Colin Hassell's modern design ideas brought to Adelaide's David Jones store and basis for an international practice
Hassell, McConnell and Partners designed the landmark store for David Jones (1959-62) on Rundle Street (now Mall).
Colin Hassell led Adelaide’s architects into a design revolution after World War II. Born in 1910, Hassell immigrated from England to Adelaide where his father founded the Hassell Press.
Educated at Prince Alfred College, Hassell was articled to Hubert Cowell in 1928 while he studied architecture at the South Australian School of Mines and Industries and Adelaide University.
He went overseas on a scholarship and worked in London architectural offices, surrounded by the “fervour of modernism” and the teachings of the Bauhaus.
Back in Adelaide, Hassell became partners with Philip Claridge and Jack McConnell in 1939. Philip R. Claridge and Associates had designed the Bank of New South Wales on the North Terrace- King William Street corner, in 1937. It was modern design in the interwar stripped classical style. In 1940, the practice won a competition for the “modern” Prospect Town Hall.
Hassell, McConnell and Partners, formed after the war and Claridge’s retirement, set up offices in Adelaide, Melbourne and Canberra. ). After World War II, the firm concentrated on mainly industrial, commercial and educational buildings including the ANZ Bank (1955) and the Bragg Laboratories (1960) at the University of Adelaide.
While starting to win contracts and awards interstate, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the firm designed a landmark store for David Jones (1959-62) on Rundle Street (now Mall), Adelaide. It also created the Reid Building, South Australian Institute of Technology on Frome Road. After John Morphett joined the practice in 1962, it gained the commission for Prince Alfred College hall.
Hassell grew into a leading international architectural design practice, with studios in Australia, China, South East Asia, UK and USA, combining architects, interior designers, landscape architects, urban designers, planners and specialist consultants. Hassell built its culture built on collaboration, creativity and innovation in design thinking.
In Adelaide, Hassell's many city-shaping design projects included the Festival Centre, SA Water House, Roma Mitchell commonwealth law courts, Rundle Mall redevelopment, Adelaide Zoo entrance and Panda enclosure, and Flinders University and Tonsley Innovation District.
In 2017, Hassell was acknowledged among 25 South Australian icons by the Design Institute of Australia for outstanding contribution to Australian design.
