Ashley Paine is an architect and Senior Lecturer at the University of Queensland. His research, teaching and practice are all broadly concerned with the history, theory and design of architectural surfaces, focusing particularly on issues of ornament, pattern, colour and the façade. In 2015 Ashley completed his PhD on the history and artifice of striped architecture, which surveyed the techniques and striking visual effects of banded polychromy across more than two thousand years of Western architecture: from Roman wall construction through to the recent work of Mario Botta. Ashley also holds a Master of Arts in Visual Arts (Research) and a Bachelor of Architecture (Hons. I) and for which he was awarded a University Medal. He is also the recipient of numerous other academic awards and prizes, and is the author of a number of conference papers and publications for leading international journals including, AA Files (UK), The Architectural Review (UK), and Interstices (NZ). Ashley’s current research builds upon and expands his existing studies to include the investigation of authenticity in architectural heritage, as well as contemporary architectural practices and their relation to the visual arts.
In architectural practice, Ashley has more than fifteen years of experience across residential, commercial, education, institutional, interiors and heritage projects. His work has been recognised with numerous awards from the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Design Institute of Australia (DIA), including national awards for Public Architecture, Interior Architecture and Small Projects. Many of these buildings have also been published and exhibited internationally, including in the Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture (2004), and at the Australian Pavilion at the 2006 Venice Architecture Biennale. In 2010, Ashley co-founded PHAB Architects (with Brant Harris) to develop his interests at the intersection of architectural research and practice. In particular, the practice focuses on heritage and adaptive re-use projects, as well as residential and small-scale public works. Recently completed works include the conversion of the historic Toogoolawah Condensery Packing Shed into a new community art gallery and workshop.
Recent Awards
2016 AIA National Awards: National Award (Public Architecture) 2016 AIA Queensland Architecture Awards: Colorbond Award for Steel Architecture 2016 Dulux Colour Awards: Grand Prix Winner 2016 Dulux Colour Awards: Commercial Exterior Winner 2016 Dulux Colour Awards: Commercial Interior Commendation 2017 Archdaily Building of the Year Finalist (Category: Refurbishment)
Current Memberships
Member, Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ)
Journal Article: Tactics of reconstructing the past: recent residential practice
Paine, Ashley (2021). Tactics of reconstructing the past: recent residential practice. Architecture Australia, 110 (2), 62-65.
Book: Valuing Architecture: Heritage and the Economics of Culture
Ashley Paine, Susan Holden and John Macarthur eds. (2020). Valuing Architecture: Heritage and the Economics of Culture. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Valiz.
Book Chapter: Reading between the lines: reflections on an interview with Mario Botta
Paine, Ashley (2019). Reading between the lines: reflections on an interview with Mario Botta. Speaking of buildings: oral history in architectural research. (pp. *-*) edited by Janina Gosseye, Naomi Stead and Deborah van der Plaat. NY, United States: Princeton Architectural Press.
Is architecture art? A history of categories, concepts and recent practices
(2016–2022) ARC Discovery Projects
Shaping the Horizon: Heaven and Earth in Architecture and Arts
Doctor Philosophy
The architectural construct of the travelling exhibition and its role as mediator between object, subject and context
Doctor Philosophy
Avian-Human Architecture
Doctor Philosophy
Tactics of reconstructing the past: recent residential practice
Paine, Ashley (2021). Tactics of reconstructing the past: recent residential practice. Architecture Australia, 110 (2), 62-65.
Valuing Architecture: Heritage and the Economics of Culture
Ashley Paine, Susan Holden and John Macarthur eds. (2020). Valuing Architecture: Heritage and the Economics of Culture. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Valiz.
Reading between the lines: reflections on an interview with Mario Botta
Paine, Ashley (2019). Reading between the lines: reflections on an interview with Mario Botta. Speaking of buildings: oral history in architectural research. (pp. *-*) edited by Janina Gosseye, Naomi Stead and Deborah van der Plaat. NY, United States: Princeton Architectural Press.
Valuing Architecture: Heritage and the Economics of Culture
Ashley Paine, Susan Holden and John Macarthur eds. (2020). Valuing Architecture: Heritage and the Economics of Culture. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Valiz.
Trading Between Architecture and Art: Strategies and practices of exchange
Wouter Davidts, Susan Holden and Ashley Paine eds. (2019). Trading Between Architecture and Art: Strategies and practices of exchange. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Valiz.
Pavilion propositions: nine points on an architectural phenomenon
Macarthur, John, Holden, Susan, Paine, Ashley and Davidts, Wouter (2018). Pavilion propositions: nine points on an architectural phenomenon. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Valiz.
Holden, Susan and Paine, Ashley (2022). Fugitive Architecture. The spoken object: a collector's journey in fashion, jewellery, design and architecture. (pp. 341-377) edited by Gene Sherman. Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Images Publishing.
Inside becomes outside: Queensland’s domestic landscape
Micheli, Silvia and Paine, Ashley (2022). Inside becomes outside: Queensland’s domestic landscape. The new Queensland house. (pp. 12-19) edited by Cameron Bruhn and Katelin Butler. Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Thames & Hudson.
For what it’s worth: the value of architecture as heritage and culture
Macarthur, John, Holden, Susan and Paine, Ashley (2020). For what it’s worth: the value of architecture as heritage and culture. Valuing architecture: heritage and the economics of culture. (pp. 8-20) edited by Ashley Paine, Susan Holden and John Macarthur. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Valiz.
The price is Wright: recovering value in Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural fragments
Paine, Ashley (2020). The price is Wright: recovering value in Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural fragments. Valuing architecture: heritage and the economics of culture. (pp. 40-57) edited by Ashley Paine, Susan Holden and John Macarthur. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Valiz.
Reading between the lines: reflections on an interview with Mario Botta
Paine, Ashley (2019). Reading between the lines: reflections on an interview with Mario Botta. Speaking of buildings: oral history in architectural research. (pp. *-*) edited by Janina Gosseye, Naomi Stead and Deborah van der Plaat. NY, United States: Princeton Architectural Press.
Spencer Finch’s windows: authenticity and the reconstructed interior
Paine, Ashley (2019). Spencer Finch’s windows: authenticity and the reconstructed interior. Trading between architecture and art: strategies and practices of exchange. (pp. 181-191) edited by Wouter Davidts, Susan Holden and Ashley Paine. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Valiz.
The terms of trade of architecture and art
Davidts, Wouter, Holden, Susan and Paine, Ashley (2019). The terms of trade of architecture and art. Trading between architecture and art: strategies and practices of exchange. (pp. 9-15) edited by Wouter Davidts, Susan Holden and Ashley Paine. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Valiz.
Paine, Ashley (2022). Green House by Steendijk. Houses, 148 (October), 18-25.
Staging Frank Lloyd Wright’s Imperial Hotel
Paine, Ashley (2022). Staging Frank Lloyd Wright’s Imperial Hotel. Theatre and Performance Design, 8 (1-2), 63-75. doi: 10.1080/23322551.2022.2082713
Tactics of reconstructing the past: recent residential practice
Paine, Ashley (2021). Tactics of reconstructing the past: recent residential practice. Architecture Australia, 110 (2), 62-65.
The Wright House Museum: mediated encounters with Frank Lloyd Wright’s domestic architecture
Paine, Ashley (2021). The Wright House Museum: mediated encounters with Frank Lloyd Wright’s domestic architecture. SaveWright, 12 (1), 2-5.
Curating architecture and the city: recent Australian pavilions
Holden, Susan and Paine, Ashley (2020). Curating architecture and the city: recent Australian pavilions. European Journal of Creative Practices in Cities and Landscapes, 3 (1), 117-138. doi: 10.6092/issn.2612-0496/10140
Paine, Ashley and Holden, Susan (2019). The pavilion returns: The Holy See’s Vatican Chapels at the 16th International Venice Biennale of Architecture, 26 May–25 November 2018. Fabrications, 29 (1), 109-111. doi: 10.1080/10331867.2019.1539892
Frank Lloyd Wright's posthumous architecture
Paine, Ashley and Clarke, Amy (2018). Frank Lloyd Wright's posthumous architecture. Architectural Research Quarterly, 22 (1), 69-80. doi: 10.1017/s1359135518000325
Not quite Wright: re-performing Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture ex situ
Paine, Ashley (2018). Not quite Wright: re-performing Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture ex situ. Future Anterior: Journal of Historic Preservation, History, Theory, and Criticism, 15 (2), 63-79. doi: 10.5749/futuante.15.2.0063
Paine, Ashley (2017). “Frank Lloyd Wright at 150: unpacking the archive”, 12 June – 1 October, 2017 at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Fabrications: the journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand, 27 (3), 429-432. doi: 10.1080/10331867.2017.1368852
Review: Northlakes Veterinary Hospital by Vokes and Peters
Paine, Ashley (2017). Review: Northlakes Veterinary Hospital by Vokes and Peters. Architecture Australia, 4 (July), 36-43.
Paine, Ashley and Holden, Susan (2017). The art of reverence. Architecture Australia, 106 (4), 73-76.
The curious history of striped architecture
Paine, Ashley (2015). The curious history of striped architecture. The Architectural Review.
Striped effects: the articulation of materiality and directionality in striped architecture
Paine, Ashley (2013). Striped effects: the articulation of materiality and directionality in striped architecture. Interstices: Journal of Architecture and Related Arts, 14, 68-78.
Paine, Ashley (2011). The Problem of Stripes. AA Files, 63, 70-73.
A Window on the Museum: Reconstructing the Interiors of Frank Lloyd Wright
Paine, Ashley (2023). A Window on the Museum: Reconstructing the Interiors of Frank Lloyd Wright. The Exhibition as Interior, Online , 9 May 2023. London, United Kingdom: Modern Interiors Research Centre, Kingston University.
Archives and authorship: a case study on the impact of digital architectural collections
Paine, Ashley and Greenop, Kelly (2022). Archives and authorship: a case study on the impact of digital architectural collections. Building Data: Architecture, Memory and New Imaginaries, Delft and Rotterdam, Amsterdam, 23-24 November 2022. Rotterdam, Amsterdam: TU Delft and Het Nieuwe Instituut.
Buildings in buildings: close encounters of the architectural kind
Paine, Ashley (2019). Buildings in buildings: close encounters of the architectural kind. AAANZ 2019 Ngā Tūtaki – Encounter/s: Agency, Embodiment, Exchange, Ecologies, Auckland, New Zealand, 3-6 December 2019.
The price is Wright: re-thinking value in the fragments of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture
Paine, Ashley (2019). The price is Wright: re-thinking value in the fragments of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture. The Values of Architecture and the Economy of Culture, Brisbane, Australia, 12-14 June 2019.
Theatricality and the reconstruction of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Imperial Hotel
Paine, Ashley (2019). Theatricality and the reconstruction of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Imperial Hotel. Distance Looks Back: 36th Annual Conference of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand, Sydney, Australia, 10-13 July 2019.
The rhetoric of reproduction: built heritage in a digital age
Clarke, Amy and Paine, Ashley (2018). The rhetoric of reproduction: built heritage in a digital age. Digital Cultural Heritage: FUTURE VISIONS, 2018, Brisbane, Australia, 19-20 April, 2017. Brisbane QLD, Australia: Architecture Theory Criticism History Research Centre, School of Architecture, The University of Queensland.
Period rooms and the fantasy of architectural display
Paine, Ashley (2017). Period rooms and the fantasy of architectural display. Fantasy in Reality: Architecture, Representation, Reproduction, London, United Kingdom, 15-16 June 2017.
Rethinking replicas: temporality and the reconstructed pavilion
Paine, Ashley (2017). Rethinking replicas: temporality and the reconstructed pavilion. Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ) Annual Conference, Canberra, ACT, Australia, 5-8 July 2017. Canberra, ACT, Australia: SAHANZ.
The rhetoric of authentic surfaces: gold Leaf in the recent work of OMA and Mario Botta
Paine, Ashley (2016). The rhetoric of authentic surfaces: gold Leaf in the recent work of OMA and Mario Botta. Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ) Annual Conference, Melbourne, Australia, 6-9 July 2016. Melbourne, Australia: SAHANZ.
Institutional polychromy: the striped architecture of Don Watson and Spence Jamieson
Paine, Ashley (2015). Institutional polychromy: the striped architecture of Don Watson and Spence Jamieson. Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ) Annual Conference, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 7-10 July 2015. Sydney, NSW, Australia: SAHANZ.
The decorated synagogue: architectural appropriation and assimilation at Atlanta’s Temple
Kahn, Michael M. and Paine, Ashley (2015). The decorated synagogue: architectural appropriation and assimilation at Atlanta’s Temple. Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ) Annual Conference, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 7-10 July 2015. Sydney, NSW, Australia: SAHANZ.
Principles for the definition of a striped architecture
Paine, Ashley (2014). Principles for the definition of a striped architecture. Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ) Annual Conference, Auckland, New Zealand, 2-5 July 2014. Gold Coast, QLD, Australia: SAHANZ.
Botta’s striped historicism: Historicism, myth and fabulation in Mario Botta’s stripes
Paine, Ashley (2012). Botta’s striped historicism: Historicism, myth and fabulation in Mario Botta’s stripes. Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ) Annual Conference, Launceston, Australia, 5 - 8 July 2012. Brisbane, Australia: SAHANZ.
Paine, Ashley (2011). Facades and stripes: An account of striped facades from medieval Italian churches to the architecture of Mario Botta. Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ) Annual Conference, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 7-10 July 2011. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ).
Exhibition Architecture for Round About or Inside, 2021
Ashley Paine (2021). Exhibition Architecture for Round About or Inside, 2021.
Breaking Ground: Muir and Openwork
Holden, Susan and Paine, Ashley (2018). Breaking Ground: Muir and Openwork. NGV Magazine, 13, 68-73.
Looking back, seeing through: contemporary Australian pavilions
Holden, Susan and Paine, Ashley (2018). Looking back, seeing through: contemporary Australian pavilions. Architecture Australia, 107 (2), 104-108.
Paine, Ashley Ian (2015). The history and artifice of horizontally striped architecture: A study of articulation, composition and the work of Mario Botta. PhD Thesis, School of Architecture, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/uql.2016.21
Somerset Regional Art Gallery - ‘The Condensery’
Paine, Ashley and Harris, Brant (2015). Somerset Regional Art Gallery - ‘The Condensery’.
Is architecture art? A history of categories, concepts and recent practices
(2016–2022) ARC Discovery Projects
Shaping the Horizon: Heaven and Earth in Architecture and Arts
Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
The architectural construct of the travelling exhibition and its role as mediator between object, subject and context
Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
Avian-Human Architecture
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
History of heritage conservation of the built environment in Queensland 1901-2001
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
Follies and Pavilions in 1990: An Overlooked History of Exchanges between Architecture and Art
(2022) Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
The Met Breuer and the Contestation of Values: The Changing Place of Architecture in the Museum
(2021) Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors: