Revered as Aotearoa's last great modernist, Bill leaves a significant legacy at the University —serving as an honorary faculty member when Victoria’s School of Architecture was established in 1974, and an honorary lecturer and tutor in architectural history from 1972 to 2009.
He was a keen member of the Victoria Legacy Club, and the Hunter Club for retired staff, known for charming attendees with his presence in a top hat.
He was also the architect for the University's original School of Music complex, including the Adam Concert Room, and for the Helen Lowry Halls of Residence, which received an award from the New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) in 1972.
Bill and his late wife Margaret Alington, ONZM, made a significant gift to Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery in 2023 to support projects that will advance architectural knowledge. Margaret, a well-known historian, left her own mark with annual lectures on the history of Wellington’s Old St Paul’s at the School of Architecture from 1978 to 2005, and her pivotal role in founding The Friends of Bolton Street Cemetery.
Former Gallery Director Tina Barton says their generous gift will allow the gallery to develop exhibitions and publications that bring aspects of Aotearoa’s architectural history to light, “in Sir Ian Athfield’s remarkable building that houses Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery on the Kelburn Campus.”
According to current Acting Gallery Director Sophie Thorn, a portion of the gift will be put towards an architectural photography project about the work of Duncan Winder that is scheduled to open in mid-2024.
Born in Lower Hutt, Bill studied engineering at Victoria for two years, then spent a year as a draughting cadet in the Ministry of Works (MoW), before completing his degree in architecture at Auckland University College.
He left New Zealand with Margaret in 1956, working in London on New Zealand House among other projects, and fulfilling a long-held desire to see Europe’s medieval cathedrals and key works of modernist architecture. He went on to complete a Master’s degree in architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, visiting works by Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe, whom he had the chance to meet.
On their return to New Zealand, Bill resumed work at the MoW, where the Meteorological Office in Wellington was one of his projects, before moving into private practice.
Bill had a strong belief in public service and many of his projects were for civic councils, churches, and educational institutions. Significant projects in the Wellington region include Wellington High School, the Upper Hutt Civic administration buildings, the New Zealand Anglican Chinese Mission, and the Mahara Gallery in Waikanae.
Bill designed a home for his family in Homewood Crescent, Karori, revealing the strong influences of both Mies van der Rohe, and his former supervisor at the MoW, James Beard.
Known as ‘the Alington house’ it is seen as an outstanding work of mid-century modernism. It has Historic Place Category 1 status and received an NZIA Local Award for Architecture in 2001, and the Institute’s Enduring Award for Architecture in 2007.
Professor Sally Jane Norman, Director of The New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī recounts that her father Bob Norman was a great friend of Bill’s from his MoW days, sharing his commitment to public service.
She was privileged to visit Bill in the days before he died and says, “his face lit up when he learned we had welcomed this year’s music school cohort into his beautiful Adam Concert Room.”
Emeritus Professor of Music Peter Walls (ONZM) recalls that the School of Music building project was extremely complex.
“Bill needed to accommodate exacting acoustic isolation requirements for each room, which he achieved using wood rather than reinforced concrete, so that people could not hear a Steinway piano being played loudly in the next room.
“With its reliance on laminated wood, the School of Music has a warmth, lightness and, above all, a human feel that reflects Bill’s own gentle personality.”
After the School of Music opened in 1989, a proud Bill would often bring groups of architectural students to view it. The Adam Concert Room, supported by Verna and Denis Adam, was, and still is, used around the clock, including over the summer break, with professional musicians recording there.
In 2020, the NZIA honoured Bill as a Distinguished Fellow, citing a career marked by a deep and abiding commitment to the social role of architecture. They noted that his teaching of architectural history and in the design studio at Victoria University of Wellington has "inspired generations of students", and that he "has given exemplary service to his profession and to New Zealand architecture.”
On learning of Bill’s death, the Institute described it as “the passing of Aotearoa’s last great modernist, a treasured mentor and a gentleman.”