Edwin "Eddie" Thomas Codd, AM
Eddie Codd is a visionary architect, industrial designer, and educator whose career has spanned over five decades, leaving an indelible mark on Australia’s architectural and design landscape.
Where Visionary Design Meets Unparalleled Craftsmanship
Based in Brisbane, Australia, Edwin “Eddie” Thomas Codd is a distinguished architect and product designer recognised for his functionalist and materialist design philosophy.
Eddie’s portfolio showcases his innovative approach to design. His career, marked by significant contributions to architecture and design, has been well represented by a slew of prestigious accolades, including being appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).
Through a retrospective lens, we delve into his remarkable journey, offering insights into his creative process and notable projects. Explore the world of Edwin Codd, where visionary design meets unparalleled craftsmanship.
Eddie’s approach to design is rooted in a deep understanding of materials and their properties. He believes that function and aesthetics should work in harmony, with the inherent qualities of materials driving the form. His work is characterised by simple, elegant structures that honestly express their construction methods and material properties.
Form should follow function, but it will also be determined by material properties and the construction or manufacturing process.
Education and Early Career
Eddie began his architectural journey at the University of Queensland in 1958. During his studies, he demonstrated leadership by organising a lecture series for the Architecture Student’s Association, featuring renowned architect and critic Robin Boyd. After graduating with second class honours in 1964, Eddie’s entrepreneurial spirit led him to partner with Robert Hopgood, founding the successful furniture design and manufacturing firm, Codd Hopgood.
Architectural Innovations
In 1964, Eddie designed his own house in Toowong, Brisbane, pioneering the use of steel construction in the city. This project sparked the development of an innovative steel structural system that Eddie would later manufacture and patent. His expertise was soon recognised by the Department of Public Works, leading to his firm’s involvement in an extensive school building program.
Business Ventures
Eddie’s vision extended beyond architecture. He established a factory in Wacol, Brisbane, to manufacture his steel structural system for the wider construction industry. The system gained widespread use throughout Queensland. In 1979, Eddie sold the patent, and later, he sold his growing furniture business to GWA Group Limited.
Professional Practice
After years as a sole practitioner, Eddie joined forces with architect Andris Stenders in 1997, forming Codd Stenders. The firm’s success continued until 2010 when it was acquired by Mode Design, a multi-disciplinary Australian design practice.
Leadership and Recognition
Eddie’s contributions to the architectural profession are significant:
- President of the Queensland Chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (1973)
- Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia
- Recipient of the Prince Phillip Prize for Design (1984)
- Named Architect of the Year by the Board of Architects of Queensland (2000)
Commitment to Education
Eddie’s impact extends far beyond his architectural practice. As the inaugural Head of the School of Built Environment at the Queensland Institute of Technology (now Queensland University of Technology) in 1975, he played a crucial role in shaping architectural education in Australia.
He restructured courses across all building disciplines and introduced 13 new programs, setting new standards for interdisciplinary education in the built environment.
Read more about Eddie’s contributions to QIT over at ID@QUT.
For more information about Eddie Codd’s contributions to Queensland’s architectural landscape, visit the Digital Archive of Queensland Architecture.
Design Philosophy
The problem solving and design process gives form to the building we live and work in and the products we use. Function and aesthetic considerations are the major determinants of a good outcome. The most basic questions for the Architect or product designer is focus on material selections and how to manipulate these to produce useful and satisfying buildings and products.
To constructively use materials it is necessary for the designer to have an intimate knowledge of their properties. This includes considerations such as strength, hardness, formability, mouldability, longevity and resistance to deterioration, together with methods of processing.
Craft or machine manipulated materials should logically produce differing forms.
More recently some architects and designers do not accept these disciplines and their creations have forms which are foreign to material properties. There is also the problem of imitation – it feels like timber, it looks like timber but is, in fact, metal with an applied finish to give the impression of timber.
The aesthetic expression of my work is disciplined by material properties and processing methodologies. These are the form drivers. To use an example, I would expect a house based on a steel structure to be entirely different in its architecture, to one based on timber, brick or concrete.
Simple, elegant pavilions are my goal.
I am more comfortable with the work of “early moderns” such as Frank Lloyd Wright or Bauhaus advocats Mies van der Rohe, Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer, or in the modern era, Richard Neutra, Richard Rogers, Harry Siedler and Charles Eames, than the work of, for example, Frank O Gehry, Poltronova (the company which produced a lounge which looked like an over inflated rubber glove) or the Studio 65 chair (which resembles a caricature of an ionic capital and makes little attempt at creating a comfortable sitting position).
Form should follow function but it will also be determined by material properties and the construction or manufacturing process.
This website illustrates a selection of my portfolio of work as a demonstration and analysis of my design approach.
Acknowledgements & Awards
2018
Made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to architecture, industrial design and to the built environment, to education, and to professional institutes.
2008
Metal Building Product Design Award, Australian Steel Institute for McDonald Codd House
2007
Hall of Fame, Design Institute of Australia
2000
Architect of the Year Award, Board of Architects of Queensland
1998
RAIA Regional Commendation for Commendable Work of Architecture
1997
Australian Institute of Steel Constructions Queensland Architectural Steel Design Award – High Commendation for Aberfeldy Street House
1997
BHP Coated Steel Australia – Metal Building Award of Merit – Runner Up Residential Category for Aberfeldy Street House
1985
ACI Award for Innovation in Architecture for Mazda Parts Building
1984
Prince Phillip Prize for Australian Design
1984
The Industrial Design Council of Australia Good Design Award
1983
The Australian Steel Award
1983
BOMA Award – Space Frame Structure – Special Merit
1983
RAIA Citation for Meritorious Architecture for Mazda Administration Building and Mazda Parts Building, Nathan
1980
RAIA Citation for An Industrialised System of Building Schools
1978
‘A’ Series Chairs
1976
Good Design Label for Acoustic Screen
1970
Queensland Newspapers/RAIA for An Industrialised House (1st Prize)
Professional & Academic Affiliations
Firms
1997 - 2010
Joint Managing Director, Codd Stenders
1994 - 1997
Managing Director, Codd Partnerships Pty Ltd
1980 - 1994
Managing Director, Edwin Codd and Partners
1975 - 1980
Managing Director, Codd Hopgood Farmer Pty Ltd
1968 - 1975
Co-Proprietor, Codd Hopgood and Associates
Australian Institute of Architects
1993 - 1999
Chair, Practising Architect's Group
since 1988
Member, Standing Committee on Compliance
1987
National Awards Judge
1987
Director of Awards – Queensland
1984
Granted Life Fellowship
1978 - 1980
President, Queensland Chapter
1972 - 1979
Chapter Councillor
1976 - 1978
Chairman, Information Division
1974 - 1976
Chairman, Education Committee
since 1974
Fellow
Australian Academy of Design
1990 - 1993
Vice-President
1989
Member of the Committee
current
Fellow
Queensland Institute of Technology
1975 - 1979
Head, School of the Built Environment
1972 - 1975
Acting Head, Charles Fulton School of Architecture
1972 - 1979
Member, Academic Board
1972 - 1979
Committees: Education, Buildings & Grounds, Academic Boards, Executive, Management
University of Queensland
1973 - 1977
Member Faculty Board
1969 - 1972
Guest Lecturing
Industrial Design Council of Australia, Queensland
1981 - 1984
Chairman, Queensland State Committee
1978 - 1980
Member, Board of Architects Queensland
1972 - 1979
State Councillor
Other
1993 - 1999
Chairman, Practicing Architects Group
1978 - 1982
South Brisbane Hospitals Board
1978 - 1980
Schools Commission Building Committee
Papers & Publications
1996
Guest Lecturing – Royal Australian Institute of Architects Winter School
1995
Guest Lecturing – Royal Australian Institute of Architects Winter School
1994
Guest Lecturing – Royal Australian Institute of Architects Winter School
1994
Guest Lecturing – Sydney Institute of Technology
1993
Guest Lecturing – Queensland University of Technology
1992
Officiated at the Opening of Today’s Designs, Tomorrow’s Future for the Australian Academy of Design Exhibition (Manilla)
1991
Guest Lecturing – Royal Australian Institute of Architects Winter School
1991
Dept of Business Industry & Regional Development – “Timber Future” What’s Happening in the 1990’s?”
1989
Australian Design Summit (Canberra) – “Opportunities for Licensing Overseas”
1989
Steel Exposed Conference (Sydney) – “Large Span Applications and Cold Forming Techniques”
1988
RAIA National Education Division Conference (Brisbane) – “Technology & The Architect: The Opportunities Offerred
1988
RAIA National Education Division Conference (Adelaide) – “Implications of Innovation”
1986
First International Light Steel Structures Conference (Sydney) – “Space Frames & the Building Envelope: Recent Australian Developments in Design Application and Detailing”
1986
Pacific Structures Steel Conference (Auckland, NZ) – “Low Technology Space Frames”
1986
Construction 86 (Perth) – “New Developments in Space Frames – Employing Appropriate Techniques”
1985
Third Conference on Steel Developments (Monash University, Melbourne) – “Low Technology Space Frames”
1984
Third International Conference on Space Structures (University of Surrey, England) – “Low Technology Space Frames”
1984
Third Space Frame Conference (Kuala Lumpur) – “Low Technology Space Frames”
1984
International Conference of Steel Structures (Singapore) – “A New Space Frame”
1983
Institute of Engineers Metal Structures Conference – “A New Space Frame”
1979
International Year of the Child – “Design in the Kitchen to Reduce Hazards”
1977
International Women’s Year – “Liberation of Motherhood”
1977
Second Conference on Steel Developments – “Industrialised System Building in Steel”
1974
Buildings in Education Seminar – “Industrialised Systems of Building”
1963