Introducing the Peter Corrigan Collection

RMIT University Library formally launched the Peter Corrigan Collection on Tuesday 2 June, making many of the late architecture professor’s books and journals available to the public for the first time.

Peter Corrigan (1941–2016) was a Melbourne architect, educator and professor of Architecture at RMIT. His personal collection of architectural books and journals, including rare and historically significant works spanning the 17th to 21st centuries, was bequeathed to RMIT University Library.

Thirty-three items from the Peter Corrigan Collection have now been digitised, extending access while ensuring their preservation.

Digital displays hosted across RMIT campuses – purchased with funds from the Peter Corrigan Trust – support both open and closed access.

Open access items include digitised works of national significance that are out of copyright and accessible through LibrarySearch.

Closed access items include rare materials viewable through digital displays in the Library.

Launch event

On Tuesday 2 June, the Collection was officially launched with an exclusive event at our Swanston Library campus, where friends, family and colleagues of Peter Corrigan heard more about the project to preserve his donated items.

Guests were welcomed by David Howard, the Executive Director, Library Services. David spoke about the legacy of Peter Corrigan and the value his collection offers for the RMIT and wider community. Following his speech, RMIT Librarian Sara Boyle provided a short introduction of the digitisation work that was completed, as well as a demonstration of how to view the Collection on the new digital display.

Attendees were also able to see some of Peter’s physical collection in the Special Collections room. It was wonderful to see guests enjoying and engaging with both the digital and physical collections.

How to access the Collection

Explore the collection online through the Peter Corrigan Collection on the Library catalogue or visit one of our campus libraries.

To view physical items from the Peter Corrigan Collection, complete the Special Collection Appointment Form available through the RMIT Library Special Collections LibGuide.

View Treasures of the Peter Corrigan Collection by Sam Gibbard in the Research Repository.

The legacy of Peter Corrigan

Over more than four decades, Peter Corrigan contributed to Australian architecture through the practice Edmond & Corrigan, established with partner Maggie Edmond in 1975, and through his teaching of architectural history and design studio at RMIT University.

Corrigan's teaching emphasised the pursuit of ideas and the development of a reflective inner life, alongside a sense of purpose and attention to the world. This understanding was reflected in the books that comprised his collection.

The Peter Corrigan Collection extends this legacy, sustaining the intellectual and cultural life of architecture at RMIT University and in Melbourne.

03 June 2026

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RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

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