Bates Smart

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Bates Smart is an architectural firm with studios in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Australia. Founded in 1853 by Joseph Reed, it is one of Australia's oldest architectural firms. Over the decades, the firm's practices involving architecture, interior design, urban design, strategy, sustainability and research, have been responsible for some of Australia’s most recognizable buildings.

History

Joseph Reed, born in 1823 in Cornwall, England, established his firm upon his arrival in Melbourne in 1853, and in 1863, joined with British architect Frederick Barnes, renaming his practice to Reed & Barnes. Their name is linked to many of the major buildings of nineteenth-century Melbourne, including the Melbourne Public Library, Melbourne Town Hall, Rippon Lea, Elsternwick, and Scots Church. The Melbourne International Exhibition building is one of the most notable buildings to be completed by Reed & Barnes.

In 1883 Barnes retired, and A. Henderson and Francis Smart joined Joseph Reed as partners to create Reed, Henderson & Smart. In 1890 Reed died, Henderson withdrew, and William Tappin joined, creating Reed Smart & Tappin. In 1907, N. G. Peebles joined, creating Smart Tappin & Peebles, but with the rapid departure of Tappin, and addition of E. A. Bates, the firm became known as Bates Pebble & Smart the next year. After Peebles died in 1923, the firm became Bates Smart McCutcheon in 1926 when Osborn McCutcheon became a partner; he remained Principal Partner until his retirement. Since 1995 the firm has been known simply as Bates Smart.

The current directors are Matthew Allen, Julian Anderson, Jeffery Copolov, Cian Davis, Mark Healey, Guy Lake, Mathieu le Sueur, Kellie Payne, Brenton Smith, Philip Vivian and Karen Wong.

Notable projects

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This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (November 2026)

Project name	Image	Date	Location	Description and awards	Notes
Joseph Reed (1853)
Melbourne Public Library		1864	Melbourne	Added to the Victorian Heritage Register
Reed & Barnes (1862)
Independent Church		1866	Melbourne
Melbourne Town Hall		1867	Melbourne
Rippon Lea		1869	192 Hotham St, Elsternwick	Added to the Victorian Heritage Register
Exhibition Boot Factory; (later addition as the Cathedral Hall)		1873	20–22 Brunswick St, Fitzroy	Factory designed by Reed & Barnes; Cathedral Hall (now known as Central Hall) by Reed, Smart & Tappin in 1904; added to the Victorian Heritage Register
Scots' Church		1874	Melbourne
Melbourne International Exhibition Building		1880	Carlton Gardens, Carlton, Melbourne	Added to the World Heritage List and the Victorian Heritage Register
Wilson Hall		1882	University of Melbourne, Parkville	Destroyed by fire in 1952; replaced by 1956 building (see below)
Reed Henderson & Smart (1883)
Sacred Heart Church complex		1884	83–87 Grey St, St Kilda	Added to the Victorian Heritage Register
Christ Church, South Yarra		1887	683-701 Punt Rd, South Yarra	North aisle only; added to the Victorian Heritage Register
Reed Smart & Tappin (1890)
The Chalet		1890	Mount Martha
St Aidan's Orphanage		1905	190 Aidans Rd, Kennington (Bendigo)	Expanded in 1909–1912 and 1930–1931 to different architects; added to the Victorian Heritage Register
Smart Tappin & Peebles (1906)
Bates Peebles & Smart (1907)
Conservatorium of Music		1910	University of Melbourne, 156–292 Grattan St, Parkville	Subsequently relocated; extant building was added to the Victorian Heritage Register, along with Melba Hall, that was designed by the Government Architect
Reading Room, Melbourne Public Library		1913	Melbourne	Added to the Victorian Heritage Register
First Church of Christ, Scientist, Melbourne		1920	366 St Kilda Road, Melbourne	Added to the victorian Heritage Register
Bates & Smart (1922)
Bates Smart & McCutcheon (1926)
AMP Building		1932	419–429 Collins and 64–74 Market Sts, Melbourne	Built for the AMP Society; now commercial office building; awarded the RVIA Street Architecture Medal in 1932; added to the Victorian Heritage Register
Buckley & Nunn's Men's Store		1933	294–312 Bourke and 285–295 Little Bourke Sts, Melbourne	Built for Buckley & Nunn, who were taken over by David Jones in 1982; added to the Victorian Heritage Register
Second Church of Christ, Scientist		1937	41 Cookson St, Camberwell	Deconsecrated as a church in c. 2023; repurposed as the Wat Phra Dhammakaya Melbourne, a Buddhist temple and meditation centre; added to the Victorian Heritage Register
MLC Building (also known as the Mutual Life & Assurance Building building)		1938	Martin Place, Sydney, NSW	As of December 2018[update], the anchor tenant was Norton Rose Fulbright, formerly Henry Davis York, an international law firm; added to the New South Wales Heritage Register
Wilson Hall		1956	University of Melbourne, 156–292 Grattan St, Parkville	Replaced 1882 building that was destroyed by fire (see above); added to the Victorian Heritage Register
MLC Building, North Sydney		1957	North Sydney, NSW	Completed in the Post-war International style; added to the New South Wales Heritage Register
ICI House		1958	Melbourne	Added to the Victorian Heritage Register
Australian Embassy		1969	Washington D.C., USA
AMP Square and St James Building		1969	Melbourne	SOM (collab.)
Metropolitan Fire Brigade Headquarters		1978	Melbourne
Collins Place		1980	Melbourne	I. M. Pei (collab.)
Melbourne Central		1992	Melbourne	Kisho Kurokawa (collab.)
Bates Smart (since 1995)
Crown Entertainment Complex		1997	Melbourne	Perrott Lyon Mathieson & Daryl Jackson (collab.)
Pier 8/9		2000	Walsh Bay, NSW
The Melburnian		2001	Melbourne	HPA Architects (collab.)
Federation Square including the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia		2002	Melbourne	Lab Architecture Studio (collab.) RAIA Walter Burley Griffin Award for Urban Design (2003) RAIA National Award for Interior Architecture (2003)
55 Miller Street		2006	Pyrmont, NSW
Mid City, 420 George Street		2010	Sydney, NSW
Crown Metropol		2010	Melbourne
The Royal Children's Hospital		2011	Parkville	Billard Leece Partnership (collab.) HKS (international advisor)
171 Collins Street		2013	Melbourne
Dandenong Mental Health Facility		2013	Dandenong	Irwin Alsop (collab.)
180 Thomas Street		2014	Sydney, NSW
UNSW: The Kensington Colleges		2014	Kensington, NSW
UNSW: School of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering		2015	Kensington, NSW
Canberra Airport Hotel		2015	Canberra, ACT
35 Spring Street		2017	Melbourne

Archives

The University of Melbourne has held Bates Smart's archival records since 1968. The collection contains over 4,000 architectural drawings as well as client files and photographs.

Gallery

• 
  St Michael's Uniting Church, Collins Street, Melbourne
• 
  Melbourne Trades Hall, Carlton
• 
  A.C. Goode House, Melbourne
• 
  St Paul's Cathedral, Flinders Street
• 
  Wesley Church, Melbourne
• 
  Ormond College Clock Tower, University of Melbourne
• 
  Former Metropolitan Gas Company building on Flinders Street, Melbourne
• 
  Holy Trinity Church, St Kilda
• 
  Lombard Building
• 
  Former Mutual Store
• 
  Optus Centre (1975)
• 
  Freshwater Place
• 
  The Age headquarters, Melbourne (2009)

Notes

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bates Smart.

• Bates Smart website