W. Gray Young

William Gray Young (21 June 1885 – 21 April 1962) was a New Zealand architect in the early 20th century, designing buildings such as Knox College in Dunedin, the Wellington railway station and Wellington's Elliott House. He was president of the New Zealand Institute of Architects from 1935 to 1937.

He was judged unfit for military service in the First World War and continued in practice through it. With John Swan he designed Wellington Technical College in 1919. The same year his Scots College building was opened and in 1928 the Wellesley Club which earned him the NZIA gold medal. He designed the new Wellington railway station in 1930.

Gray Young was one of the architects invited to work with the government architect designing the prototype state house. He designed a new railway station for Christchurch in 1938 but it was not built until 1960. He also designed the Easterfield building at Victoria University of Wellington in 1951.

As architectural adviser to Knox College, Gray Young presided over its slow elaboration until 1952. Later architects continued to work to realise and elaborate his original idea for decades after his death, an unusual outcome in New Zealand, even for a highly emblematic building.

He was elected a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Architects in 1913, served on the executive committee from 1914 to 1935 and was its president from 1935 to 1937. In 1935, he was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.

He was president of the Wellington Rotary Club from 1935 to 1936 but did not care for public life, preferring the company of colleagues and a group of yachting friends. He died in Wellington in April 1962.

Gallery of his work

Notable works Knox College, Dunedin (1909–1952) Elliott House, Wellington (1913). Everybody's Theatre, Christchurch (1915). Scot's College, Wellington (1919). Wellington Technical College, Wellington (1919) with John Swan. Truby King House, Wellington (1923) Wellesley Club, Wellington (1927) Phoenix Assurance Building (1930) Stout Building, Victoria University, Wellington (1930) Weir House, Victoria University, Wellington (1933), Victoria University's first hall of residence. Wellington railway station (1937) Kirk Building, Victoria University, Wellington (1938) Australian Mutual Provident Society (AMP) Chambers (1950) Easterfield Building, Victoria University, Wellington (1957) Christchurch railway station (opened in 1960)