Roland Jackson was born in 1931, in Gloucestershire, UK, and enrolled at the Architectural Association, London, in 1950, entering the school as a First Year student. As part of his final year’s studies in 1954-55, Jackson joined the first cohort of the newly formed AA Department of Tropical Architecture, living with fellow DTA students, Kenneth Frampton, Ram Karmi and John Miller. Immediately after completion of his AA Diploma, Jackson won a King George VI Memorial Fellowship at Yale for postgraduate study in town planning, which he followed with travel in the US and South America, spending time in Rio de Janeiro and Argentina before returning to the UK in November 1956. He was then employed by the London practice of Norman and Dawbarn and was dispatched to Jamaica, where he worked on Palisadoes Airport, Kingston. Following this, he relocated to Sydney, Australia in 1958, taking up the position of Design Partner at the well-established firm of McConnel Smith and Johnson. His first project there, as sole designer, was for the Returned Services League Club, in Wellington, opened by the Governor of New South Wales in 1960. In 1971, together with three colleagues, he founded the practice of Jackson, Teece, Chesterman, Willis, where he was to be managing partner until 1998). The practice won many awards for projects including the Central Synagogue at Bondi Junction, the University of Newcastle’s Advanced Technology Centre, ‘Pacific Power’ and for the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Education. Jackson was also strong supporter of the Australian National Trust and the practice worked on many important conservation projects, such as the Sydney General Postal Office. Jackson was also President of the New South Wales Chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) from 1978-1980, then President of the RAIAI itself from 1985-86. He was subsequently also President of the Commonwealth Association of Architects from 1991-1994 and appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (OA) for services to architecture in Australia and Oceania in 1991.
Sources:
- Architectural Association Student Register 1945-1972, AA Archives
- Architectural Association Diploma Roll Book, 1924-1963, AA Archives
- Department of Tropical Architecture, student listing, Otto Koenigsberger Collection, Box OK27, AA Archives
- England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. London, England: General Register Office. Volume 6a, Page 431
- Rio de Janeiro Brazil, Immigration Cards, 1900-1965". FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2013.
- The National Archives, London, UK; Board of Trade: Commercial and Statistical Department and Successors: Inwards Passenger Lists; Class: Bt26; Piece: 1369; Item: 56
- National Trust of Australia website, ‘Remembering David Jackson’ 20th June, 2021. https://www.nationaltrust.org.au/blog/remembering-david-jackson/ Accessed 23/12/24
