John Taylor Architect
Founded in 1990, JTA provides architectural services (design & documentation) for places of cultural heritage value; we also provide specialist services: site & archival research, conservation policy & guidelines, conservation plans, paint scrape analysis, chemical investigations, and materials conservation. One of the very few architects in Australia to possess formal training and qualifications for heritage practice, John Taylor has a masters degree (conservation of historic buildings) from the University of York in England and a heritage based PhD from UWA. John has won a number of UNESCO Heritage Awards and is the only Western Australian winner of the national Lachlan Macquarie Award.
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Projects:
Cape Inscription Lighthouse Keepers Quarters
Dirk Hartog Island, Shark Bay, 2012
Dirk Hartog Island and Cape Inscription in particular have exceptional national significance as the site of the landing of Dirk Hartog in 1616, and subsequent exploration by other notable European explorers. In 1991 Dirk Hartog Island was included in the Shark Bay World Heritage Area, and in 2006 the Dirk Hartog Landing Site – Cape Inscription Area was included on the National Heritage List. The conservation works to the Lighthouse Keepers’ Quarters by John Taylor are intended, at least in part, as preparation for upcoming 400th anniversary celebrations to mark the landing in 1616. Construction of the Cape Inscription Lighthouse and Keepers’ Quarters commenced in late 1908, and became operational in 1910. When lighthouse operation was automated in 1917, the Quarters were abandoned and partially dismantled by the removal of roofing, timberwork and fixtures. While the lighthouse has remained in operation, subsequent salvage and deterioration of the remaining fabric at the Lighthouse Keepers’ Quarters reduced the principal structure to a concrete wall shell. In 2005 new timber roof framing, corrugated galvanised iron roofing and ceilings were constructed, followed in 2012 by timber flooring and joinery works – stages in a program to restore and reconstruct the Quarters, allowing the buildings to be utilised and to assist in the ongoing management of Dirk Hartog Island.
St Francis Xavier Cathedral & Precinct
Geraldton WA, 2013
The Diocese of Geraldton has plans to restore, conserve and enhance the iconic St Francis Xavier Cathedral and its precinct. Designed by the legendary architect-priest John Hawes and built in stages, the first portion of the cathedral was finished in 1918. The remainder was constructed in the 1920s and 1930s until finally, coming out of recession and facing another World War, the building was completed in late 1938. After almost a century, this magnificent cathedral is showing signs of serious deterioration and is in in urgent need of conservation and restoration. Author of ‘Between Devotion and Design’, the definitive book on the life and architecture of John Hawes, John Taylor has assisted the Bishop of Geraldton with heritage advice on the cathedral and other Hawes-designed buildings in the diocese since the early 1990s. The current project includes plans for a new Monsignor Hawes Heritage Centre, enhancing this important cathedral and civic precinct in Geraldton.
Barracks Arch Conservation Works
St Georges Terrace Perth WA, 2005
Work on the Pensioner Barracks commenced in 1863. A number of drawings of the barracks bear the signature of Richard Roach Jewell, who is generally credited with the design. The original building was designed to provide accommodation for 50 married men and their families and 20 single men in two wings on either side of an arched entrance, flanked by two battlemented towers. In 1903 plans were made to relocate the Public Works Department (PWD) to the barracks. The last remaining Pensioner families were relocated and the necessary alterations and renovations to the Barracks were carried out in 1904. The PWD occupied the barracks until March 1966 and in spite of public opposition, the barracks were almost completely demolished to accommodate the Mitchell Freeway, with the arch retained as a compromise. The Barracks Arch is a three-storey building, approximately 16.5 metres high, constructed of dichromatic brickwork laid in Flemish bond, with a central Tudor arched opening. It has a battlement and label moulds in contrasting bricks over timber-framed windows, and a pointed arch in the east elevation. Important and ongoing conservation work on this iconic place was entrusted to John Taylor – including restoration and reconstruction of masonry walls, replacement of access ladders, replacement of flagpoles, and painting.
