“Langdon Badger”
Joanne Cys LFDIA, PhD, MArch, BA(Int Des), BA
Langdon Badger studied one year of drawing at the South Australian School of Art, North Adelaide in 1948. At the time there were no formal design programs available in SA (the first formal qualifications in interior design were offered in South Australia, by the South Australian Institute of Technology (SAIT) in 1965, the Higher Certificate in Interior Design. Badger moved to Sydney to study at East Sydney Technical College from 1949 – 1951 where he studied industrial design and interior design [under Phyllis Shillito] simultaneously, graduating with Honours.
Badger returned to Adelaide and held his first exhibition in his parents’ house at Unley in 1954. Soon after, he began his business in Grenfell Street. The only other designer in Adelaide at the time was Peter Nation in Gay’s Arcade.
Langdon Badger designed custom furniture for his clients and was inaugural SA agent for furniture by Snelling, Tessa, Featherston and Parker. Badger collaborated with Ross Parker to custom design his own versions of some Parker pieces that were exclusive to his showroom. He was the first to introduce Fler furniture to the public and introduced South Australians to teak furniture, about which he was an expert due to his regular visits to New Guinea. Langdon Badger was also the first to import Danish and Italian furniture and homewares into Adelaide including Roberto Mango’s award-wining Sunflower Chair. He was also commissioned to design paint colour ranges for Solver Paints.
In the mid-1950s, Langdon Badger ran sell-out WEA ‘Interior Decoration’ courses and in 1955 ran a ‘summer school at Adelaide University.
He designed his own family home in Unley SA (built 1958-59). It was published in the 'Women’s Weekly’, 26 Nov 1959 and in the 'Architecture in South Australia Festival of Arts’ publication, 1960. The house was also featured in the August 1961 issue of Home Beautiful. The home was an unprecedented example of modern living in SA, influenced by the work of Phillip Johnson. It has been the subject of published articles by UniSA academic John Schenk. In the “Home Beautiful” article, reviewer Max Milne states “If 'Home Beautiful’ were making an award for the “Most Beautiful Australian House of the Year”, this one in the Adelaide suburb of Unley Park would be a strong contender for the title.”
Joanne Cys LFDIA, PhD, MArch, BA(Int Des), BA is Dean, Academic and Associate Professor in Interior Architecture, Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences, University of South Australia
- Writers:
-
Michael Bogle
- Date written:
- 2016
- Last updated:
- 2016
