ABSTRACT

Douglas Burrage Snelling (1916–85) was one of Britain’s significant emigré architects and designers. Born in Kent and educated in New Zealand, he became one of Australia’s leading mid-century architects, of luxury residences and commercial buildings, and a trend-setting designer of furniture, interiors and landscapes. This is the first comprehensive study of Snelling’s pan-Pacific life, works and trans-disciplinary significance. It provides a critical examination of this controversial modernist, revealing him to be a colourful and talented protagonist who led antipodean interpretations of American, especially Wrightian and southern Californian, architecture, design and lifestyle innovations. 

part |2 pages

PART I: LIFE

chapter 1|7 pages

Childhood 1916–1937

chapter 2|13 pages

Allure of Hollywood 1937–1940

chapter 3|31 pages

Early Australian career 1940–1955

chapter 4|23 pages

Architectural maturity 1955–1966

chapter 5|22 pages

Diversions and denouement 1966–1985

part |2 pages

PART II: WORK

chapter 6|22 pages

Furniture

chapter 7|33 pages

Interiors

chapter 8|73 pages

Architecture | Landscapes

chapter 9|14 pages

Contexts and conclusions