Architecture of Edwin Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew Ashgate Studies in Architecture Series
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE ARCHITECTURE OF EDWIN MAXWELL FRY AND JANE DREW Ashgate Studies in Architecture Series SERIES EDITOR: EAMONN CANNIFFE, MANCHESTER SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY, UK The discipline of Architecture is undergoing subtle transformation as design awareness permeates our visually dominated culture. Technological change, the search for sustainability and debates around the value of place and meaning of the architectural gesture are aspects which will affect the cities we inhabit. This series seeks to address such topics, both theoretically and in practice, through the publication of high quality original research, written and visual. Other titles in this series The Architectural Capriccio Memory, Fantasy and Invention Lucien Steil ISBN 978 1 4094 3191 6 The Architecture of Pleasure British Amusement Parks 1900–1939 Josephine Kane ISBN 978 1 4094 1074 4 No Matter: Theories and Practices of the Ephemeral in Architecture Anastasia Karandinou ISBN 978 1 4094 6628 4 The Challenge of Emulation in Art and Architecture Between Imitation and Invention David Mayernik ISBN 978 1 4094 5767 1 Building Transatlantic Italy Architectural Dialogues with Postwar America Paolo Scrivano ISBN 978 1 4724 1483 0 Forthcoming titles in this series The Architecture of Edwin Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew Twentieth Century Architecture, Pioneer Modernism and the Tropics Iain Jackson and Jessica Holland ISBN 978 1 4094 5198 3 The Architecture of Edwin Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew Twentieth Century Architecture, Pioneer Modernism and the Tropics Iain Jackson Liverpool School of Architecture, University of Liverpool Jessica Holland Liverpool School of Architecture, University of Liverpool © Iain Jackson and Jessica Holland 2014 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. Iain Jackson and Jessica Holland have asserted their rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the authors of this work. Published by Ashgate Publishing Limited Ashgate Publishing Company Wey Court East 110 Cherry Street Union Road Suite 3-1 Farnham Burlington, VT 05401-3818 Surrey, GU9 7PT USA England www.ashgate.com British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: 978-1-4094-5198-3 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-4094-5199-0 (ebk – PDF) ISBN: 978-1-4724-0676-7 (ebk – ePUB) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Jackson, Iain, author. The architecture of Edwin Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew : twentieth century architecture, pioneer modernism and the tropics / by Iain Jackson and Jessica Holland. pages cm. -- (Ashgate studies in architecture) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4094-5198-3 (hardback) -- ISBN 978-1-4094-5199-0 (ebook) -- ISBN 978-1- 4724-0676-7 (epub) 1. Fry, Maxwell, 1899-1987--Criticism and interpretation. 2. Drew, Jane, 1911-1996--Criticism and interpretation. 3. Modern movement (Architecture)-- Great Britain. 4. Modern movement (Architecture)--Africa, West. 5. Modern movement (Architecture)--India. 6. Architecture, Tropical--Africa, West--History--20th century. 7. Architecture, Tropical--India--History--20th century. I. Holland, Jessica, author. II. Title. NA997.F78J33 2014 720.92’2--dc23 2014003011 III Contents List of Illustrations vii Abbreviations xvii Acknowledgements xix Archives Consulted, Excluding Private Archival Material xxi Introduction 1 1 From Classical Beginnings 9 2 Thirties’ Development 49 3 Jane Drew and the Partnership’s Origins 101 4 West Africa: Planning, Village Housing and New Schools for Ghana 147 5 The Development and Reassessment of Tropical Architecture in West Africa 183 6 Chandigarh and the Tropics Revisited 215 7 Humanism and Monumentality (A Post-war Compromise) 277 Conclusions 323 Chronology 331 Bibliography 351 Index 367 This page has been left blank intentionally List of Illustrations Note: Every effort has been made to trace all the copyright holders, but if any have been inadvertently overlooked, the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangement at the first opportunity. Introduction 0.1 Fry and Drew’s home and office at 63 Gloucester Place, London, c. 1960 0.2 Draughting Office, 63 Gloucester Place, London, c. 1960 0.3 Christmas Card from the Fry family, c. 1955 1 From Classical Beginnings 1.1 Architecture Studio (Charles Reilly to the foreground), Ashton Street, Liverpool University, 1930 1.2 Sketch of Heckscher Building, Maxwell Fry, 1922 1.3 Sketch of Queensborough Bridge, Maxwell Fry, 1922 1.4 Liverpool University’s Rome Prize Finalists, 1923 1.5 Site Plan of a Recreation Centre, Maxwell Fry, 1923 1.6 Part Elevation of a Recreation Centre, Maxwell Fry, 1923 1.7 City of the Future, Maxwell Fry, 1931 1.8 Railway Station, Margate, Kent, c. 1930 1.9 Booking Hall, Railway Station, Margate, Kent, c. 1930 1.10 Ground Floor Plan, Manchester Art Gallery, 1925 viii THE ArchItecture OF EDWIN MAXWELL FRY AND JANE DREW 1.11 Transverse and Longitudinal Sections, Manchester Art Gallery, 1925 1.12 Site Plan, Birmingham Civic Centre, 1927 1.13 North Façade, Ridge End, Virginia Water, Surrey, 1932 1.14 South Façade, Ridge End, Virginia Water, Surrey, 1932 1.15 Competition Entry, Charing Cross Masterplan, London, 1931 1.16 Elevations to Portland Place and Weymouth Street, RIBA Headquarters, London, 1932 2 Thirties’ Development 2.1 South façade of Sassoon House, Peckham, London, 1934 2.2 North façade of Sassoon House, Peckham, London, 1934 2.3 Part Plan of Sassoon House, Peckham, London, 1934 2.4 Site Plan, Kensal House, Kensington, London, 1937 2.5 Kensal House, Kensington, London, 1937 2.6 Kitchen at Kensal House, Kensington, London, 1937 2.7 Garden Façade, Little Winch, Chipperfield, Hertfordshire, 1936 2.8 Existing Gardens, St Leonard’s Hill, Windsor, 1934 2.9 Maxwell and Ethel Fry walking with family in Scotland, c. 1927 2.10 Ground Floor Plan, St Leonard’s Hill, Windsor, 1934 2.11 South Façade, Sun House, Hampstead, London, 1936 2.12 Living Room with Murals by Hans Feibusch, Sun House, Hampstead, London, 1936 2.13 South Façade, Miramonte, Surrey, 1936 2.14 Dining Room, Miramonte, Surrey, 1936 2.15 64 and 66 (to the foreground) Old Church Street, Chelsea, 1936 2.16 Wood House, Shipbourne, Kent, 1937 2.17 Ground Floor Plan, Impington College, Cambridgeshire, 1936 2.18 Aerial Perspective, Impington College, Cambridgeshire, 1936 LIST OF IllustratIONS ix 2.19 Garden (East) Elevation, Student Residence, Christ’s College, Cambridge, 1936 2.20 Aerial Perspective, Student Residence, Christ’s College, Cambridge, 1936 2.21 Warham Ash, Breinton, Herefordshire, 2013 2.22 65 Ladbroke Grove, Kensington, London, 1938 2.23 Street Façade, Cecil Residential Club, North Gower Street, London, 1940 2.24 Entrance Hall, Cecil Residential Club, London, 1940 2.25 Westminster Electric Supply Corporation Showrooms, Victoria Street, London, 1933 2.26 Interior of the Westminster Electric Supply Corporation Showrooms, Victoria Street, London, 1933 2.27 Electricity Show Rooms, Regent Street, London, 1937 2.28 Electricity Show Rooms Interior, Regent Street, London, 1937 2.29 MARS Exhibition, New Burlington Galleries, London, 1938 2.30 MARS Exhibition, New Burlington Galleries, London, 1938 3 Jane Drew and the Partnership’s Origins 3.1 Harry Guy Radcliffe Drew, 1946 3.2 Emma Spering Drew with daughter Dorothy, 1910 3.3 Jane and Dorothy Drew, c. 1916 3.4 Jane Drew at Croydon High School for Girls, 1925 3.5 ‘British Goods’ Sketch, AA Pantomime (Drew, 2nd left), 1931 3.6 Passport photographs of Drew and Alliston, 1935 3.7 Odeon Cinema, Claremont Road, Surbiton, London, 1935 3.8 Entrance Foyer by Mollo and Egan, Odeon Cinema, Surbiton, 1934 3.9 Lanchester and Laughton at 34 Gordon Square, Bloomsbury, London, 1938 3.10 View from the South-West, Gloucester Avenue, Cliftonville, Kent, 1937 3.11 Living Room towards the Waiting Room, Gloucester Avenue, Cliftonville, Kent, 1937 x THE ArchItecture OF EDWIN MAXWELL FRY AND JANE DREW 3.12 View from the North-East, St. Giles’s Mount, Winchester, 1938 3.13 South Façade, St. Giles’s Mount, Winchester, 1938 3.14 Fry and Drew on their wedding day, 1942 3.15 Kitchen Side of a Kitchen-Bathroom Unit, Kitchen Planning Exhibition, 1945 3.16 Compact Kitchen, ‘Britain Can Make It’ Exhibition, 1946 3.17 Passfields, Bromley Road, Lewisham, London, 1951 3.18 East Façade, Passfields, Bromley Road, Lewisham, London, 1951 3.19 Mark Hall North, Harlow, Essex, 1952 3.20 Mark Hall North, Harlow, Essex, 1952 3.21 Ceylon Tea Centre, 22 Lower Regent Street, London, 1951 3.22 Waterloo Bridge Entrance and Observation Tower, Festival of Britain, South Bank, London, 1951 3.23 Waterloo Bridge Entrance and Observation Tower, Festival of Britain, South Bank, London, 1951 3.24 Riverside Restaurant from Waterloo Bridge with Paolozzi’s Fountain in the background, Festival of Britain, South Bank, London, 1951 3.25 Riverside Restaurant Interior, Festival of Britain, South Bank, London, 1951 4 West Africa: Planning, Village Housing and New Schools for Ghana 4.1 Planning the Region around Bathurst, Gambia, 1944 4.2 Design for Laundry and Water Point, Bathurst, Gambia, 1944 4.3 Plans for Modifying Kumasi’s Railway, Ghana, 1946 4.4 Alcock’s experimental housing in Asawasi, 1945–6 4.5 Alcock’s experimental housing in Asawasi, 1945–6 4.6 Fry and Drew’s housing at Asawasi, 1946 4.7 The Tropics as displayed in Village Housing in the Tropics, 1947 4.8 Kumasi Hospital, Ghana, 2012 LIST OF IllustratIONS xi 4.9 Site Plan of Ho-Hoe, Teacher Training College School, 1948–49 4.10 Drawing of Science Block at Mfantsipim, Cape Coast, 1947 4.11 Photograph of Science Block at Mfantsipim, Cape Coast, 2012 4.12 St. Andrew’s College, Mampong, 2012 4.13 St. Andrew’s College, Mampong, 1948 4.14 Site Plan of Adisadel College, 1950 4.15 A view from Aburi showing the surrounding hills, 2012 4.16 Somanya, set on an elevated position remote from village life, 2012 4.17 Elevational drawing of Somanya, c.