Peter Wilson has taken out the Gold Medal for the 2013 Australian Achievement in Architecture Awards for his services for more than 30 years to the architecture industry in Australia and abroad.  

Wilson's body of architectural works have been widely published and exhibited and his long-standing contribution to the development of architectural drawing as a tool of representation and research was also recognised by the jury.

Jury's citation:

Peter Wilson was born in Melbourne in 1950. After studying architecture at the University of Melbourne, he went on to the AA in London in 1972, where he met Julia Bolles-Wilson. Originally established in London in 1980, the partnership ultimately evolved into Architekturbüro Bolles+Wilson based in Munster, Germany.

As director of Bolles+Wilson, Wilson has authored numerous projects.

This work has been widely published and has received many awards.

It is not easy to gain commissions in Europe however Wilson’s firm’s ongoing success with international competitions since the practice’s establishment has intensified his reputation and further supplements his powerful collection of architectural works.

Wilson is also dedicated to teaching, and has inspired students and architects by giving his time generously to provocative, relevant and articulate public lectures overseas and in Australia. His intellectual contribution to thinking on architecture has been considerable.

In April 2009, his contribution to the profession, together with that of partner Julia Bolles- Wilson, was acknowledged with a Gold Medal by the XI International Triennale of Architecture in Cracow. To that honour, Peter Wilson added the 2009 President’s Prize – an award inaugurated in Victoria, to acknowledge highly deserving Victorians for their contribution to architecture. Recently, Peter Cook reviewed the Bolles+Wilson competition-winning Munster Library in The Architectural Review and described Peter Wilson as the leading protagonist and most talented creator of a new relevant architectural stream, characterising his work as ‘Australian’.

His extremely distinguished career and highly recognised and awarded practice has been a great tribute to his capability, and has showcased an Australian practitioner to the world. Peter Wilson has been an exemplary international ambassador for Australia, and is a worthy recipient of the Australian Institute of Architect’s highest honour, the Gold Medal.

The Gold Medal is the highest honour the Institute may bestow. The Award is made in recognition of most distinguished services by an individual architect who has designed or executed buildings of high merit or produced work of great distinction to promote or facilitate the knowledge of architecture, or by work which has endowed the profession of architecture in such an exceptional or distinguished way as to merit the award.

 

JURY:

Shelley Penn FRAIA Australian Institute of Architects National President / Shelley Penn Architect

Brian Zulaikha LFRAIA Australian Institute of Architects Immediate Past President / Tonkin Zulaikha Greer

John Denton LFRAIA 1996 Gold Medallist / Denton Corker Marshall

Professor Brit Andresen LFRAIA 2002 Gold Medallist / The University of Queensland

David Karotkin FRAIA Australian Institute of Architects WA Chapter President / Sandover Pinder