Bryce Mortlock
Encyclopedia
Dr. Bryce Mortlock was an Australian architect and planner. In partnership with Sydney Ancher, Stuart Murray and
Ken Woolley, his career spanned the era in which modern Australian architecture
was consolidated.
During his 40-year-plus career as an architect
, Bryce was awarded the Alfred Bossom Medal
in London (1951); New South Wales’s prestigious Sulman Prize
(1960) and Merit Award (1972); the RAIA
’s top
annual award, the RAIA Gold Medal
(1979); the Queen’s Jubilee Medal (1977); the RAIA Victorian Chapter
Bronze Medal (1981); an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Melbourne
(1988); and a Member,
Order of Australia
(1982). He was nominated as a Life Fellow of the RAIA in 1970.
Two of his best known projects include the Sulman Award winning Badham House in Sydney’s Cronulla
and the Engineering Precinct at Sydney University. He was also responsible for the University of Melbourne
master plan.
Mortlock was born in Lithgow
on 14 October 1921 where his father was an engineer at the local steel works. His father died when Bryce was still young and his mother moved the family to live with relatives in Sydney
, in the harbour side suburb of Five Dock
. There, observation of the local boat builders fostered Bryce’s interest in design and construction and he built several boats while still at school.
A partnership with Alan and Bill Payne from 1938 resulted in the design of the Payne-Mortlock sailing canoe
, one of the few all- Australian designed senior class sailing boats. After the outbreak of World War II
, Bryce travelled to Canada
where he trained as a pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force
. He returned to Australia in 1945 in anticipation of service in the Pacific theatre but the war ended before any combat posting.
He left the air force and enrolled in the School of Architecture at Sydney University where he studied under architect Leslie Wilkinson and the artist Lloyd Rees
who taught architectural history and freehand drawing. It was while at university that Bryce met Sydney Ancher – one of the first Australian architects to embrace International style Modernism
. He started working with Ancher while still a student - beginning a partnership that would span four decades, until Ancher’s death in 1979.
and Europe
. After he returned, Mortlock and Stuart Murray took up full-time work with Sydney Ancher’s firm in 1952. Eight years later he won the Sulman Award for the Badham House at Cronulla.
Bryce’s design reflected the firm’s adherence to the International style, while anticipating the so-called ‘Sydney Regional’ style with which the firm would become associated over the next decade.
After Ken Woolley joined them in 1964, Ancher and Mortlock set up offices in Ridge St, North Sydney
, establishing the well-known Sydney firm Ancher, Mortlock and Woolley. The firm completed innovative designs for town houses and flats at Wollstonecraft
and Cremorne
. Mortlock was also appointed Master Planner for the University of Melbourne in 1968. It was a position that entailed regular trips from his Cammeray
home, but one which he held until the late 1990s, describing it as his most satisfying and challenging. The University recognised his work with an honorary doctorate. In 1970 Mortlock, in partnership with others, applied his interest in planning and the need for increasing density to the drafting of a Building Code for North Sydney Council
.
By that time Mortlock had been living locally for 40 years. He moved to Vernon Street Cammeray with his new wife Peggy in 1950, shortly after returning from overseas. As two of the first residents of that area, the Mortlocks confronted North Sydney Council
who had begun clearing bushland fronting Long Bay. The Mortlocks managed to convince Council to stop this destruction, and over the next four decades they cared for the public land near their home – tirelessly cutting the lantana
and balloon vine that grew in the wake of the clearing. Eventually Council came to embrace Mortlock's attitude to the preservation of bushland. Bushcare Group
networks were set up and Bryce himself became a local volunteer co-ordinator.
Royal Australian Institute of Architects
(RAIA) National President Warren Kerr on Bryce Mortlock: "Bryce Mortlock was well-known for his energetic support of the architectural profession and the RAIA, and for his willingness to speak out on matters of importance, especially as they affected good design," Mr Kerr said. "The contributions he made as the RAIA’s NSW Chapter President from 1970-72 and RAIA National President from 1975-76 will long be remembered". "He was also widely known as a talented architect of the highest order, who justly received awards for his work on more than one continent."
Vernon Street Reserve, ‘Mortlock Reserve’ – an honour rarely accorded to a living person.
Mortlock died on 3 July 2004 at the Royal North Shore Hospital
aged 82.
Peggy and Bryce Mortlock had three sons, Peter, Richard, and Philip Mortlock, and five grandchildren, Jonathan, Michael, Andrew, Grace and Celia Mortlock.
Ken Woolley, his career spanned the era in which modern Australian architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
was consolidated.
During his 40-year-plus career as an architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, Bryce was awarded the Alfred Bossom Medal
in London (1951); New South Wales’s prestigious Sulman Prize
Sulman Prize
The Sir John Sulman Prize is one of Australia's longest running art prizes, having been established in 1936.It is now held concurrently with the Archibald Prize, Australia's best known art prize, and also with the Wynne Prize, at the Art Gallery of New South Wales , Sydney.-Criteria:The Sir John...
(1960) and Merit Award (1972); the RAIA
Raia
Raia may refer to:* Royal Australian Institute of Architects, a professional body for architects in Australia* Raia , a small village in Goa, India, about 6 km from Margao on the way to Loutolim...
’s top
annual award, the RAIA Gold Medal
Royal Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal
The Gold Medal is the highest award of the Australian Institute of Architects awarded annually since 1960. The award was created to recognise distinguished service by Australian architects who have:* designed or executed buildings of high merit;...
(1979); the Queen’s Jubilee Medal (1977); the RAIA Victorian Chapter
Bronze Medal (1981); an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
(1988); and a Member,
Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(1982). He was nominated as a Life Fellow of the RAIA in 1970.
Two of his best known projects include the Sulman Award winning Badham House in Sydney’s Cronulla
Cronulla, New South Wales
Cronulla is a beachside suburb, in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Cronulla is located 26 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Sutherland Shire....
and the Engineering Precinct at Sydney University. He was also responsible for the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
master plan.
Early life
Lithgow, New South Wales
Lithgow is a city in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia and is the centre of the local political division City of Lithgow. It is located in a mountain valley named Lithgow's Valley by John Oxley in honour of William Lithgow, the first Auditor-General of New South Wales.Lithgow is...
on 14 October 1921 where his father was an engineer at the local steel works. His father died when Bryce was still young and his mother moved the family to live with relatives in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, in the harbour side suburb of Five Dock
Five Dock, New South Wales
Five Dock is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Five Dock is located 10 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local Government Area of the City of Canada Bay.-Location:...
. There, observation of the local boat builders fostered Bryce’s interest in design and construction and he built several boats while still at school.
A partnership with Alan and Bill Payne from 1938 resulted in the design of the Payne-Mortlock sailing canoe
Payne-Mortlock sailing canoe
The Payne–Mortlock Sailing Canoe is a 5.8m, two person, senior racing dinghy, rigged with a mainsail, jib and spinnaker. Designed in the mid-late 1940s by Alan Payne, , Bill Payne and Bryce Mortlock, the class has been sailed in Australia for over 50 years, and is one of the few senior classes...
, one of the few all- Australian designed senior class sailing boats. After the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Bryce travelled to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
where he trained as a pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
. He returned to Australia in 1945 in anticipation of service in the Pacific theatre but the war ended before any combat posting.
He left the air force and enrolled in the School of Architecture at Sydney University where he studied under architect Leslie Wilkinson and the artist Lloyd Rees
Lloyd Rees
Lloyd Frederic Rees AC CMG was an Australian landscape painter who twice won the Wynne Prize for his landscape paintings....
who taught architectural history and freehand drawing. It was while at university that Bryce met Sydney Ancher – one of the first Australian architects to embrace International style Modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
. He started working with Ancher while still a student - beginning a partnership that would span four decades, until Ancher’s death in 1979.
Career
Mortlock graduated with first class honours in 1950, winning the University Medal and a travelling scholarship that allowed him to work and study in BritainUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. After he returned, Mortlock and Stuart Murray took up full-time work with Sydney Ancher’s firm in 1952. Eight years later he won the Sulman Award for the Badham House at Cronulla.
Bryce’s design reflected the firm’s adherence to the International style, while anticipating the so-called ‘Sydney Regional’ style with which the firm would become associated over the next decade.
After Ken Woolley joined them in 1964, Ancher and Mortlock set up offices in Ridge St, North Sydney
North Sydney, New South Wales
North Sydney is a suburb and commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. North Sydney is located 3 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of North Sydney...
, establishing the well-known Sydney firm Ancher, Mortlock and Woolley. The firm completed innovative designs for town houses and flats at Wollstonecraft
Wollstonecraft, New South Wales
Wollstonecraft is a harbourside suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Wollstonecraft is located 4 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of North Sydney Council.-History:...
and Cremorne
Cremorne, New South Wales
Cremorne is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Cremorne is located 6 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of North Sydney Council....
. Mortlock was also appointed Master Planner for the University of Melbourne in 1968. It was a position that entailed regular trips from his Cammeray
Cammeray, New South Wales
Cammeray is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Cammeray is located 5 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of North Sydney Council.Cammeray is mostly a residential area...
home, but one which he held until the late 1990s, describing it as his most satisfying and challenging. The University recognised his work with an honorary doctorate. In 1970 Mortlock, in partnership with others, applied his interest in planning and the need for increasing density to the drafting of a Building Code for North Sydney Council
North Sydney Council
North Sydney Council is a Local Government Area on the North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.- Demographics :According to the :...
.
By that time Mortlock had been living locally for 40 years. He moved to Vernon Street Cammeray with his new wife Peggy in 1950, shortly after returning from overseas. As two of the first residents of that area, the Mortlocks confronted North Sydney Council
North Sydney Council
North Sydney Council is a Local Government Area on the North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.- Demographics :According to the :...
who had begun clearing bushland fronting Long Bay. The Mortlocks managed to convince Council to stop this destruction, and over the next four decades they cared for the public land near their home – tirelessly cutting the lantana
Lantana
Lantana is a genus of about 150 species of perennial flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are native to tropical regions of the Americas and Africa but exist as an introduced species in numerous areas, especially in the Australian-Pacific region. The genus includes both...
and balloon vine that grew in the wake of the clearing. Eventually Council came to embrace Mortlock's attitude to the preservation of bushland. Bushcare Group
Bushcare Group
A Bushcare Group is a volunteer group that conducts bush regeneration to aid biodiversity conservation on public or private bushland in Australia...
networks were set up and Bryce himself became a local volunteer co-ordinator.
Royal Australian Institute of Architects
Royal Australian Institute of Architects
The Australian Institute of Architects is a professional body for architects in Australia. Until August 2008, the Institute traded as the "Royal Australian Institute of Architects", which remains its official name....
(RAIA) National President Warren Kerr on Bryce Mortlock: "Bryce Mortlock was well-known for his energetic support of the architectural profession and the RAIA, and for his willingness to speak out on matters of importance, especially as they affected good design," Mr Kerr said. "The contributions he made as the RAIA’s NSW Chapter President from 1970-72 and RAIA National President from 1975-76 will long be remembered". "He was also widely known as a talented architect of the highest order, who justly received awards for his work on more than one continent."
Later years
Although he enjoyed a national reputation, Mortlock's passion for sensitive environmental relationships in urban design and practice was also recognised by his local community. He was a pioneer of what would become known as the Bushcare movement. In 1997 his efforts to preserve and regenerate bushland near his Cammeray home were commemorated with the renaming of theVernon Street Reserve, ‘Mortlock Reserve’ – an honour rarely accorded to a living person.
Mortlock died on 3 July 2004 at the Royal North Shore Hospital
Royal North Shore Hospital
The Royal North Shore Hospital is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located in St Leonards. It serves as a teaching hospital for Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney and has approximately 740 beds. It is the referral hospital for Northern Sydney and the Central...
aged 82.
Peggy and Bryce Mortlock had three sons, Peter, Richard, and Philip Mortlock, and five grandchildren, Jonathan, Michael, Andrew, Grace and Celia Mortlock.