David McGlashan was born in Melbourne in 1927 and died within a few days of retiring in 1998.

After studying Chemical Engineering in 1947-8, he then took up the course of Architecture the following year at Melbourne University, graduating the course of study in 1952. While still a student, he worked in the office of Stephenson and Turner.

In 1955 McGlashan formed a partnership with Neil Everist and set up practice in Melbourne under the practice name McGlashan & Everist. The practice undertook their first house in 1957, in the Barry House located in Roosevelt Court, Brighton.

After a trip to the USA in 1959, McGlashan returned to Melbourne with a newly developed appreciation for a diverse post war architecture. The work of Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Neutra, Edward Larrabee Barnes, Japanese architecture and contemporary American domestic design notably that of John Johansen, were of particular interest to McGlashan and are recalled in many projects that were to follow.

In 1963, McGlashan's work was included in an exhibition of Beach Houses held at the Museum of Modern Art and Design of Australia.

In the same year he received the Victorian Architecture Medal for the Grimwade House, 3 years after it was completed and in 1968, the Bronze Medal of the Victorian Chapter "for outstanding Architecture," for 'Heide.'

The last house completed by the practice was Mylius House II,1976.

An Evaluation of the Residential Projects

'This work spans almost twenty years, from 1957 to 1976. Since the late 60's, McGlashan and Everist have chosen to concentrate on educational buildings. There are similarities between these larger public buildings and the houses in design philosophy, but they are of a different type and need to be discussed separately.'

'Strong themes relating to plan type, relationship with environment and modulating system recur throughout the work of David McGlashan. There is the inclusion of new principles or forms, but a clear cut development of these themes is not obvious. Rather, similar themes are returned to with slightly different expression'...'He stopped subscribing to overseas Architectural journals in the late 50's when he realised they were cramping his development. Instead, he saw himself keen to try and find solutions that came out of Australia rather than America, Europe, or whereever.'

'In the 1950's McGlashan was significantly influenced by the architecture of Breuer, Rudolf, Neutra, the Architect's Collaborative and Barnes. These people had varied the tone of Modern Architecture toward a more environmentally orientated and human stance. McGlashan took particular note of the 'Platform Houses' by Edward Larabee Barnes. In these there was a clear delimination of the house related space, with organising walls taking in the boundaries of the site. He made a house of the landscape rather than on it'

'It is in this sense that the desire for an Australian solution becomes relevant. McGlashan sees his houses as a backdrop into which people intrude their lives'

There are several ways he related to the environment. There is the use of environmental modifiers that are applied to the stucture where needed: vents for breezes; rattan blinds inside and outside; no eaves with pergolas only above openings rather than extending the roof as a sunscreen. Furniture is built-in outside to include more in the house related system. McGlashan wanted to challenge people to have a change of pace and a different experience of living. In the Grimwade house during the Winter, the occupants must put on extra clothing wile pasing between some rooms.'

'In order to strengthen the ordering system there is a simplification of the palette of materials, of the form and of the plan. In almost all the cases the materials used are restricted to: one for all the horizontal surfaces; one for solid walls; one for cladding; one for ceilings; one for the window system; and one for seeing through. He presents a distinction between the solidity and horizontality of masonary walls and the verticality and lightness of timber cladding.'...'These sort of qualities have a similarity with Asian architecture in its economy of means, use of materials, and use of light and shade.'

'McGlashan's planning process involves exploding the plan and then reformulating it. This leads to the separation of the house into groups of rooms of strong identity or into isolated buildings. This explsion is also a way of taking in the whole site, and natural features beyond, such as the sea. .'...'This is part of the inside-outside theme that permeates all of the houses.'

Extracts from Fink, M., The Residential Architecture of David McGlashan, History Investigation Project, University of Melbourne Bachelor of Architecture 1985

Awards

1. Victorian Architectural Medal 1963 for: The oustanding residence erected in Victoria Grimwade House, Rye.

2. The Victorian Chapter of the R.A.I.A. Architectural Award1968, Bronze Medal for 'outstanding architecture', at 'Heide', J. & S. Reed House, Bulleen.

3. Victorian Architectural Medal, 1963 for: The best building in all categories erected in Victoria Reed House, Bulleen.