MODERNIST ADELAIDE
"You have Stuart Symons doing his modernist architecture tours. That doesn't happen in every city in Australia. To be able to showcase and talk about great twentieth-century buildings in Adelaide is jewel-like. It’s a great asset that you have."
– Kevin McCloud, Grand Designs
Upcoming Events
- Sun, 08 DecAdelaide08 Dec 2024, 11:00 am – 12:20 pm GMT-8Adelaide, 21 Franklin St, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia
MODERNIST ADELAIDE – THE BOOK
Modernist Adelaide: 100 Buildings 1940s–1970s is the first book to provide a large-scale survey of Adelaide’s mid-century architecture. This beautiful publication celebrates 100 examples of Adelaide’s iconic modernist buildings, many of which have featured in the popular Modernist Adelaide tours, presentations and events. Buy your copy here.
MEET STUART SYMONS
Modernist Adelaide was founded by mid-century architecture and design enthusiast Stuart Symons to celebrate Adelaide’s modernist architecture through tours, events, publications and online. Stuart was awarded the City of Adelaide Prize Commendation 2021 and South Australian Emerging Historian of the Year 2019 in recognition of his engagement with the community about Adelaide’s modernist architectural heritage. He is a member of the Society of Architectural Historians and Docomomo Australia.
TOURS + EVENTS
Through city walking tours, exclusive house tours and events, Modernist Adelaide tells the story of the rise of modernist architecture in South Australia in the context of its growth internationally – unearthing a richness and value in these buildings and our city. More than 4,000 people have attended over 120 Modernist Adelaide architecture tours and events, and a further 10,000 people have viewed Modernist Adelaide photography exhibitions. The tours are recommended by Architectural Digest and Fodor’s Essential Australia guide.
PRESENTATIONS + EXHIBITIONS
Modernist Adelaide researches, visits, photographs and profiles Adelaide’s modernist buildings and presents them online regularly through Facebook and Instagram and through public presentations, publications, media articles and photography exhibitions. Recent sold-out talks include the Robin Boyd Foundation, David Roche Foundation, City of Adelaide, City of Prospect, Adelaide Hills Council, ArtsNational, Queen Adelaide Club, Adelaide Society of Collectors, Rotary, libraries and historical societies.
FESTIVALS + PROGRAMS
Modernist Adelaide has featured in major cultural programs including the London Festival of Architecture, Australian Institute of Architects’ Festival of Architecture & Design, National Trust’s Australian Heritage Festival, South Australia’s History Festival, Adelaide Fringe, Tasting Australia, NGV's Melbourne Design Week and Melbourne Art Book Fair, South Australian Living Arts Festival (SALA) and programs with the JamFactory, State Library of South Australia, City Archives, TAFE SA, architecture firms and the Society of Architectural Historians Australia & New Zealand.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
I acknowledge and pay respects to the Kaurna people, the traditional custodians whose ancestral lands we gather on in the Adelaide region. I acknowledge the deep feelings of attachment and relationship of the Kaurna people to country and respect and value their past, present and ongoing connection to the land and cultural beliefs. – Stuart Symons