Robin (Gerard Penleigh) Boyd b. 1919

  • Architect
Mid 20th century Melbourne Modernist architect, author, critic and illustrator. Born into the artistic Boyd dynasty, he was a partner of the Grounds, Romberg and Boyd practice from 1953 to 1962 and was internationally respected as Australia's leading architecture critic from the late 1940s until his death in 1971. Domestic furniture designed by Boyd ca.1958 is also known.
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Robin Boyd (1919-71), Melbourne architect who wrote various influential books promoting the International Modern movement; including The Australian Ugliness, (1960) The Puzzle of Architecture (1965) and Australia’s Home (1952). Although Boyd only built one house in Sydney, his books and articles were familiar to all Australians interested in architecture. As a student, he edited the architectural magazines Smudges and Lines; between 1947 and 1956, he wrote weekly articles on architecture and design for The Age. From 1947-53 he was the first director of the Royal Victorian Institute of Architects’ Small Homes Service, which conducted a regular newspaper column offering house plans. In 1953, he established a partnership with Roy Grounds and Frederick Romberg, and produced several innovative residential buildings. But he did not receive commissions to build major works and the practice was dissolved in 1962. Before that, in 1956-7, he was a visiting professor with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and later emerged as a noted international architecture critic, writing two books on Japanese architecture and numerous articles for international professional journals. In 1965, he was gazetted as a trustee of the National Gallery of Victoria. In 1969, he was awarded the RAIA Gold Medal, and life fellowship the following year. He was made president of the Victorian chapter of the RAIA in 1970, after long service as a councillor. He was a part-time lecturer at the University of Melbourne for several years and a regular broadcaster on radio and television. He died unexpectedly at age 52.
Source
—Serle, Geoffrey. 1995. Robyn Boyd: A Life. Melbourne: Miegunyah Press.

Writers:
Staff Writer
Date written:
1996
Last updated:
2015

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References [<ExternalResource: Boyd, Robin (1952), 'Australia's Homes'.>, <ExternalResource: Clerehan, Neil (1993), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 13.>, <ExternalResource: Boyd, Robin (1960), 'The Australian Ugliness', Melbourne, Vic : F. W. Cheshire.>, <ExternalResource: Riddler, Eric (1994), 'Illustrating the Australian Ugliness', Albury, NSW : Charles Sturt University, seminar paper.>, <ExternalResource: "Boyd Collection Launch" 1958, 290 Walsh Street, South Yarra, commission: two sofas, a dining table, two coffee tables, a sideboard and a daybed.>] [<ExternalResource: Boyd, Robin (1952), 'Australia's Homes'.>, <ExternalResource: Clerehan, Neil (1993), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 13.>, <ExternalResource: Boyd, Robin (1960), 'The Australian Ugliness', Melbourne, Vic : F. W. Cheshire.>, <ExternalResource: Riddler, Eric (1994), 'Illustrating the Australian Ugliness', Albury, NSW : Charles Sturt University, seminar paper.>]