Welcome
The Walter Burley Griffin Society was established in 1988 in Sydney, Australia.
It commemorates the lives and works of Walter Burley Griffin (1876–1937) and Marion Mahony Griffin (1871–1961) and promotes the environmental ideals and community life they fostered in Australia.
Chicago architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin won the international design competition for Australia’s national capital, Canberra, in 1912.
In 1914 they moved to Australia and over the next two decades undertook an extensive range of projects including the town plans for Leeton and Griffith, the design of Newman College and the Capitol Theatre in Melbourne, and the suburb of Castlecrag on the shores of Sydney Harbour.
Invited to India in 1935 following a commission to design the University of Lucknow Library, the Griffins worked prolifically here until Walter’s untimely death from peritonitus in 1937 at the age of 59.
Marion returned to Sydney and in 1938 relocated permanently to Chicago. During the 1940s she compiled ‘The Magic of America’, an assemblage of writing, photos and ephemera that documented the Griffins’ lives and 40-year careers spanning over 350 projects across three continents.
We acknowledge Australia’s First Nations People as the traditional custodians of the land and give respect to the custodians past, present and emerging.
