Vale Denis (John) Allen, 1926–2022

Denis John Wigram Allen – “John” to his family and friends – came from an old legal family, the founders of today’s international law practice known as Allens. Naturally, it was expected that John would follow in the family footsteps, and although he was accepted into the University of Sydney’s law faculty, he instead followed his passion for art, drawing and construction to become an architect, studying at what was then Sydney Technical College (now UTS).

As a fledgling architect, married and starting a family, John worked at Rudder Littlemore and Rudder, before his job was lost in the “credit squeeze” and construction slump of 1952. What John did next would define him as a man of courage, vision and perseverance. In an economic downturn, in a small flat next to his parents’ house in Edgecliff in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, he opened his own small architectural practice.

He quickly outgrew the Edgecliff premises, moving first to a shared studio and then on to larger city offices in Margaret Street, where he established the partnership of Gordon G. King and John Allen. This venture lasted a year before King left to become a stockbroker.

On 1 July 1956, John and a friend from college, Russell Jack, threw their hats in the ring to form the partnership of John Allen and Russell C. Jack, starting with commissions for small houses and factories. In late 1957, they were joined by third-year architecture student, Keith Eric Cottier, who soon took off on his “grand tour” of Europe, travelling and working for several years. He returned to the practice in 1963 and was a partner by 1965, establishing the practice Allen Jack and Cottier.

It was a powerhouse trio that forged the DNA of this practice, which still works across different sectors and scales today.John specialized in education and industrial projects (especially Frensham School and Qantas Airways buildings) as well as managing the office and supervising its projects across every detail and milestone. Russell pursued his interest in house design and expression of natural materials, while Keith took on larger-scale commercial and public buildings.

(Left to right) John Allen, Keith Cottier, Reg Smith, Peter Stronach, Ray Brockwell, John Porter and Glynn Evans in the Allen Jack and Cottier office, 6A Liverpool Street, Paddington, 1977.

(Left to right) John Allen, Keith Cottier, Reg Smith, Peter Stronach, Ray Brockwell, John Porter and Glynn Evans in the Allen Jack and Cottier office, 6A Liverpool Street, Paddington, 1977.

Image: Supplied

Allen Jack and Cottier quickly went from strength to strength, becoming a formidable practice on the back of game-changing projects for blue-chip clients, including Qantas, Westpac, Macquarie Bank, Abbotsleigh school, the Reserve Bank of Australia and Apple. It wouldn’t be long before the Government Architect’s office would start commissioning them, assured of the excellence they demanded for projects funded by the public purse.

That excellence earned more commissions and even more awards. By the time John retired in 1993, the practice was well on its way to being the most awarded practice of its day. These awards include architecture’s Grand Slam: the Sir John Sulman Medal for Public Architecture, the Leslie Wilkinson Award for Residential Architecture, the Francis Greenway Award for Heritage, the Lloyd Rees Award for Urban Design and the Edmund Blacket Prize for architecture in the regions.1

The practice continued to expand, opening offices across Australia and South-East Asia, with projects from Inner Mongolia to outer Antarctica that would also be celebrated in architecture awards around Europe (London, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin). Together, the team created a work culture and environment of mentorship that was sought after by promising young architects. Many from the practice had stellar careers in their own right, including Gold Medallist Keith Cottier, and Pritzker Prize winner Glenn Murcutt.

John was deeply committed to his profession and his practice. Right up until the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, he would come to the studio once or twice a year, stopping to talk to every staff member. He cherished these moment and the opportunity to see what we were working on. It meant as much to me as it did to him.

John’s legacy prompts us to be the very best architects we can, innovating and critically analyzing data and drawings, always testing against the brief. But John is also remembered for respecting people, holding high standards of integrity, supporting young talent and remaining open to new ideas and lifelong learning.

A few weeks before his death, a journal – leather-bound in 1950 – found its way to my desk. In it, John had mapped out his life, or at least his manifesto as an architect. Reading through the pages in the wake of the news of John’s passing, I felt deep admiration for this meticulous man who had been a platform and guiding hand for so many in our profession. I’d like to share a little pearl of wisdom from John’s journal, which I think sums him up to a tee: “The ideal mind for an architect is one of sound knowledge and infinite care, one that can visualise the completed work, be able to think logically and systematically, and have a sound and thorough knowledge of the construction and building industry.”

John wasn’t the showman or starchitect of the office; he was its backbone. He was deeply committed to the people who worked for him and the clients he worked alongside. It’s a testament to John’s steady hand that 70 years later, the practice he founded is still thriving and still connected to many of those early clients.

— Michael Heenan is CEO and director of design at Allen Jack and Cottier.

1. Early named awards won by Allen Jack and Cottier:

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