John Dalton

John Harold Dalton FRAIA (1927–2007) was an English Australian architect, writer, editor and artist.

Dalton's body of work includes a number of domestic and commercial projects located in Queensland, Australia, where his architectural practice was established. Dalton's work has been widely published with exposure in notable publications such as Architecture and Arts and his work exhibited at numerous exhibitions. Dalton was known for climatically responsive designs which responded to the subtropical climate in which they were located. Dalton was also known for his contributions to architectural journals such as Architecture in Australia, on topics such as regional and climatic issues in architecture.

Personal life and education Dalton was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, England on 30 December 1927, he was educated at Adel school in Leeds, England after which he was awarded a National Diploma in building from Leeds technical college which he attended from 1940 to 1945. Dalton served in the Royal Air Force from 1946 to 1948 as an architectural draftsman. In 1950 he immigrated to Australia where he furthered his tertiary education by part-time study at the Queensland Institute of Technology (now Queensland University of Technology) and the University of Queensland for certificate and diploma courses whilst working part-time in various Brisbane based architects offices, a requirement of the courses. In 1956 he completed his tertiary education receiving a diploma in architecture from Queensland University. Dalton generally had a positive opinion of his architectural education, speaking highly of the academic professors stating, "the members of the profession were 'honourable men' and very highly regarded".

In 1957 Dalton registered as an architect and worked in practice, starting in partnership with Peter Heathwood as Dalton and Heathwood and then establishing John Dalton Architect and Associates in 1959. After being in practice for 22 years Dalton semi-retired in 1979 moving to the town of Allora located in the Darling Downs, he returned to Toowong to continue working in practice on a part-time basis. Dalton died in 2007 from cancer at the age of 79 years.

Architectural work

Early career In Brisbane Dalton worked as an architectural drafter in the offices of the State Works department, Brisbane City Council (under architect Frank Costello), Cook and Kerrison, Commonwealth Works Department, Hayes and Scott and Theo Thynne and Associates (under Don Winsen and Robin Gibson). Hayes and Scott and Theo Thynne and Associates in particular were seen as Brisbane's most progressive firms, Hayes and Scott left a lasting impression on Dalton describing it as "the absolute pinnacle of a student's training...I could see they (the students) were getting wonderful training. You spent all you time running around Hayes and Scott's buildings, fascinated by how it all worked out – drawing board to reality".

After completing his university education in 1956 Dalton formed a practice with fellow Queensland University graduate Peter Heathwood who had also worked at Theo Thynne and Associates. Their architectural education and the design ethos at Theo Thynne and Associates had instilled in Dalton and Heathwood a climatic responsibility which they synthesised into their body of work. The partnership began after Heathwood had completed a design for a plywood exhibition house for the Industrial Fair in 1957, Heathwood handed the project to Dalton to complete the working drawings whilst he went on his honeymoon. The design which used plywood in various configurations won the competition, was constructed for the exhibition and was later moved to the Brisbane suburb of The Gap.

Dalton and Heathwood had a brief partnership but completed several projects in the two-year period they were together, they continued for another year as an associateship. The work was typically authored by either Dalton or Heathwood, rarely working together on a project. The following lists the projects that Dalton was credited whilst at Dalton and Heathwood.

1956 Walker residence, Ferny Grove. 1956 Head residence, Chapel Hill. Hayes and Scott were largely influential in Dalton's professional development, their climatically aware designs related to Brisbane's sub-tropical climate by use of ventilated skylights, ventilated floor spaces and raised verandahs. Whilst Dalton preferred the work of Eddie Hayes, (whose focus was on form, texture, colour, space and feeling) it was Cam Scott who heavily influenced Dalton's architectural philosophy.

According to Dalton the Queensland University School of Architecture at his time of study was not engineering nor international style based, instead its approach to design was based on Queensland vernacular architecture. Dalton's senior lecturers at university were Robert Percy Cummings and Bruce Lucas who practised as Lucas and Cummings during the inter-war period. Their houses featured wide-eave hipped roofs, sun hoods over lower storey windows, tightly placed verandahs and room layouts that regarded solar orientation and cross ventilation. Further their houses eschewed traditional vernacular timber ornamentation instead utilising the structural forms as the architectural expression. They transferred this approach to the design curriculum which essentially focused on design for the Queensland climate. It is in this environment that Dalton received his tertiary education.

At university Dalton was influenced by the writings and work of Richard Neutra, Sydney Ancher, Harry Seidler and more broadly, by Lewis Mumford's Culture of Cities and Rousseau and Romanticism. Robinson suggests Neutra's writings such as his book Mysteries and realities of the site indicate a design approach integrated with the site and the integration of indoor and outdoor space which both can be seen in Dalton's work. Seidler's influence Robinson suggests, is in the structural expression, precision and finish, whilst Ancher's influence he argues is in his use of open planning, flat terraces, glass walls, low pitched roofs with wide overhangs and precise white structures which contrasted with the surrounding bush-lands.

Whilst working at Theo Thynne and Associates Dalton met design architect Robin Gibson who Dalton cites was just as influential on him as Cam Scott. Gibson's approach was primarily a functionalist one with architecture coming from the emotional content and response from the observer. Gibson and Dalton continued association as friends after leaving Theo Thynne and Associates, Gibson saying of Dalton, "there is not a better domestic architect in Australia: his houses are positive statements for people". Dalton has also cited Don Winsen as an influence on his work. Winsen was the chief designer at Theo Thynne and Associates. Robinson also suggests Peter Heathwood as a possible influence on Dalton, particularly in his use of texture and vernacular elements such as timber batten screening.

John Dalton Architect and Associates Dalton established John Dalton Architect and Associates in 1959 in the Dalton and Heathwood office located at 307 Queen Street. He later relocated the office to 333 Queen Street in 1975 and later in 1987 to Sylvan Road, Toowong. He also undertook select larger scale commercial projects (University and Government clients). His built body of work occurs most densely in the Brisbane suburbs of Toowong, Kenmore, Chapel Hill, Fig Tree Pocket and Indooroopilly. He also completed projects in the regional Queensland towns of Toowoomba, St George and Cairns. Selected works were widely published in Architecture in Australia, receiving numerous awards and recognition from the Royal Australian Institute of Architects.

Robinson classifies Dalton's residential work into different categories based on the visual style and year in which they were produced. The classification applies to Dalton's domestic work and not commercial projects which vary in style.

Anonymous houses (1956–1961) These houses were typically simple stud framed, low pitched asbestos cement roofs, sliding glass external doors and louvred walls. These houses featured climatic considerations including being raised off the ground for sub floor ventilation, wide eaved overhangs, boarded screens for sun control and reflective foil insulation. Fireplaces feature in the design with largely proportioned chimneys. Robinson suggests these houses still exhibit trademarks of Hayes and Scott so do not feature any strong style as such, remaining more anonymous.

Linear houses (1961–1965) The 'linear houses' often had linear floor plans with the long side oriented north and low pitched roofs supported on three lines of steel beams which were visually emphasised. Full heights windows with frameless sliding glass windows and louvred walls give opportunities for maximum cross ventilation and emphasise a horizontal expression. Pergolas over courtyards provide an extension of the indoor environment to the outdoor. Chimneys become more prominent in the building composition with Dalton making external walls white or cream face brick or bagged white painted brick or concrete blockwork.

Emphasis on roof form (1965–1969) While retaining the use of the linear plan (but also featuring U-shaped plans), Dalton placed emphasis on the roof of the house by utilising steeper pitched skillion roofs, often crippled to provide high level ventilation with timber rafters exposed internally. Brickwork is bagged and painted white, which contrasted with the dark stained timbers expressed externally giving a warmer feeling to the house.

Fragmented houses (1969–1975) This period contains elements of all previous periods. Larger commissions resulted in less rigid structures. Roofs are steeply pitched often with multiple roofs planes being employed. The architecture becomes more three dimensional. These houses often retain the white bagged brickwork and stained timber aesthetic established in the previous period. In some instances Dalton used walls of insect screen with exposed timber mullions and experimented with herringboned timber battening.

Queensland houses (1975–1987) From 1975 to his final architectural works in 1987, Dalton's residential architecture shifted gears towards a quieter stylistic expression. Many of the forms and details to be found in Dalton's later works reflect both Dalton's close collaboration with many of his clients and his deep belief in the value of carrying forth vernacular responses to living in the Queensland climate. His residential architecture is imbued with the time he spent living in regional Western Queensland.

Other significant buildings TAFE Hall of Residence, Kelvin Grove, listed on the Queensland Heritage Register Bardon Professional Development Centre, Bardon QIT Arts, Crafts and Music Centre, University of Southern Queensland

Climatic design A common theme in Dalton's design is design based around climate. He stated, "If somebody backs me into corner and says, 'What do you stand for?' when you've seen all the other parades of cultures and art and things, I say I'm still for design for climate because it works!" The origins of this thinking can be traced to his time at Hayes and Scott, Theo Thynne and Associates and his architectural education under Lucas and Cummings at Queensland University. Dalton particularly attributes his climatic design philosophy to the teachings of Bruce Lucas, remembering, "we used to sit with our protractors working out the angle of the sun penetration".

According to Charles Ham (an associate in John Dalton Architect and Associates since 1969) the design priorities of Dalton were the environmental system, the building system, the aesthetics of form, volume and surface and then the activity of the user. In complex larger buildings more emphasis is placed on the user activity. Dalton's environmental systems he employed included; Open planning to maximise cross ventilation.

Contributor

In 1960 Dalton was appointed Queensland correspondent to Cross-Section, a journal founded by Robin Gibson and published by the University of Melbourne's Department of Architecture from 1952 to 1971, and in 1963 was also appointed Queensland correspondent to Architecture in Australia, the Royal Australian Institute of Architects' official publication. covers the minutiae of building in and responding to the local climate, as well as exploring the sensitivity of the ubiquitous verandah. Beyond Queensland, Dalton engages in a consistent critique of the attitudes and behaviours of the profession, through the reviewing of buildings within Australia and overseas, Dalton exemplifies a disdain for the conservative and eulogises works which possess an intricate understanding of the relationship between building and place. Additionally, he admonishes the scheming bureaucratic processes in which authorities allow for the development of cities (particularly in Brisbane), as well as bluntly lambasting the lack of concern the profession in Australia has for the future, pleading for "foresight" in the midst of "hindsight and insight" and a framework for supposition and experimentation.

Pamphleteer

From 1966 to 1972, feeling a sense of affinity with the activism of students he was exposed to through his position as a teacher at the University of Queensland's School of Architecture, John Dalton produced a series of pamphlets consisting of "images and text, original and sourced material on an eclectic range of topics" with an intention to instigate further student activism. having actively produced paintings even as a student in 1957. Artworks by him have appeared in notable Australian architectural journals – having designed the cover piece for the July 1960 edition of the Australian Journal of Architecture and Arts, as well as contributing an article entitled "The Verandah" in the March 1964 edition of Architecture in Australia that was accompanied by six oil paintings by Dalton. The six paintings that appear in "The Verandah", "compositionally abstract and geometrical" yet equally "formal", as well as being an Executive Member of the Contemporary Art Society of Australia in 1965 and later, a Council Member from 1966 until 1970. 1982 – Queensland Chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects "Award for civic design" for the TAFE Halls of Residence, Kelvin Grove. 1962 – Qantas Exhibition of Australian Architecture, London 1965 – Executive Member, Contemporary Art Society of Australia 1982 – Life Fellow of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects