Darval Miller Architect 1950-1981

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    These pages present some images of the work of Darval Miller (1927-1981). Darval practised architecture from Brisbane through 1950-1981; an independent thinker, he was highly regarded by his clients, colleagues and the community and was active in the Australian Institute of Architects  (Queensland Chapter) and community organisations.

    Aged eighteen, Darval enlisted and served with the occupation forces in Japan. On his return, he gained entry to Medicine at the University of Queensland, switching to Architecture after first year. He saw architecture as being at the interfaces of man, society and environment, a synthesis of the needs of individuals, communities and ecosystems, that the architecture of our contect and environment directly impacts our sense of well-being and health; he said he felt he could be more useful as an architect; having seen immense destruction and suffering up close in Japan, that was where he wanted to work, at the interface. He gave a lot of thought to housing: its availability, affordability and environmental qualities; he decried the low quality of developer's housing and would be dismayed by the comprehensive waste and utter dysfunction of suburban housing developments; he designed Unison the industrialised building system and established and managed Unison Australia to bring high quality mass production into play; and in so-doing he became a architect-manufacturer; Darval Miller and Partners and Unison Australia designed manufactured and delivered a large volume of houses and buildings for many other purposes across Australia and internationally. And in consequence, he was invited to serve and or advise on Commonwealth committees on housing and the construction industry.

    Darval argued that architecture is more than building design: everything happens in space and time; the architect's role is to humbly lead teams structuring space to deliver affordable, sustainable, low maintenance, low energy and life-enhancing habitats, using energy and materials efficiently and sparingly; he was an intelligent minimalist from the beginning; Rochedale especially, his own home, was an exercise in minimalism and humility.

    The aesthetic which emerged from Darval's drawing board was of the particular place and not anywhere else, from his analysis of functional requirements and his imagination and not from fad or fashion, for his client in community and not himself. I think that the Rochedale, Grijman, Stackhouse and Stark residences were 'high art'. He placed a high value on the contemporary arts in society; he was a founding member of Brisbane's Institute of Modern Art; he and his life partner, Shirley Miller, (Knight) a graphic artist and painter, collaborated extensively. Shirley Miller's work is held in many collections. 

william.miller42@gmail.com