Alastair Swayn. Leaving a lasting legacy.

Alastair Swayn AO was one of Canberra’s leading architects and a lover of all things associated with Australian design. His position as a founding director of the highly acclaimed architectural practice, Daryl Jackson Alastair Swayn (DJAS) together with his contribution to public life through his positions of President, Senior Councillor and Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects, Professorial Fellow at the University of Canberra, and most significantly the position of inaugural ACT Government Architect, made him a very prominent member of Australian architecture.

Alastair was an amazing architect, friend, mentor and supporter of Swell for close to two decades. Before Alastair’s death in 2016, he generously bequeathed his estate to a foundation in his name. Alastair passed away on the 4th of August 2016 after a long battle with brain cancer. As part of his final project—planning his own memorial and party—Alastair engaged Swell to create a legacy book that would help to promote the Alastair Swayn Foundation, a charity to support young Australian architects. The foundation was formed with the principal objective of perpetuating and honouring Swayn’s memory by the awarding of grants to individuals, groups and organisations that progress Australian architecture and design.

Alisa Moss
Director, DJAS Architecture

“
Alastair Swayn was a great mentor and leader. He was always bringing people together, he was generous with his time and he loved to inspire and teach his younger colleagues. His bright and bold use of colour, his love of all things functional, his use of daylight within buildings and his use of strong horizontal elements within a light building form were all hallmarks of this very competent architectural craftsman.”