Demolishing Whitehall

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Demolishing Whitehall DEMOLISHING WHITEHALL Demolishing Whitehall Leslie Martin, Harold Wilson and the Architecture of White Heat Adam Sharr Newcastle University, UK Stephen Thornton Cardiff University, UK First published 2013 by Ashgate Publishing Published 2016 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Copyright © 2013 Adam Sharr and Stephen Thornton Adam Sharr and Stephen Thornton have asserted their right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identied as the authors of this work. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafterinvented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows: Sharr, Adam. Demolishing Whitehall: Leslie Martin, Harold Wilson and the Architecture of White Heat / By Adam Sharr and Stephen Thornton. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4094-2387-4 (hardback) 1. Martin, Leslie, 1908-2000—Criticism and interpretation. 2. Public buildings— England—London. 3. Architecture and state—Great Britain—History—20th century. 4. Technology—Social aspects—Great Britain—History—20th century. 5. Whitehall (London, England)—Buildings, structures, etc. 6. London (England)—Buildings, structures, etc. I. Thornton, Stephen, 1970– II. Title. NA997.M35S53 2013 725’.10942132—dc23 2013011980 ISBN 9781409423874 (hbk) Contents List of Illustrations vii Illustration Credits xv List of Protagonists xvii Acknowledgements xxi 1 Introduction 1 2 A Hope of Better Times and More Spacious Days 35 3 Components of a Plan 63 4 Leslie Martin and the Science of Architectural Form 147 5 Lost in a Vortex 215 6 Conclusion 249 Bibliography 275 Index 291 List of Illustrations 1.1 The model submitted with the Whitehall plan showing the proposed megastructure, with Parliament Square in the centre 2 1.2 The model with Trafalgar Square bottom right, the Palace of Westminster top left and the proposed megastructure running across the model, above the centre 3 1.3 The Foreign Oce seen from Whitehall in 2011 4 1.4 The Post Oce Tower on London’s skyline, designed by Eric Bedford of the Ministry of Public Building and Works 5 1.5 Harold Wilson, the herald of White Heat, in 1965 with a telephone at his right hand 8 1.6 The cities of the future: a 1963 proposal for the comprehensive redevelopment of Piccadilly Circus in London designed by William Holford, featuring a ‘three level pedestrian system’. The statue of Eros is relocated to the centre of the Circus. The neo-classical façade far left – the end of Regent Street – is one of the few points of orientation. 11 1.7 Centre Point, designed by Richard Seifert 16 1.8 Trellick Tower in West London, designed by Ernö Goldnger 19 1.9 The freshness of new modern architecture. Hide Tower ats, Hide Place London SW1, designed for Westminster City Council and completed in 1961 to designs by Stillman and Eastwick-Field 20 1.10 Cushion printed with an image of Trellick Tower 24 2.1 Student residences at the University of East Anglia, designed by Denys Lasdun 54 2.2 Engineering Building at the University of Leicester, designed by James Stirling and James Gowan 55 3.1 The Admiralty 64 3.2 The Horse Guards 65 3.3 Banqueting House 66 3.4 Gwydyr House, the Wales Oce 66 3.5 Richmond Terrace 67 viii DEMOLISHING WHITEHALL 3.6 Dover House, the Scotland Oce 67 3.7 The gated entrance to Downing Street 68 3.8 The Foreign Oce 68 3.9 The Cenotaph 69 3.10 Richmond House 69 3.11 New Scotland Yard, or ‘Norman Shaw North’ 70 3.12 The Treasury, known in the Whitehall report as the Great George Street Building 71 3.13 The tour groups and trac which dominate Parliament Square and Whitehall 71 3.14 Portcullis House 72 3.15 The Palace of Westminster 72 3.16 St. Margaret’s Church in front of Westminster Abbey, as seen from Parliament Square 73 3.17 The Supreme Court, formerly known as Middlesex Guildhall 73 3.18 Methodist Central Hall 74 3.19 The footprint of Inigo Jones and John Webb’s seventeenth-century plan to rebuild Whitehall, overlaid on the 1965 street pattern, as drawn in the report 75 3.20 The footprint of Christopher Wren’s seventeenth-century plan to rebuild Whitehall, overlaid on the 1965 street pattern, as drawn in the report 75 3.21 Charles Barry’s nineteenth-century plan to rebuild Whitehall. Note the proposed Westminster Abbey close, removing St. Margaret’s Church. Also the single mass of government oces, redeveloped riverfront and bridge over the Thames. Martin admired this plan, which was more ambitious than his own. 75 3.22 Lionel March’s working notes. Floor space studies for courtyard plans 78 3.23 Lionel March’s working notes. Studies of plot ratio, eciency factors and clerical area 79 3.24 Lionel March’s working notes. Translating abstract studies into plan form 80 3.25 Abercrombie’s 1943 County Plan for London envisaged this road network to create a pedestrianised precinct around Parliament Square. The Whitehall report notes that ‘Rebuilding has eliminated the line of the [curving] road which might have created the precinct’. 81 3.26 Gordon Cullen’s perspective envisaging a pedestrianised Parliament Square, from ‘Westminster Regained’ in the Architectural Review of 1947 82 3.27 Section through the Palace of Westminster showing the proposed road tunnel in the River Thames 82 3.28 1800 car parking spaces provided beneath the new development, mostly under private courtyards which would give natural light and ventilation, connected to the new road inserted in the river 83 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ix 3.29 Proposed developments in and around the Whitehall area in 1964/65 84 3.30 ‘Natural routes from St. James’ Park to the river’ to be enhanced as pedestrian ways in the city 86 3.31 Key buildings aected by the proposal 88 3.32 ‘Clerical accommodation’ around Whitehall in 1964/65, labelled as follows: A is the Foreign Oce, B is the Great George Street Building, C is the so-called Bridge Street site including Scotland Yard; D is the Old Admiralty Buildings, and E is the Old War Oce and various ministries. 90 3.33 Plan showing oor layouts of the Foreign Oce and Great George Street buildings 92 3.34 Exploring building form on the site. ‘The same oor space planned around larger courts: buildings 12 storeys high’ 94 3.35 Further explorations. ‘The same oor space planned with a combination of six tall blocks 18 storeys high and low 4-storey frontages’ 94 3.36 Graph relating site area, oor area, plot ratio and building population. This graph would allow the most optimum conguration for new government buildings in Whitehall to be established. 96 3.37 Graph becomes layout. A gallery, highlighted in tone, links St. James’ Park with the River Thames and crosses Whitehall at high level. The thick line indicates the public street running alongside. 97 3.38 Section through Whitehall showing the approximate existing building lines (grey) and the new terraced blocks which step back to create more space at street level 97 3.39 Section showing the ‘principal gallery’ along which the oces are laid out. Ocials and public share the space, but at dierent levels. This is one of the few drawings in the report that shows the spatial qualities the designers imagined. 98 3.40 Isometric drawing of a ‘typical oce wing’ showing oces ‘clustered about vertical circulation points and internal spaces containing conference rooms, stores, and other common facilities’, the latter highlighted in tone. ‘At the top can be seen the roof terrace, in the centre a typical oce oor [here partitioned as cellular oces], and at the bottom the courts and main gallery circulation area.’ 99 3.41 Plan showing how the section reduces overshadowing 100 3.42 Galeria Vittoria Emmanuele in Milan 101 3.43 Table showing oor areas, in square feet, for government oces in Whitehall; as existing (left) and as proposed (right) 102 3.44 ‘The form of the service layout, of service points, sub-stations, loading bays and postal collecting and delivery points reects the form of the government oce layout above’. They connect with possible future developments in the government estate beyond the Whitehall plan, shown on the right of this drawing. 103 x DEMOLISHING WHITEHALL 3.45 Model showing the condition of Whitehall in 1965. Westminster Bridge is bottom centre, the Palace of Westminster lower left, St. James’ Park top right. The Great George Street and Foreign Oce buildings are the two biggest volumes to the right of centre. 106 3.46 First phase. New parliamentary building, highlighted, with a new underground station and shopping concourse beneath. This phase would provide ‘decanting capacity’ to allow subsequent phases to proceed. 107 3.47 Second phase. The megastructure begins to emerge. Expanded development of the Bridge Street site to provide 396,000 sq ft of oces. Scotland Yard (the right hand building in black) is readdressed. 108 3.48 Third phase. Demolition and replacement of the Foreign Oce. 462,000 sq ft of oce space is provided with an extension of the underground car parking and servicing facilities.
Recommended publications
  • The British Library
    PUBLIC SPACE AND THE ROLE OF THE ARCHITECT London Modernist Case Study Briefing (c. 2016 FABE Research Team, University of Westminster) THE BRITISH LIBRARY CONTENTS SUMMARY………………………………………………... .......... 3 1. BUILDING CHRONOLOGY……………………………......... 4 2. POLICY AND IDEOLOGY………………………………........ 7 3. AGENTS……………………………………………………….. 12 4. BRIEF…………………………………………………….......... 14 5. DESIGN…………………………………………………………16 6. MATERIALS/CONSTRUCTION/ENVIRONMENT 22 7. RECEPTION…………………………………………….......... 22 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………….……… 26 PROJECT INFORMATION Case Study: The British Library, 96 Euston Rd, London NW1 2DB Dates: 1962 - 1998 (final plan 1977, build 1982-1999, staggered opening November 1997- June 1999) Architects: Colin St John Wilson with M.J. Long, John Collier, John Honer, Douglas Lanham, Peter Carolin Client: The British Museum, then The British Library (following Act of Parliament 1972) Contractors: Phase 1A, Laing Management Contracting Ltd. Completion phase, McAlpine/Haden Joint Venture Financing: National government Site area: 112,643 m2 (building footprint is 3.1 hectares, on a site of 5 hectares) Tender price: £511 million. Budget overrun: £350 million 2 SUMMARY The British Library, the United Kingdom’s national library and one of six statutory legal depositories for published material, was designed and constructed over a 30-year period. It was designed by Colin St John Wilson (1922 – 2007) with his partner M J Long (1939 – ), and opened to the public in 1997. As well as a functioning research library, conference centre and exhibition space, the British Library is a national monument, listed Grade I in 2015. Brian Lang, Chief Executive of the British Library during the 1990s, described it as “the memory of the nation’, there to ‘serve education and learning, research, economic development and cultural enrichment.’1 The nucleus of what is now known as the British Library was, until 1972, known as the British Museum Library.
    [Show full text]
  • St Cross Building, 612/24/10029 University of Oxford
    St. Cross Building Conservation Plan May 2012 St. Cross Building, Oxford Conservation Plan, May 2012 1 Building No. 228 Oxford University Estates Services First draft March 2011 This draft May 2012 St. Cross Building, Oxford Conservation Plan, May 2012 2 THE ST. CROSS BUILDING, OXFORD CONSERVATION PLAN CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION 7 1.1 Purpose of the Conservation Plan 7 1.2 Scope of the Conservation Plan 8 1.3 Existing Information 9 1.4 Methodology 9 1.5 Constraints 9 2 UNDERSTANDING THE SITE 13 2.1 History of the Site and University 13 2.2 Design, Construction, and Subsequent History of the St. Cross 14 Building 3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ST. CROSS BUILDING 21 3.1 Significance as part of the Holywell suburb, and the Central (City 21 and University) Conservation Area 3.2 Architectural Significance 24 3.3 Archaeological Significance 26 3.4 Significance as a major library and work space 27 3.5 Historical Significance 27 4 VULNERABILITIES 31 4.1 Access 31 4.2 Legibility 32 4.3 Maintenance 34 St. Cross Building, Oxford Conservation Plan, May 2012 3 4.4 Health and Safety 40 5 CONSERVATION POLICY 43 6 BIBLIOGRAPHY 51 7 APPENDICES 55 Appendix 1: Listed Building Description 55 Appendix 2: Conservation Area Description 57 Appendix 3: Chronology of the St. Cross Building 61 Appendix 4: Checklist of Significant Features 63 Appendix 5: Floor Plans 65 St. Cross Building, Oxford Conservation Plan, May 2012 4 St. Cross Building, Oxford Conservation Plan, May 2012 5 THIS PAGE HAS BEEN LEFT BLANK St. Cross Building, Oxford Conservation Plan, May 2012 6 1 INTRODUCTION The St.
    [Show full text]
  • Willis Papers INTRODUCTION Working
    Willis Papers INTRODUCTION Working papers of the architect and architectural historian, Dr. Peter Willis (b. 1933). Approx. 9 metres (52 boxes). Accession details Presented by Dr. Willis in several instalments, 1994-2013. Additional material sent by Dr Willis: 8/1/2009: WIL/A6/8 5/1/2010: WIL/F/CA6/16; WIL/F/CA9/10, WIL/H/EN/7 2011: WIL/G/CL1/19; WIL/G/MA5/26-31;WIL/G/SE/15-27; WIL/G/WI1/3- 13; WIL/G/NA/1-2; WIL/G/SP2/1-2; WIL/G/MA6/1-5; WIL/G/CO2/55-96. 2103: WIL/G/NA; WIL/G/SE15-27 Biographical note Peter Willis was born in Yorkshire in 1933 and educated at the University of Durham (BArch 1956, MA 1995, PhD 2009) and at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where his thesis on “Charles Bridgeman: Royal Gardener” (PhD 1962) was supervised by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner. He spent a year at the University of Edinburgh, and then a year in California on a Fulbright Scholarship teaching in the Department of Art at UCLA and studying the Stowe Papers at the Huntington Library. From 1961-64 he practised as an architect in the Edinburgh office of Sir Robert Matthew, working on the development plan for Queen’s College, Dundee, the competition for St Paul’s Choir School in London, and other projects. In 1964-65 he held a Junior Fellowship in Landscape Architecture from Harvard University at Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection in Washington, DC, returning to England to Newcastle University in 1965, where he was successively Lecturer in Architecture and Reader in the History of Architecture.
    [Show full text]
  • Download (342Kb)
    Chapter 2 From Architectural Concept to Built Form Introduction The following two chapters lay out the history of the Brunswick’s design, development and redevelopment over a period of 30 years, assembled through interviews, archival and bibliographic research (Appendices 4 & 5). The account reveals the contrasts and conflicts between different accounts and interpretations of the intentions behind, and evolution of the Brunswick scheme. It underlines the fundamental difficulty of ‘freezing’ a building in terms of its art historical evaluation, and the complexity of the process, involving many different parties apart from the architect as ‘author’, by which a work of architecture evolves from concept to material reality. So, although the Brunswick constitutes a powerful aesthetic and formal image, which has been canonised through the Listing process on the grounds of specific art historical criteria, it also constitutes a highly contested cultural artefact which brings together many different narratives besides the official discourse. The history of the Brunswick is particularly significant in terms of the questions it raises around the whole concept of ‘ownership’ as it relates to cultural artefacts. It stands out in one specific and quite unique aspect, which was the return of the original ‘author’ to resume work on his ‘own’ work 30 years after being forced to resign from the job, leading to a remarkable conflict of ownership claims. The architect’s claim to a moral right of aesthetic judgement and personal reinterpretation was vehemently opposed by critics and heritage spokespeople who claimed the building as an untouchable part of the collective national heritage, by the residents, claiming individual and collective territorial rights, and by the commercial firms, claiming the right of property ownership and associated freedom to redevelop it however their commercial objectives dictated.
    [Show full text]
  • Feb 2 7 2004 Libraries Rotch
    Architecture Theory 1960-1980. Emergence of a Computational Perspective by Altino Joso Magalhses Rocha Licenciatura in Architecture FAUTL, Lisbon (1992) M.Sc. in Advanced Architectural Design The Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation Columbia University, New York. USA (1995) Submitted to the Department of Architecture, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture: Design and Computation at the MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY OF TECHNOLOGY February 2004 FEB 2 7 2004 @2004 Altino Joso Magalhaes Rocha All rights reserved LIBRARIES The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part. Signature of Author......... Department of Architecture January 9, 2004 Ce rtifie d by ........................................ .... .... ..... ... William J. Mitchell Professor of Architecture ana Media Arts and Sciences Thesis Supervisor 0% A A Accepted by................................... .Stanford Anderson Chairman, Departmental Committee on Graduate Students Head, Department of Architecture ROTCH Doctoral Committee William J. Mitchell Professor of Architecture and Media Arts and Sciences George Stiny Professor of Design and Computation Michael Hays Eliot Noyes Professor of Architectural Theory at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design Architecture Theory 1960-1980. Emergence of a Computational Perspective by Altino Joao de Magalhaes Rocha Submitted to the Department of Architecture on January 9, 2004 in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture: Design and Computation Abstract This thesis attempts to clarify the need for an appreciation of architecture theory within a computational architectural domain. It reveals and reflects upon some of the cultural, historical and technological contexts that influenced the emergence of a computational practice in architecture.
    [Show full text]
  • Understanding Post-War Architecture
    Understanding Post-War Architecture The Twentieth Century Key Events 1916-20. Inflation pushes up the cost of building materials. Additionally shortages of materials encourage the use of new materials such as Crittall windows, sand-lime bricks, and prefabrication (steel and concrete systems) for council housing. These experiments were to be developed further after the Second World War, eg. No Fines housing, first tried in Britain in 1924 was widely used by (especially) Wimpeys (builders) after WWII. 1919. Housing (Addison) Act promises ‘homes for heroes’. 1921. Cut backs in public expenditure (Geddes Axe) as post-war boom turns to depression. It can be argued that the general economic malaise of the 1920s had a greater effect on British building than the Great Depression of 1929-33 which was devastating in localised areas, notably the NE and Wales. 1924. Empire Exhibition, Wembley (stadium opened the previous year). 1925. New Ways, Northampton, by Peter Behrens is first Modern Movement house, for W. Bassett Loake, who had previously commissioned C. R. Mackintosh to modernise a house in Northampton. 1926. General Strike. 1927. Le Corbusier’s Vers Une Architecture is translated into English as Towards a New Architecture. With his houses for the Weissenhofseidlung exhibition in Stuttgart, Le Corbusier defines ‘five points’ of modern architecture: free plan, free façade, flat roof, strip windows and pilotis. 1928. The first talkies in Britain (Al Jolson in The Singing Fool the first wide release here). Cinematograph Act requires cinemas to show a quota of British films. Film makers, distributors and exhibitors begin to combine and large companies (Gaumont, ABC, later Odeon and Granada) come to dominate the market, building big new super-cinemas.
    [Show full text]
  • Making Post-War Manchester: Visions of an Unmade City
    Making post-war Manchester: visions of an unmade city Making post-war Manchester: visions of an unmade city 03 June - 24 June 2016 Manchester Technology Centre, Oxford Road, Manchester Exhibition Catalogue Acknowledgements The workshop and exhibition could not have been achieved without Finally, I should thank Martin Dodge for his dedication to this subject area the help and generosity of a number of individuals. First, we should and the rigour he has brought to my academic practice as well as the thank Dr. Kevin Tan of Manchester Metropolitan University, who gave fun we have had along the way uncovering some of these architectural up considerable amounts of his own time to both teach and tutor the gems. Of course, none of this could have been achieved without the students through the game environments. He went above and beyond intelligent, articulate and talented students of our School: anything expected of him when I asked him to act as consultant and gained the status of ‘legend’ amongst the students! Eddy Rhead and Shahrukh Ahmed Jack Hale of the Modernist Society were project partners and came Adam Brennan in to provide feedback to the students during the development of their Polys Christofi designs. They have also organised and marketed the exhibition. Scott Polly Clements Miller and Jim Backhouse have ably directed the production of the Florence Cooke-Steed ‘mega-plinth’ for the computers and its funding was kindly signed off by Bruna Da Silva Dr. Ray Lucas of the Manchester School of Architecture. Paul Aldcroft, Chris Doherty Technical Team Leader in the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Richard Durber MMU has been vital in the provision of advice and support for the digital Arron El-Ammar components of the exhibition.
    [Show full text]
  • The Interwar Years,1930S
    A STROLL THROUGH TATE BRITAIN This two-hour talk is part of a series of twenty talks on the works of art displayed in Tate Britain, London, in June 2017. Unless otherwise mentioned all works of art are at Tate Britain. References and Copyright • The talk is given to a small group of people and all the proceeds, after the cost of the hall is deducted, are given to charity. • My sponsored charities are Save the Children and Cancer UK. • Unless otherwise mentioned all works of art are at Tate Britain and the Tate’s online notes, display captions, articles and other information are used. • Each page has a section called ‘References’ that gives a link or links to sources of information. • Wikipedia, the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Khan Academy and the Art Story are used as additional sources of information. • The information from Wikipedia is under an Attribution-Share Alike Creative Commons License. • Other books and articles are used and referenced. • If I have forgotten to reference your work then please let me know and I will add a reference or delete the information. 1 A STROLL THROUGH TATE BRITAIN • The Aesthetic Movement, 1860-1880 • Late Victorians, 1880-1900 • The Edwardians, 1890-1910 • The Great War and After, 1910-1930 • The Interwar Years, 1930s • World War II and After, 1940-1960 • Pop Art & Beyond, 1960-1980 • Postmodern Art, 1980-2000 • The Turner Prize • Summary West galleries are 1540, 1650, 1730, 1760, 1780, 1810, 1840, 1890, 1900, 1910 East galleries are 1930, 1940, 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000 Turner Wing includes Turner, Constable, Blake and Pre-Raphaelite drawings Agenda 1.
    [Show full text]
  • A History of British Architects' Use of the Daylight Factor
    The University of Manchester Research The Mathematisation of Daylighting: a history of British architects' use of the daylight factor DOI: 10.1080/13602365.2017.1376342 Document Version Accepted author manuscript Link to publication record in Manchester Research Explorer Citation for published version (APA): Lewis, A. (2017). The Mathematisation of Daylighting: a history of British architects' use of the daylight factor. Journal of Architecture, 22(7), 1155-1177. https://doi.org/10.1080/13602365.2017.1376342 Published in: Journal of Architecture Citing this paper Please note that where the full-text provided on Manchester Research Explorer is the Author Accepted Manuscript or Proof version this may differ from the final Published version. If citing, it is advised that you check and use the publisher's definitive version. General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the Research Explorer are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Takedown policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please refer to the University of Manchester’s Takedown Procedures [http://man.ac.uk/04Y6Bo] or contact [email protected] providing relevant details, so we can investigate your claim. Download date:11. Oct. 2021 The Mathematization of Daylighting: a history of British architects’ use of the daylight factor Alan Lewis Manchester Architecture
    [Show full text]
  • Cockley Moor
    Helen Sutherland at Cockley Moor Helen Sutherland at Cockley Moor 1939 - 1965 by Val Corbett w Helen Sutherland at Cockley Moor I ^ verything was a rhythm and a rite and a ,1. J ceremony from the moment of rising in the early morning. Everything was an event; a sacred event. Everything was a tradition, a lesson, everything was bequeathed, everything was a most saintly habit. Everything was an inner elevation and a prayer. All day long, sleep and wake, work and short rest, bed and board, soup and beef, house and garden, door and street, courtyard and threshold, and the plates on the table. Charles Pfcguy. Basic Verities. The inscription in the hall at Cockley Moor. c o U c e5 E33I HSden ae U7a11• SJrts Train Scrvtcn provided by Wctt Com S3 \i'(')NSoi{> © Val Corbett 1996. Designed by Cumbria Supplies Design &Advertising - 95625. Published byMidnight Oil, Chapel Yat, Helton, Penrith CAIO 2QA. ISBN 0 9521428 1 3 Introduction s g? 3 • /;c idea qj an exhibition and a publication about Helen a _A_ Sutherland and her collection has been 'waiting in the wings'for B many years. It was Northern Arts successful bid to host Visual Arts Year •5" UK in the Northern Arts Region that provided the cue - and enabled the I 2 funds to be forthcoming. This publication and the exhibition held in Penrith Museum in the Summer of 1996 are the result and together they give a fascinating insight into Helen Sutherland, her way oflife, and her collection. It is clear beyond doubt that this relatively unknown figure played a highly significant role in the story ofEnglish Art of the mid-twentieth century.
    [Show full text]
  • Critic|All I International Conference on Architectural Design & Criticism Madrid 12·14 June 2014
    critic|all I International Conference on Architectural Design & Criticism Madrid 12·14 June 2014 Leslie Martin y la ciencia de la forma urbana de Esteban Garbayo, Javier (autor); Calvo del Olmo, José Manuel (coautor) ETS Arquitectura, Departamento de Proyectos Arquitectónicos, Universidad Politécnica, Madrid, España. Resumen El proyecto de viviendas desarrollado por Leslie Martin en St. Pancras, junto a Colin St. John Wilson y Patrick Hodgkinson en 1957, además de convertirse en referente del modelo 'High Density / Low-Rise' como alternativa al 'mixed development' y la ciudad jardín, podría entenderse como el embrión de las ideas que diez años más tarde se desarrollarían en el LUBFS (Land Use and Built Form Studies) en la Universidad de Cambridge. Si la culminación de la idea de ciudad jardín habría llegado con el desarrollo de Roehampton siguiendo las directrices del propio Martin dentro del LCC un año antes, la nueva propuesta planteaba otro enfoque a partir de una profunda reflexión en torno a conceptos como la densidad, el tejido residencial o el espacio urbano. El método empleado analizaba el aprovechamiento del suelo a través de principios matemáticos dando como resultado formas con mayor capacidad de interacción con el espacio público y más adecuadas para los cambios de dimensión además de derribar la 'imagen' de que la alta densidad debía generarse a través de una edificación en altura. En el artículo 'The grid as generator', desarrollado por Leslie Martin como anticipo de las ideas desarrolladas en el LUBFS, también se cuestionan las relaciones existentes en la estructura física de la ciudad. Una de las claves se basa en la reconsideración de la forma urbana desde la comprensión de la escala y la configuración de la trama, red o malla, en relación a la disposición de la edificación dentro de ella.
    [Show full text]
  • Education Buildings Listing Selection Guide Summary
    Education Buildings Listing Selection Guide Summary Historic England’s twenty listing selection guides help to define which historic buildings are likely to meet the relevant tests for national designation and be included on the National Heritage List for England. Listing has been in place since 1947 and operates under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. If a building is felt to meet the necessary standards, it is added to the List. This decision is taken by the Government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). These selection guides were originally produced by English Heritage in 2011: slightly revised versions are now being published by its successor body, Historic England. Each guide falls into two halves. The first defines the types of structures included in it, before going on to give a brisk overview of their characteristics and how these developed through time, with notice of the main architects and representative examples of buildings. The second half of the guide sets out the particular tests in terms of its architectural or historic interest a building has to meet if it is to be listed. A select bibliography gives suggestions for further reading. This guide looks at buildings of all types provided to facilitate education, from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century. Education stimulated some of the country’s finest architecture, ranging from the medieval universities to post-war primary schools. Many schools were built in response to the successive Education Acts of 1870 and later, and embody in physical form developing ideas on education, and child welfare more generally.
    [Show full text]