The Western Australian architectural community recently lost an industry stalwart with the passing of Patrick (Pat) Pinder.
Pinder was born and raised in regional New South Wales before moving to Adelaide to study architecture. The country character established in his formative years remained with him all his life. He had an adventurous, open and positive personality – traits that defined both his personal and his professional life.
The various interests that Pinder developed in his youth remained passions for his entire life. He played rugby, raced motorbikes and cars, collected and restored classic MGs, and constructed and flew large-scale, sophisticated model aircraft. As time passed, and rugby and motorcycle racing was no longer feasible, he transitioned to yacht racing. In every pursuit, Pinder strove to achieve new goals, and helped others to achieve theirs. He was a natural leader who ended up on multiple committees, often as president or chair.
After graduating from the University of Adelaide, Pinder stayed in South Australia to start his career at Hassell McConnell and Partners. His talent and leadership qualities soon saw him rise to principal in the firm. Pinder’s South Australian legacy includes the highly awarded Adelaide Festival Centre, for which he was project architect working alongside future Australian Institute of Architects’ Gold Medallist John Morphett. This was a project that Pinder often talked about with pride. Happily, he was able to attend the building’s 50th anniversary celebrations in June, just weeks before his passing.
Pat Pinder worked alongside John Morphett on the award-winning Adelaide Festival Plaza.
Image: supplied
In 1977, Pinder travelled to Western Australia to establish a Perth office for Hassell and Partners. When Hassell elected to close their Perth office in 1984, Pinder decided to stay in WA to set up his own firm, Pinder Architects. In 1995, Pinder Architects merged with Sandover Architects to form Sandover Pinder (now Carabiner). Pinder retired from practice in 2000.
Pinder’s architectural style reflected his character: no frills, honest and effective. It was a modernist approach honed at Hassell and nurtured in his own practices in Perth. As a mentor to his teams of emerging architects, he guided rather than directed; the practice’s projects demonstrated a modernist DNA overlaid with the personality of its younger project leaders. Many of those Pinder mentored have gone on to establish their own successful practices.
Beyond practice, Pinder gave back to the profession in many ways. He was a chapter councillor at the Australian Institute of Architects, including a term as WA Chapter President; an examiner for the Architects Board of Western Australia architectural practice examinations; an assessor on the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia; a member of the Building Disputes Tribunal; a senior sessional member of the State Administrative Tribunal; a member of the WA Builders’ Registration Board; and a member of the City of South Perth Design Advisory Committee.
Pinder had a longstanding interest in architectural education. As a representative of the Australian Institute of Architects, he was responsible for establishing and running the Practice of Architecture Learning Series (PALS) program to assist graduates seeking registration. He also served as chair of the Institute’s National Education Committee and oversaw the development of a new architecture program accreditation procedure.
After retiring from practice, Pinder’s commitment to education continued with his involvement in revising the curriculum for the professional practice stream of the architecture program at Curtin University and his participation in that program as a teacher and tutor for several years.
In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the profession, Pinder was awarded a life fellowship of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects in 2006, and he was the recipient of the 2016 Architects Board of Western Australia Award.
In 1995, when Pinder merged his practice with that of Grayam Sandover, he took on the role of mentor to his expanded architectural staff, providing them with expert guidance and opportunity for professional growth. Among the young architects under his tutelage were Peter Giangiulio and myself; together, we are proud to continue the legacy of Pat and Grayam’s practice as co-owners of Carabiner (formerly Sandover Pinder). Pinder’s oft-repeated approach to business was straight to the point: “Do a good job, make some money, and have fun.” This approach defined the office culture established in 1995 and continues to this day.
Job done, Pat. Rest in peace.
