David William Trott was born in Melbourne, son of Albert Trott, a bank officer. Early in his childhood the family were living at Hamilton in rural western Victoria, but he was educated in Melbourne. He graduated from RMIT with a Diploma of Architecture before he joined the RAIA as an Associate and worked for the architects, Daryl Jackson & Evan Walker from the late 1970s. David spend his entire architecture career with the practice, working first in Melbourne where, as project architect, he oversaw major education buildings at the University of Melbourne including the Graduate School of Management, 1985-87, and the Architecture and Planning Building, 1987-88.
In 1989, David established the Queensland branch office of Daryl Jackson Pty Ltd on the Gold Coast to undertake multiple buildings for the newly established Bond University. David worked closely with Gary Carter, who was the DJ Queensland office first local employee. In the early 1990s the Queensland office (later Jackson Architecture 鈥� Brisbane Studio) relocated to Brisbane where they undertook numerous and varied commissions with David as Director in charge.
The portfolio of works undertaken by JA, and led by David, is prodigious. Among them were the Food Technology Building, South Brisbane TAFE, 1992-93; the Brisbane Cricket Ground Redevelopment, 1993-2000; Master Plan for the Brisbane Hospitals, Herston, 1994; Capalaba Library and Community Centre 1996; Sunshine Coast University College Science Building 1996; ; as well as the Faculty of Science and the Art Law Building at Northern Territory University, Darwin; Couran Cove Resort, South Stradbroke Island 鈥� Australia鈥檚 first ecotourism development; Royal Brisbane & Women鈥檚 Hospital Redevelopment in JV with Di Carlo Potts & Associates 鈥� completed 2003; three major University of Queensland projects: the UQ / CSIRO Research Laboratory project St Lucia, 1998-90, the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) , St Lucia 2006 and Centre for Clinical Research, Herston 2008; Robina Hospital Redevelopment 鈥� Emergency Department, ICU, and Renal Unit 2007; North Lakes Health Precinct 2009; Cairns Base Hospital Redevelopment ($500m) – JV with MSJ + Fisher and Buttrose Architects 2014; Two James Cook University laboratories: Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine (AITHM) 鈥� James Cook University, Townsville 2016 and Cairns Campus 2018; and Te Toki a Rata Building – Victoria University of Wellington – JV with Warren and Mahoney 2019.
These buildings were often memorable. For me as a resident on Brisbane鈥檚 inner southside, two are nearby. Firstly 鈥� the Gabba redevelopment which gave that hallowed precinct a physical presence which matched its storied reputation. Overlapping the site boundaries, the perimeter intruded energetically above, for Brisbane, the unusually wide Stanley St. Sadly it has been consigned to oblivion by a combination of the forth-coming Olympics and an unexpected vulnerability to resonance-induced failure. Brisbane can ill-afford to lose such sites. Nearby was the earlier Food Technology Building for TAFE. It survives but with changes by others, the soul has left. The canteen as a corner pub and an adjacent, covered high street of shops 鈥� all student-run dispensing student-made produce – are no more. Instead Cordon Bleu has taken over most of the space, discreetly shuttered from the street, with the 鈥榗orner pub鈥� now for meetings of a different kind. His work with Daryl Jackson had a broad agenda, a wide vision and added interest.
David Trott served on the Practice Committee of the Queensland Chapter, 1992-97; was a Senior Counsellor of the AIA from 1996 and a Chapter Councillor from 1997. He was a member of the Complaints Committee from 1999 and chaired the RAIA Disciplinary Tribunal from 2001. He was a member of the Architectural Awards Jury in 1999. As convenor of the Senior Counsellors, David worked with Ian Mitchell and others on 鈥渄ifficult鈥� cases. devoting considerable time to the Institute in these capacities, and also to the Association of Consulting Architects Australia (ACA) with Mark Trotter as joint board members.
Commenting on his early years in Melbourne, Tim Jackson writes,
鈥淒avid was an all rounder, an architects architect who understood the value of good design and knew that translating a concept into a built form relied on a highly considered approach that required commitment to a long process : his contribution to Jackson architecture and working closely with Daryl during the multiple stages of design resolution was fundamental to the successful outcome of many award winning buildings.
Always with a patient demeanour鈥�.
Graham Lowe adds:
鈥淒avid wasn鈥檛 easily flustered and his warm and calm demeanour made him very approachable. He was very well-liked and respected by employees, colleagues, consultants, clients, and contractors alike. I am forever grateful for David鈥檚 leadership and friendship over the 20 years we worked together. He saw potential in me that I couldn鈥檛 see in myself.鈥�
Lucy O鈥橠riscoll reflects:
鈥淒avid was a strategic leader, an empathetic leader (way before his time), always available for advice and a chat even to the youngest of graduates; an infectious smile, loyalty and dedication (one practice for his entire career), committed to daily travel from the Gold Coast to the Brisbane Studio long before a TEAMS call and often fuelled with a red frog or 3鈥�. He was a hands-on leader and so well respected across the industry.鈥�
Mark Trotter:
鈥淒avid will be missed greatly. Young architects need mentors like David. It鈥檚 a tough game at times and he made it that little bit easier. David was one of the last gentlemen architects.鈥�
Gilda Donegan summarises the contribution David made to her career:
鈥淚 feel incredibly blessed to have worked alongside David for almost 20 years. Throughout that time, he proved to be an outstanding mentor, expert negotiator and most of all a dear friend. He always maintained a calm demeanour – even in the most difficult situations he didn鈥檛 say much, however the ‘Professional Indemnity Folder’ would surely appear above your desk. It wasn’t meant to alarm us, but to serve as a comforting reminder that he was always there if we needed his support. In his words, he was 鈥榯he conductor of the orchestra鈥�, and on reflection, he led the team at Jackson鈥檚 just like that.
For almost 27 years in Queensland, David mentored many young architects like myself, making a permanent impact on the industry. He will surely be missed.鈥�
Written by Don Watson 2021 RAIA Gold Medallist
with contributions by Sara Jackson (Jackson Architecture, Melbourne), Tim Jackson, (Jackson Clements Burrows, Melbourne), Gilda Donegan (GHD, Brisbane), Mark Roehrs, Lucy O鈥橠riscoll and Graham Lowe (Hassell, Brisbane), Ian Mitchell and Mark Trotter (Fulton Trotter).