RIGOUR.

An Essay on Sir Denys Lasdun.

Zac Chapman 2 Discuss How Denys Lasdun engaged with history and precedent in architecture, while his work remained decidedly modern, with reference to specific buildings.

CONTENTS 5 Substructure - An Introduction

9 Anatomy - The Royal College of Physicians

13 Optimism - The University of East Anglia

17 Strata - The National Theatre

21 Accolades - Conclusions

22 Illustration Credits

22 Bibliography

* Note: Please view the document in two page format, with a cover page. Images should be on the left hand leaf with corresponding text on the right.

Title Page: National Theatre by Thomas Danthony Fig. 1: Sir Denys Lasdun 3 Fig. 2: Penguin Pool at Zoo by Tecton 4

Sir Denys Lasdun fits into a generation of architects that existed through a unique set of political and cultural world influences and circumstances. Born after the start of the First World War on the 8th September 1914, Lasdun began his architectural studies at the Architectural Association (AA) in the 1930’s. He left his studies early, without completing his Diploma, to work with Wells Coates - who was a member of the Modern Architectural Research Group (MARS).1 After two years he joined Tecton with partners Lubetkin, Skinner and Drake.2 Lasdun learned from this direct working relationship with the more experienced Coates and Lubetkin - 19 and 13 years his senior respectively - and was influenced by studying . His own point in time allowed him to experience the seminal early buildings of the Modern Movement, without the historic or ironic perspective of the generation that’s formative years were immediately after the War.3 When the Second World War broke out and architectural practice was postponed Lasdun served with the Royal Engineers from 1939 – 1945, participating in the D-Day landings before going on to play a major roll in the construction of allied bases throughout France. At the end of the war he was honoured with an MBE and rejoined Tecton [Fig. 2] as a partner.4 Despite cutting his structured academic experience prematurely short Denys Lasdun was stirred by the classical training which he had received at the AA. Developing his approach whilst collaborating on projects during the early part of his career. He went on to join and in 1952 following the dissolution of Tecton in 1948.5 Denys Lasdun & Partners was established in 1959. By that time he was in his mid 40’s and had formulated a language of architecture with which he was comfortable. “The greater modern movements fired my youth but now I am past my youth and I think for myself.”6 He saw the fundamental basis of modernism in tradition and recognised classicism as a discreetly hidden constant in every revolution.7 His own creations utilised generous relationships with history and successfully avoided temptations of pastiche to be firmly situated in the avant garde.

1 Diana Rowntree, ‘Sir Denys Lasdun’, Architects pay tribute to Denys Lasdun, 1 (2001), 12 < http://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/jan/12/ guardianobituaries> [accessed 27/12/2015] (para. 3 of 30) 2 RIBA, ‘Denys Lasdun’, Inspirational Architects, <’https://www.architecture.com/Explore/Architects/DenysLasdun.aspx>8 [accessed 27/12/2015] (Para. 3 of 4) 3 William JR Curtis, since 1900, Phaidon, 1982,p. 540 4 Rowntree, ‘Sir Denys Lasdun’, < http://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/jan/12/guardianobituaries> [accessed 27/12/2015] (para. 4 of 30) 5 RIBA, ‘Denys Lasdun’, <’https://www.architecture.com/Explore/Architects/DenysLasdun.aspx>8 [accessed 27/12/2015](Para. 3 of 4) 6 Jonathan Hill, ‘The Return of Ruin: Modernism, History and the Material Imagination’,in The Material Imagination: Reveries on Architecture adn Matter, M. Mindrup (ed.), Ashgate, 2015, p. 184 7 Rowntree, ‘Sir Denys Lasdun’, < http://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/jan/12/guardianobituaries> [accessed 27/12/2015] (para. 2 of 30) 5 Fig. 3: The Royal College of Physicians

Fig. 4: The National Theatre 6 Lasdun exuded nervousness at assigning names to architectural styles. He complained that the sublime works of Modernism’s masters - Corbusier, Aalto, Van De Rohe, Wright, Asplund - which were comparable to the masterpieces of any age, were devalued and debased by being categorised with visually dull and repetitious examples built within the same period.8 His own seminal works transcended the later years of the Modernist Movement and occurred alongside the beginnings of Brutalism. However, considering the term dogmatic, he vigorously disliked being labelled as a Brutalist.9 Whilst discussing his creative process he stated that “I look for a substructure from the past and try to transform this in modern terminology”10 By focusing on three of his seminal works - The Royal College of Physicians [Fig.3], The University of East Anglia and The National Theatre [Fig. 4]– this essay discusses the manner in which Sir Denys Lasdun used mythology, poetry and resonance to enrich his undoubtedly modern architecture with a high degree of physical and theoretical historic sensibility.

8 Denys Lasdun, Architecture in Age of Scepticism: A practioner’s anthology, 1985, p.142 9 Hill, ‘Return of Ruin’, p. 189 10 Lasdun, Architecture in Age of Scepticism, p.139 7 Fig. 5: Grand Hall Staircase

Fig. 6: Auditorium Brick Fig. 7: Reception Spiral Staircase Fig. 8: Vista of Nash’s terraces 8

The first major commission Lasdun undertook in his own name was one which he would go on to describe as central to his practice’s work, since it attempted to create a link with the city while remaining within the tradition of modern architecture - The Royal College of Physicians.11 Moving the long established, inward facing academic medical body to it’s fifth location, a bomb damaged site amongst ’s Neo- Classical terraces next to Regent’s Park, allowed Lasdun to converse with contextual history.12 Set against the grandeur of Regent’s Park the main juncture of the building is a white rectangular shell balanced upon piers above shaded lower areas; containing a grand hallway, historic library and the ‘Censor’s room’. The main auditorium, curved in form and constructed from purple brick, manages the transition from these sharp forms to the nobility of the immediate setting. The main rooms are all connected by the grand hall. In this, at the heart of the institution, is a freestanding square spiral staircase [Fig. 5] that adjoins stepped levels and opens out towards Nash’s terraces [Fig. 8]. The section of the building is preoccupied with the compression and expansion of space.13 Lasdun stated his intention to ‘rhyme’ with the terraces and wished the new building to be a microcosm of the surrounding city.14 The terrazzo cladding of the main shell is detailed to echo the thin stucco surfaces that Nash had employed. The piers at the entrance are of classical order and the building is highly concerned with the interconnecting spaces. In his essay titled ‘The Return of Ruin: Modernism, History and the Material Imagination’ Jonathan Hill presents a view that Lasdun was aware of the value that the poet placed on innovation as well as tradition.15 Lasdun uses abstracted forms and material references to resonate with the history of the immediate urban context. The introduction of the auditorium as an organic, primordial mound constructed in dark brick [Fig. 6], themselves a reference to the slate roofs of the surrounding buildings, acknowledges the differences between new and old. This differentiation prevents Lasdun’s building from competing with it’s neighbours. The board of the RCP desired that lectures in the auditorium should be available to be everyone. As such Lasdun located it at the front and to one side of the main entrance, devising the statement that it was not only for the institution. Access to it from the reception is via a small spiral staircase that fuses a conventional helical form [Fig. 7] with contemporary terrazzo and brass. The location is innovative as it is not situated centrally in the building, as you may expect with a traditionally shaped spiral staircase. Lasdun believed that as was evident with Lutyens the connecting spaces were as important as the main rooms and that focus on the open central hall would encourage the college to work in a democratic, friendly and open way.16 Curtis also presents the view that they are an analogy to the alleyways around the park itself. This reaffirms Lasdun’s desire to design urban context, in this case bringing an element of the surroundings into the institution.

11 Lasdun, Architecture in Age of Scepticism, p. 135 12 Curtis, Modern Architecture, 1982,p. 541 13 Lasdun, Architecture in Age of Scepticism, p. 136 14 Curtis, Modern Architecture, 1982,p. 542 15 Hill, ‘Return of Ruin’, p. 189 16 Lasdun, Architecture in Age of Scepticism, p. 136 Fig. 8: Vista of Nash’s terraces 9 Fig. 9: Censor’s Room within Southern Glazing

Fig. 10: Lobby to Censor’s Room Fig. 11: Slim Corner Windows 10 The brief for the RCP also gave Lasdun the opportunity to deal directly with physically old fragments by requiring him to reinstall the Censors’s room within the new buildings. The Spanish Oak panellings had been moved 3 times previously,17 being literally picked up and moved as part of the furniture and fittings each time. Lasdun placed the room within the glazing line of the southern facade [Fig. 9]. Bridging the association between inside and outside and automatically defining it as a focal point.18 One theory is that it is an attempt to place the enforced nature of this room on the periphery of his own design. By doing so Lasdun also presents the room as if it were an artefact. The panels are fitted to the inside of the terrazzo clad block, however Lasdun made distinct changes by adding a lobby space [Fig. 10] and punching windows into the corners [Fig. 11]. The tradition and continuity is emphasised by the fact that the panelling now becomes four free standing elements ‘displayed’ on the walls of the new room. Lasdun had read Geoffrey Scott’s essays which advocated the anthropomorphic qualities of classical design and the essentiality of sculptural character in good architecture.19 He admired the english baroque and had special appreciation for Nicholas Hawksmoor, who’s ability to break the rules of classical architecture in order to further emphasise them had intrigued him.20 His alterations to the Censors’ room show a resonance with Hawksmoor. By exhibiting the historic panelling he enhances the tradition whilst creating a modern form and function – it was no longer used for examinations but instead as a meeting room and start point to the formal processions. His classical training also allowed him to utilise axis, vestibule and grand stair in order to deal with the ceremonial aspects of the circulatory spaces whilst demonstrating an appreciation for the immediate surrounding cityscape. A prime example of this is the central spiral staircase overlooking Nash’s facades, in essence breaking down the inward nature of the institution by providing a vista that allows the user to sense the history of the city whilst occupying the contemporary building.

17 Royal College of Physicians, The anatomy of a building: Denys Lasdun and the Royal College of Physicians, online video recording, YouTube, 9 September 2014, < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-4ydFg6jww>,(7:28), [accessed 28/12/2015] 18 Curtis, Modern Architecture, 1982,p. 541 19 Curtis, Modern Architecture, 1982,p. 542 20 Hill, ‘Return of Ruin’, p. 189 Fig. 11: Slim Corner Windows 11 Fig. 12: View from south of the UEA Broad.

Fig. 13: Aerial view of Ziggurats 12 As a part of the welfare state that existed in Britain after WW2 the hopes and need to eradicate the boundaries between rich and poor was pinned largely upon the introduction of new universities. The Labour government of 1942 had brought these conclusions to fruition, however it was after 2 years of deliberation in 1961 that a Conservative government committee on higher education recommended the creation of 7 universities. The sites earmarked were smaller provincial towns with similarities to Oxford and Cambridge. The University of East Anglia, changed from University of for funding purposes, was approved in 1960. Of all the cities granted new higher education facilities – Norwich was the most geographically and socially isolated. 21 After his appointment as UEA’s architect in 1962 Lasdun embarked on a tour of Norfolk, before remarking that it was his intention to “not wreck for all time the most wonderful landscape in which we find ourselves”.22 ‘for all time’ is the key aspect of this statement, demonstrating that before even putting pen to paper Lasdun was aware of the long term consequence his designs would have on the existing open landscape site that contained few structures. As such he conceived the masterplan as buildings which were a part of the landscape, proposing a “loving care for configuration and contours”23 relying heavily on themes from ancient Greece. From the peripheries of the site Lasdun ensured that the buildings were framed by trees [Fig. 12] in a way not dissimilar to seventeenth century painters. By using the technique in this manner his intention was not to view the landscape from the building by conventional methods of framing views from within but instead used the landscape to frame his own creations. In order to cement his idea of a city university and to diverge from the typical courtyard typologies of other UK institutions he envisaged the buildings as if appearing from the landscape in a way similar to Greek amphitheatres. Alongside landscape designer Colvin, the rising ground was made to gently dip close to the base of the residential buildings.24 Thereby the aesthetic that the landscape was built to receive the buildings and the harmony between man made and natural was enhanced. The advanced scientific nature of WW2 was a current issue, nuclear weapons and the development of the cold war had an impact on the perception of technological progress – especially so for a cohort of architects that had seen military service, Lasdun included.25 However by recalling the blitz and acknowledging the new threats he managed to create optimism26. Using both in situ, for the central teaching wall spine, and pre cast concrete, for the residential ziggurats, he created large blank walls and castellated profiles [Fig. 13] leading to inevitable associations with bastions, bunkers and bomb shelters.27

21 Hill, ‘Return of Ruin’, p. 183 22 Hill, ‘Return of Ruin’, p. 183 23 Hill, ‘Return of Ruin’, p. 184 24 Hill, ‘Return of Ruin’, p. 185 25 Hill, ‘Return of Ruin’, p. 188 26 Hill, ‘Return of Ruin’, p. 182 27 Hill, ‘Return of Ruin’, p. 186 13 Fig. 14: UEA Ziggurats 14 Lasdun’s own zeitgeist would eventually become closely linked with his utilisation of concrete and when discussing the merits of UEA he quoted that it’s natural grey state “enhances the colours of the landscape”28 [Fig. 14]. The combination of materiality and form is a purposeful acknowledgment of the recent history that the world had endured, which can be understood as a direct link to Lasdun’s own experience of the war with the Royal engineers. However, as became evident in interviews after it’s completion, he had intended for the algae, moss and lichen to grow upon the UEA buildings surfaces29. Not only would this intention reassert the buildings as portions of the landscape but the changes in density and colour over years as the foliage matured as well as seasonal variations would portray the clever inference that even from the most desperate of times the future can be unexpected, ever changing and optimistic. This intent would later be ignored by English Heritage who, after the buildings received Grade II listing in 2003, commissioned a restoration project which removed the flora and apply an anti-fungal inhibitor.

28 Hill, ‘Return of Ruin’, p. 186 29 Hill, ‘Return of Ruin’, p. 186 15 Fig. 15: View to St Paul’s Cathedral 16 For his next major project, The National Theatre, Lasdun believed he was selected because he was willing to participate in discussing, understanding and learning what the National Theatre should be - thereby alleviating the board of directors concerns of having a preconceived idea forced upon them.30 His desire for the project became to create an

“Architecture without facades but instead with layers of building like geological strata connected in such a way that they flow into the surrounding riverscape and city. The building is an extension of the theatre into the everyday world.”31

During his Desert Island Discs interview in December 1976, after his knighthood, Lasdun claims that initially he focused on the internal theatre spaces without concern with the external building form. Originally the brief required an adaptable, all purpose auditorium, but believing this would not do any of the tasks properly Lasdun installed three theatres. An open stage for the main stream Greek and Elizabethan type of drama, a proscenium stage for playwrights of the last 300 years and a small stage for experimental playwrights of the future.32 Lasdun was fascinated with the belief that the whole building could become the theatre. The strata blur the boundary between external and internal space, not only as a user of the building - with the soffits mediating inside and out, but also when viewing it from a distance by creating large shadow breaks. The view from these platforms that face the river allow for the comprehension of the city’s landmarks and organisation.33 It is apparent that Lasdun was making a physical reference to the history of the city with purposeful views from the Southbank site over the Thames to numerous monuments – St Pauls in particular [Fig. 15]. After his preoccupation with the internal space he used the stratas and the ‘Lack’ of facades to soften the boundaries between public and private realm in an attempt to give the building back to the city. The form also sought a clear monumental rhetoric with echoes of baroque and medieval in the faceted towers.34 This again demonstrates his ability to rhyme in a similar way to Hawksmoor, utilising references from a variety of historical ages to create space, form and place that is of a modern time. The rigorous use of concrete is a reference to the monolithic nature of ancient greek temples. However it’s board-marking, soffits and treatments give it a human scale which hints towards the modern construction techniques that had been used. Not covering these was a definite move to place the building in it’s contemporary period. The use of concrete also refers to the similarity with Waterloo bridge.

30 Desert Island Discs, ‘Roy Plomley’s castaway is architect Sir Denys Lasdun’, BBC Radio 4, 1976, < http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009n046>, (12:00), accessed 28/12/2015] 31 Lasdun, Architecture in Age of Scepticism, p. 136 32 Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 1976, < http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009n046>, (16:30), [accessed 28/12/2015] 33 Lasdun, Architecture in Age of Scepticism, p. 139 34 Curtis, Modern Architecture, 1982,p. 540 17 Fig. 16: Somerset House and the Thames as a Fourth Elevation 18 In a notion not dissimilar to ancient Greek philosophy Lasdun also relied on what he calls the architect’s myth. The physical world in which he worked was the area of certainty – modernism. By combining this with his personal convictions and beliefs it allowed him to move forward with the task of designing. His myth own was concerned with this extension of the building into the city landscape.35 This language allowed scope for intuition. Realising that space is experienced by all senses The National theatres form allow for a sense of proportion, without calculation. Whilst the rear facade facing southwards to Waterloo is sometimes criticised for it’s perceived lack of attention the North elevation of the National theatre uses the city, namely the river and Somerset House as it’s fourth elevation36 [Fig. 16] By employing this tactic Lasdun allows the National Theatre to be a part of the evolution of the city. He was aware that the growth of cities had been exponentially increased due to industrialisation37 however it was also clear to him that “cities survive by self renewal and die without creative impulse”38 This demonstrates his requirement to not only reference the past but also to create a building that enhanced the city for future generations, in essence learning from the past in order to create modernity for future generations of urban landscape. It is a tactic that allows the National Theatre to contribute to the city by understanding the surrounding buildings and topography.

35 Lasdun, Architecture in Age of Scepticism, p. 139 36 Lasdun, Architecture in Age of Scepticism, p. 141 37 Lasdun, Architecture in Age of Scepticism, p. 135 38 Lasdun, Architecture in Age of Scepticism, p. 136 19 Fig. 17: Royal College of Physicians by Thomas Danthony 20

Lasdun concluded that a real architect is concerned with the central organisation of current and future problems, rather than mere aesthetic statements.39 He also acknowledged the profound influence that Lutyens, Rowse and Lubetkin had upon him with respect to the organisation of space and the ‘immensely laborious process that serious buildings involve’.40 With respect to his own creative myth he maintained the desire to engage with history without making stylistic concessions to it. Taking reference from the Greek amphitheatre he sought to extend the building into it’s surrounding, whether it be urban or natural. Throughout his working career he approached his seminal works, and indeed all of his projects, with a rigour approaching that of a contemporary historian. The time he spent intellectualising the problems of each specific brief allowed him to metabolise the past and create better architecture. Whilst discussing the merits of Hawksmoor, Lasdun stated “NH uses elements of classical and gothic in a free, unprejudiced manner not just quoting them but reconstituting them in a new and original whole which is neither classical or gothic but is wholly original and wholly convincing”41 There are several examples where his own approach echoes Hawksmoor. The RCP engages with it’s contextual history through it’s materiality and the purposeful vistas it gives of Nash’s terraces. Similarly, his blurring of the boundary between internal and external space at the National Theatre showcases Somerset House and the Thames as the fourth elevation. The strata at the National Theatre connect the building with the it’s cityscape, not only by referring to geological layers but also by providing views of monuments across the city – it remains a sublime place from which to appreciate the physical layout of London. For the UEA masterplan Lasdun directly referenced Greek history by envisaging the buildings as if rising from the landscape. His classical training and appreciation for Lutyens allowed him to underpin the circulatory spaces at the RCP with ceremonial aspects, in particular the compression of the reception before the triple height grand hall which lies upon the same axis. Due to a thorough understanding of tradition his modern, striking, crisp forms created extraordinary buildings that avoided the temptations of pastiche by refusing to make stylistic references to the past. As a result of these rigorous endeavours he was knighted in 1976 and received the RIBA Gold Medal the following year. The National Theatre and University of East Anglia are both Grade II listed, whilst the Royal College of Physicians [Fig. 17] achieved the exceptional status of Grade I listing. These thoroughly deserved accolades are ju­stified by the profound influence Sir Denys Lasdun had on architecture, in particular the post-war modernist style.

39 RCP, The Anatomy of a building, online video recording, YouTube, 9 September 2014, < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-4ydFg6jww>,(10:50), [accessed 28/12/2015] 40 AA School Architecture, 1989-04-15 LASDUN Denys, online video recording, YouTube, 1 April 2015, , (16:40), [accessed 3/1/2016] 41 Hill, ‘Return of Ruin’, p. 188 21 Bibliography: Curtis, William JR, Modern Architecture since 1900, Phaidon, 1982

Hill, Jonathan, ‘The Return of Ruin: Modernism, History and the Material Imagination’,inThe Material Imagination: Reveries on Architecture adn Matter, M. Mindrup (ed.), Ashgate, 2015

Lasdun, Denys, Architecture in Age of Scepticism: A practioner’s anthology, 1985

RIBA, ‘Denys Lasdun’, Inspirational Architects, [accessed 27/12/2015]

Rowntree, Diana, ‘Sir Denys Lasdun’, Architects pay tribute to Denys Lasdun, 2001 [accessed 27/12/2015]

Video and Audio Sources: AA School Architecture, 1989-04-15 LASDUN Denys, online video recording, YouTube, 1 April 2015, < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmLH4e2fsmk >

Desert Island Discs, ‘Roy Plomley’s castaway is architect Sir Denys Lasdun’, BBC Radio 4, 1976, < http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009n046 >

Royal College of Physicians, The Anatomy of a building, online video recording, YouTube, 9 September 2014, < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-4ydFg6jww >

Illustration Credits:

Title: http://blackdragonpress.bigcartel.com/product/national-theatre Fig. 1: https://www.architecture.com/Explore/Architects/DenysLasdun.aspx Fig. 2: http://avantiarchitects.co.uk/project/penguin-pool-london-zoo/ Fig. 3: author’s Own [Zac Chapman] Fig. 4: author’s Own [Zac Chapman] Fig. 5: author’s Own [Zac Chapman] Fig. 6: author’s Own [Zac Chapman] Fig. 7: author’s Own [Zac Chapman] Fig. 8: author’s Own [Zac Chapman] Fig. 9: author’s Own [Zac Chapman] Fig. 10: author’s Own [Zac Chapman] Fig. 11: author’s Own [Zac Chapman] Fig. 12: https://stravaigerjohn.wordpress.com/2012/06/06/do-different-the-university-of-east-anglia-revisited/ Fig. 13: http://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/brutal-utopias-the-national-trust-launches-a-new-tour-series Fig. 14: https://stravaigerjohn.wordpress.com/2012/06/06/do-different-the-university-of-east-anglia-revisited/ Fig. 15: author’s Own [Zac Chapman] Fig. 16: author’s Own [Zac Chapman] Fig. 17 http://blackdragonpress.bigcartel.com/product/royal-college-of-physicians

22 I would like to make a dedication to my Grandfather, Charles William Ernest Chapman. Himself an Architect, born on the 7th September 1914 and passed away in the same year as Lasdun. He always spoke enthusiastically about architecture, especially so of the era and topics covered in this essay.

He fascinated me through my formative years, continually inspires me and has been even more prominent in my thoughts throughout writing.

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