Roderick (Rod) W Cooper was born on 3 October 1938 to Gertrude and Claude Cooper (builder).;;He studied architecture under Sydney Blythe at Hobart Technical College, graduating in 1953. He spent one year of his course in Sydney in1951 at the Technical College there.;;He began a solo practice at 122 Elizabeth Street and was quickly joined by Max Vincent. The business was known as Cooper and Vincent. Max Vincent left to begin his own practice in the early 1970s and Rod moved premises to the former Cascades Cool store on Castray Esplanade where he was joined by new partners Phillip Newton and Peter Angus. The business became Cooper and Newton.;;Rod was joined by his architect son, Michael, in 1980.;;In 1972-73 Rod Cooper was president of the Tasmanian Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects;;;;