as in Caudill, Rowlett and Scott in America and Devine Erby Mazlin in Australia (Caudill 1971; Mazlin and Gerner 2008).
For Ian the period from 1956 to 1960 was highly intensive with the creation of a new major hospital at Woodville in Adelaide’s west. Ian and family were relocated to Adelaide in 1956 as, at that time, there was not a sufficient pool of architectural resources for the carriage of this undoubtably major specialist design and construction task. Clearly, the choice to engage Stephenson and Turner, with its massive and long established hospital experience, made good sense.
The firm gathered together a team of over 20, including architects, technical and secretarial support staff, with a number coming from interstate offices. A State Library of South Australia photo taken in 1956 shows the 'team' assembled for the formidable task that lay ahead of them (State Library of South Australia B70602). Ian, with his long involvement in the design and construction of the Royal Newcastle Hospital could then contribute his many years accumulated experience to the realisation of the Q.E.H. This State Government project became the second major hospital in Ian’s career to which he made a significant and key contribution, particularly in regard to his formidable technical knowledge.
Following the completion and opening of the Q.E.H. by Queen Elizabeth II, the site office moved to Hackney, as the new Adelaide office of Stephenson and Turner, in Romilly House, on Hackney Road. Most staff identified in the photograph mentioned above made the move. Some years later the office relocated again to the adjacent and new North Terrace House.
Ian's most productive professional career period filled the years between 1960 until he retired in 1976. His abiding interests were in environmental concerns, urban design (although it was early days in South Australia, as this discipline was yet to be established as an independent study) and the importance of heritage preservation and conservation. They all received Ian's detailed and involved participation.
Ian’s deep involvement is hospitals continued and this period saw him engaged in the design and construction of the Queen Victoria Hospital and St Andrews Hospital, along with several independent school projects, another design area in which Stephenson and Turner had acquired a reputation.
Another of Ian’s concerns was to develop greater awareness and understanding of planning and environmental concerns within the community. Throughout his career Ian gave long hours of volunteer time to architectural committees, along with planning and design crtitique groups, all in addition to his full time role overseeing hospital construction. He was active on many RAIA committees, and later becoming a long term and valued contributor to the Civic Trust of South Australia’s (now Civic Trust Australia) until his death in 1991.
Ian valued and supporting the Civic Trust’s objectives of publicly examining recently built works and places fas to their contribution (or not) to the community. With well honed committee skills Ian ran the Civic Trust Jury panels for 13 years, guiding their annual reviews to culminate in the publicly known and well received Awards and Brick-Bats (for a thumbs-down), which were publicised in the Advertiser annually. In many ways Ian was uniquely aligned to the Trust's broad objectives of reviewing built design initiatives for their success, or otherwise, in terms of their social, environmental and urban outcomes. Ian’s long and special involvement ultimately lead to the establishment of an award, in his honour, the Ian Macdonald Award for the Best in Urban Category to mark his contribution.
In 1963 Ian was a member and chair of an architects’ activist group, The Architectural Research Group (ARG), comprising four architectural colleagues that included Bob Dickson, Doug Michelmore and Brian Claridge. The ARG’s paper, The Development of Adelaide 1837–1963, published in Building Ideas 2, 4 June 1963, traces the history of Adelaide’s development as South Australia’s capital city. This project was an immensely important documentation of the city’s built heritage to that date, given that the South Australian Heritage Register was not established until 1978. The subsequent publication featured seventy-three buildings, including sixteen modern residences, as well as several industrial, educational and residential buildings by Claridge and his father’s firm, Hassell and McConnell.
The Architectural Research Group was especially concerned about unchecked spread of Adelaide’s urban sprawl and foresaw ‘disastrous’ consequences if it continued. Its members warned of traffic congestion and the insufficient provision of greenbelts; they prophesied the engulfment of the City of Elizabeth into a suburb, the encroachment of development on the city parklands and highlighted the need for more high-density living.
The 1963 panel reconvened in 1965 together with Allan Correy (landscape architect), Philip Fargher (engineer), and Torbin Schiott (town planner) to devise a theoretical project for the redevelopment of Kensington, an inner suburb to the east of Adelaide. The scheme offered, they believed, an alternative to urban sprawl and was published in the local journal Building and Architecture. One important outcome of their proposal was a reduction in water-consumption, indicating that water supply was a serious problem at the time that was beginning to dawn on the minds of the most progressive local architects and planners (Dutkiewicz 2008, 11; Macdonald, Correy, Fargher and Schiott 1965).
Ian was heavily involved another significant Adelaide planning issue in the late 1960s, the Metropolitan Adelaide Transport Study (MATS) Plan. This study provoked the public ire of many planners, architects and academics who vigorously described how it would devastate historic and densely populated parts of inner northern Adelaide, turning the northern residential areas of Bowden and Brompton, Ovingham and North Adelaide into cloverleaf freeway interchangers. The MATS Plan occupied Ian and his civic minded colleagues for years, finally prompting Ian to become a qualified Planner. Resulting from their successful public campaign the MATS plan was eventually abandoned.
Thus, in addition to his full time work Ian undertook further post-graduate study, in the form of an evening Town Planning course at the South Australian Institute of Technology, from 1965 to 1969. His Planning thesis was titled A National Park for Motor Sport and involved an examination of problems arising from the unplanned motor-sport industry in South Australia. In proposing a dedicated Motor Sports Park, Ian demonstrated his forward thinking. He idea came 50 years before a car racetrack (although not a Motor Sports Park) was developed privately near Tailem Bend, South Australia in the late 2000s. In developing his proposal Ian had analysed design and planning constraints such as noise, spectator parking provisions and managing traffic-flow problems of 'dump' times, when spectators flood onto main roads after events (Macdonald 1969).
Ian’s motivation came from his concern that, with the increasing growth of motor racing and its demands on civic amenity and specific sites round the city, proper consideration needed to be given to motor sport facilities at a State Government level, from the perspective of long-term planning. Ian was singularly fortunate in his thesis subject since, not only could he bring his planning knowledge to the topic, but also his formidable knowledge of cars and motorcycles and the specialist demands of their sports. During Ian’s long architectural career many fine and enviable classic cars and assorted marques had passed through his hands, to say nothing of seemingly innumerable distinguished motor cycles. This was an inspired fusion of interests.
Ian was one of a very small alumni group of senior Stephenson and Turner practitioners who knew about hospital design, undoubtably one of the most demanding of all building types to design and construct.
He was formidably gifted technically and capable of enduring the long-haul periods demanded to achieve the design and construction outcomes – almost invariably always measured in several years. He was exceedingly well read and deeply absorbed in the burgeoning environmental movement and aware of a separate cast of mind required for urban design studies. He was in many ways, ahead of his time as evidenced by his range of involvements. He could be awarded the accolade of being a Renaissance Man, a compliment readily bestowed by his friends and colleagues.
Pem Gerner and Lucy Macdonald
Citation details
Gerner, Pem and Macdonald, Lucy 'Macdonald, Ian Norman’, Architecture Museum, University of South Australia, 2021, Architects of South Australia:
[http://www.architectsdatabase.unisa.edu.au/arch_full.asp?Arch_ID=163]
Appendix
Professional Registrations, Memberships:
RVIA, Elected 1941
F.R.A.I.A. (Fellowship ARAIA) Achieved 1940
Registered Architect: Victoria, NSW, (Cert No 1148, 26 Aug 1946) and in SA
Foundation Member: NSW Planning Institute, Newcastle from 1950
Member: M.R.A.P.I.
Member Planning Institute SA (M.A.P.I.) from 1958
Committee Member: RAIA (AIAI) SA Chapter Committees viz Practice, Quantities and Envi-ronment 1963 – 1972
Represented RAIA SA Chapter before the following committees:
SA Parliamentary Committee on Planning Regulations.
Lord Mayor’s Committee on Victoria Square.
State Government Committee on Environment.
Civic Trust, Inter-Profession Committee, 1972.
Jury Chair, RAIA SA Chapter Awards of Merit, Housing Category.
Civic Involvements
Civic Trust of South Australia and Planning Committees
Member: Civic Trust of South Australia,1973-1991.
Chair: Civic Trust of SA 1987.
Chair: Civic Trust of SA Awards Jury 1976 – 1991.
Chair: Australian Planning Institute Committee, ‘Jubilee’ exhibition 1967.
Foundation Member: Architectural Research Group 1957- 1965.
President: Architectural Research Group: 1960 - 1961.
Member: Advisory Committee of the History Trust of South Australia.
Board Member: National Motor Museum, Birdwood Mill, Birdwood, SA: 1990 - 1991 Developing the Museum’s Vehicle Purchasing Policy & Collection Advice.
Registered Valuer: of Cars and Motor Cycles, Commonwealth Taxation Scheme.
Organised Public Discussions: on Metropolitan Adelaide Report 1962-1963.
Participated in founding: Town and Country Planning Association 1962- 1963.
Teaching
Lecturer: Newcastle NSW, 1949-1955, School of Architecture, Newcastle Institute of Technology; in Quantity Surveying; Estimating; Specification writing. Member of Newcastle Institute of Technology Education Committees on Syllabi and Teaching Methodology.
Tutor: Adelaide Architecture Dept 1978 - 1984 Margaret Lee.
Education Consultant: Assistant to the Professor in Urban and Landscape Studies, University of Adelaide; 1982, 1983, 1984.
Lecturer, Western Teachers College, 1969, on behalf of RAIA SA Chapter, short courses in Environmental Studies. Also presented similar material for lectures, talks, courses at Secondary Schools (eg Thebarton Boys Technical High School) and SA School of Art.
Adelaide Teachers College: ‘Awareness of Environment’ 1956- 1960s Jointly devised and delivered semester courses.
WEA, Devised and delivered Adult Education courses: 1962 - 1965 ‘Design in Everyday life’; ‘Future of Cities’; ’Buying and Building a Home’.
University of the Third Age, Devised and delivered ‘Architectural History’ 1991.
Planning
Planning Activist
In campaigns by professional planners architects, academics and others concerning:
Adelaide MATS (Metropolitan Adelaide Transport Study) 1967 -1968.
Increasing Suburbia into Adelaide Hills.
Expansion of environmental footprint of Adelaide’s Metropolitan area.
Conservationist
The Conservation of Hallett Cove:
Editor: Report on The Conservation of Hallett Cove, 1965 for SA Institute of Technology’s Louis Laybourne Smith School for Architecture and Building, Dept of Planning and Land-scape. Report was distributed to: The Governor (Sir Cedric Bastyan); all State Government Ministers; Adelaide Heads of Commonwealth and State Govt Departments; Heads of (all) Schools, University of Adelaide; The National Trust SA Branch; local mayors affected (eg Marion); relevant Geological and Natural Science organisations; local and interstate press, television and radio stations.
Member of an ‘Architects Panel', publicly opposing the development of a proposed Hazelwood Park Swimming Centre. | 
Architects of South Australia, Copyright 2008, Updated regularly