The annual Fine Art@Hale Exhibition is held in Hale School’s Memorial Hall, built in memory of the old boys of Hale School who died in World Wars I and II.
Held in the City of Stirling’s Municipal Inventory of heritage listings, Memorial Hall has also been identified by the Australian Institute of Architects as a significant work of 20th Century architecture.[1]
The building was designed in 1959-60 by Marshall Clifton and Hale Old Boy, Anthony Brand (with Brand Ferguson and Solarski, in association).
Completed in 1961, and awarded that year’s Royal Institute of British Architects’ Bronze Medal, the building presented a stark contrast to the other school buildings built around the same time on the burgeoning new school campus in Wembley Downs.
1993 Fine Art@Hale Exhibition Catalogue
Artist Unknown
The jury report that was published in the December 1962 edition of ‘The Architect’, captures a sense of the impact the building made at the time:
‘The Hall is important as the first building in Western Australia to be conceived as a design in reinforced concrete leaving the material to express its strength, power and character without adornment… The architects and the builders are to be congratulated on the result of the pioneer work they undertook in this regard. The appearance of Hale School Memorial Hall will be enhanced by the passage of time. The unplastered and unpainted concrete will weather in the manner of stone’.1
Although the exterior has since been painted, Memorial Hall remains a central and important building on the Hale School campus. It is a busy place, hosting many school functions, assemblies, performances, exams and the like. The FA@H Committee is grateful to Hale School for allowing the FA@H Exhibition to be staged in such a significant building.
[1]Source: http://www.architecture.com.au/docs/default-source/act-notable-buildings/hale-school-memorial-hall.pdf?sfvrsn=0