Louis Laybourne Smith - Influence and Awards

Influence and Awards

Louis Laybourne Smith is regarded as being one of the "key practitioners" of architecture in South Australia. In particular, he had a significant influence on the direction of architectural education in South Australia. His career spanned more than half a century, with much of it directly involved in education, and during that time he (and Walter Bagot) served as one of the "last links with the distant past of South Australian architecture"—having known (either directly or indirectly) most of the architects of the colonial era, while being responsible for the training of many of those who were to follow.

Furthermore, he had a substantial impact on the development of architecture as a professional body through his involvement in the Architects Act of 1931 and the formation of a national body for architects. This political work also had a social dimension: his work on the Building Act Advisory Committee helped to highlight the low quality of the housing in the poorer areas of Adelaide, and this led to a change in how the public viewed what was acceptable as low-income housing. The South Australian Housing Trust was a direct result of his actions, and led to the provision of low cost rental housing to working families in the state.

As well as having the architectural school named in his honour, in 1961 Laybourne Smith was awarded the Gold Medal by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects, and prior to that date, in 1948, he was appointed as a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George. Two busts of his likeness have also been commissioned. One was by Rayner Hoff, with whom he had collaborated on the design for the South Australian National War Memorial, and is kept in the offices of Woods Bagot. The second was unveiled in 1961, and was sculpted by South Australian artist John Dowie. It can be found at the Louis Laybourne Smith School of Architecture at the University of South Australia.

Laybourne Smith was a Life Fellow with both the Royal Australian Institute of Architects, (awarded in 1944), and a Fellow (1939) and Life Fellow (1944) of the Royal Institute of British Architects.