Union Building Group, Adelaide

The Union Building Group is a complex on the Adelaide University campus that incorporates five buildings, namely: the Lady Symon Building (named after the wife of Sir Josiah Symon), the George Murray Building (named after George John Robert Murray, vice-chancellor and later chancellor of the university), the Western Annexe and the Cloisters (1920s-30s), and the multi-story Union House (1975). In essence, it represents two main phases in which the Adelaide University Union (AUU) was developed to provide services and facilities for students on the campus.

The earlier Georgian-style edifices (the Cloisters, the Lady Symon Building and the George Murray building) were designed by the architects Woods, Bagot, Jory and Laybourne-Smith in 1929 and 1937. Ultimately, they set parameters for the design of Union House, an award-winning development of 1975 by the prominent South Australian partnership of Dickson & Platten, noted for the quality of internal spaces and correlation with the earlier architecture.

The use of timber in large-scale structures and the high level of construction craftsmanship place Union House at the top of the buildings created by Dickson & Platten throughout the 1960s-70s. Union House accommodates practically everything that the AUU provides students, including, among other facilities, the UniBar and the famous Adelaide University Cloisters.

An architectural and cultural landmark of Brutalist style, the Union House (listed in 2002) is set to undergo rejuvenation over the next few years. This implies revamping and relocation of UniBar and the refreshment of the historic Memorial Cloisters (originally built as a monument to the University students who fought in WWI). Stage one of the project was completed in February 2019, seeing the Cloisters redeveloped to create a new and multi-dimensional UniBar and entertainment venue for students, staff and general public.