Kerry Hill (56-60)
Born in Perth in 1943, Kerry Hill studied at Wesley College from 1956–60, boarding for the last three years of his schooling. A Prefect of Mofflin House in 1960, Kerry was a member of the Football 1st XVIII and the 1st VIII Rowing crew, and received Colours for athletics when he broke the U/17 Public Schools’ Association (PSA) high jump record.
When the University of Western Australia (UWA) opened its architectural faculty, Kerry moved across as a third-year student from Perth Technical College and graduated in 1968. After working at architectural firms in Perth, Hong Kong and Jakarta between 1969 and 1978, Kerry established his own firm, Kerry Hill Architects, in 1979 with offices in Singapore and Fremantle. His company completed many projects in Australia and internationally, specialising in resort and hotel design.
His success in Asia was a result of his focus on creating contextually sensitive buildings that draw on local styles, building techniques and materials. In 2003, he was awarded the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) Robin Boyd Award for Ogilvie House in Queensland and won the Royal Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal in 2006. In 2010, he received the Singapore President’s Design Award.
Kerry was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Architecture from UWA in 2008, and was a member of the RAIA and the Singapore Institute of Architects. He lectured at the National University of Singapore, the University of Hawaii, UWA and the University of Queensland. He was an Adjunct Professor of Architecture at both UWA and the University of New South Wales.
Kerry died in 2018 after a brief battle with cancer. The Australian Institute of Architects’ Acting National President, Richard Kirk, paid tribute to Kerry as the architect whose body of work ‘has come to define tropical modernism in the region. Kerry was one of Australia’s most renowned architects and he will be sorely missed by many.’
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS
- 1980–86 The Darwin Centre, Darwin, Australia
- 1987–91 The Sukhothai hotel, Bangkok, Thailand
- 1992 Armitage Hill hotel, Galle, Sri Lanka
- 1992–94 The Chedi hotel, Bandung, Indonesia
- 1992–94 The Serai hotel, Bali, Indonesia
- 1992–94 The Datai Langkawi, Malaysia
- 1996–97 Ooi House, Margaret River, Western Australia
- 1998–99 Singapore Cricket Association Pavilion, Singapore
- 1998–02 The Lalu, Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan
- 1998–03 ITC Sonar, Kolkata, India
- 1999–02 Ogilvie House, Sunshine Beach, Queensland, Australia
- 2002–04 Soi 53 Apartments, Sukhumvit, Bangkok, Thailand
- 2005–10 State Theatre Centre of Western Australia
- 2007–10 Beachside Leighton apartments, Fremantle, Western Australia
- 2010–14 City of Perth Library, Western Australia