The winner of the Sydney Opera House design competition was announced the week young Neville Clouten entered the architecture program at the University of Sydney in 1957. As his class studied the project and watched the foundations being laid, he little realised the influence this building—and the people surrounding it—would have on his life.

The eight essays in this book reflect on Dr Clouten’s fascinating life experiences as an architect, award-winning academic, administrator and artist. They trace his travels in Europe and North America, his work recording Aboriginal rock engravings in outback Australia, his role as the first Professor of Architecture at Andrews University, and his humanitarian and advisory work in Africa. In all of these experiences, it is inspiringly clear that there was a plan for Dr Clouten’s life.