The award was for the construction of the Jabiru Health Centre within Kakadu National Park, 250 kilometres east of Darwin. 

“After all the years I’ve worked in the Territory, it was a pleasant surprise to win the award,” says Les, who is the managing director of Platt Architects. 

His firm has delivered a broad range of small to large projects throughout the Territory over 40 years, including Indigenous community projects, schools, health facilities, commercial, housing, industrial, fitouts, prisons and defence projects. 

Les is particularly proud of the Heavy Vehicle Inspection Facility at Truck Central in Darwin and looks back fondly to the early 1990s designing the Alice Springs Strehlow Research Centre, which has the biggest rammed earth wall in the southern hemisphere. 

Platt Architects, which was founded in Alice Springs in 1985, as Les Platt Architects, is now based in Darwin but is working throughout the Northern Territory and Western Australia. 

Significant projects undertaken by Platt Architects include: 

• Alice Springs Correctional Centre 
• Bellamack residential development 
• Cullen Bay revitalisation project 
• Clinic and staff houses at Ampilatwatja and Urapuntja communities. 
• Gillen Seniors’ Village 
• Ramingining School rebuild 
• TIO branch fitouts 
• Yuendumu Health Centre 

Platt Architects has also carried out interior fitout projects, including Headspace in Casuarina and Katherine. 

The largest project undertaken by the firm was the design and documentation of the Alice Springs Correctional Centre in the 1990s. 

Platt Architects, which prides itself on delivering work within budget and on time, has recently won more than $40 million worth of projects in Perth, Broome and Port Hedland. The new Midland Clinic in Perth has just been completed within budget. 

“We are working hard to expand into Western Australia.” 

Les, who emigrated to Australia from England with his parents when he was 11, decided at the age of just 13 that he wanted to be an architect, then made his own decision to change schools so that he could achieve the required entry levels to study architecture at Adelaide University. 

After graduation, Les worked with the South Australian Public Buildings Department until he saw an advertisement in 1981 for architects in Alice Springs with the then NT Government Department of Transport and Works. He successfully applied and worked there until starting his own practice in Alice Springs in 1985. 

“I wasn’t frightened of working for myself as I had confidence in my ability. However, the NT can be either ‘feast or famine’ with little in between. Like a lot of Territory businesses, we’ve been through some horrendous times in the past 40 years, including recessions (we had to have), pilot strikes and covid.” 

Les is also a director of the South Australian-based Indigenous-owned company Parakeelya Architecture and Construction Management (PACM) undertaking defence work in South Australia and Western Australia, with the NT firmly on the horizon. 

Having parked retirement, Les keeps working and still loves his profession, particularly the connection with clients and the user groups. 

He is sad that the public do not value the architect’s work as much as they used to. 

Les is also disappointed at the quality of houses being built in the Territory and throughout Australia as a whole. 

“With rising costs, our approach to housing must change substantially as the model is unsustainable. 

“If you took a photo from above of a housing development in Melbourne and of one in Darwin, they’d look identical.” 

Les is pleased that all his staff are Territorians. 

“I have enjoyed training and nurturing many good young people over the years who have gone on to further their careers. Territorians can match, or exceed, anyone in our profession from anywhere in Australia, the problem is that there are just not enough of us.” TQ 

CONTACT 

Platt Architects 

Unit 5, 29 Miles Road, Berrimah, NT 0828 

08 7943 2149 

admin@plattarchitects.com 

architectsdarwin.com.au