Basil Spence
Sir Basil Spence | |
---|---|
British India | |
Died | 19 November 1976 Yaxley, Suffolk, England, UK | (aged 69)
Nationality | British |
Alma mater | Edinburgh College of Art |
Occupation | Architect |
Practice | Basil Spence & Partners |
Buildings | Coventry Cathedral Hyde Park Barracks New Zealand parliament extension |
Sir Basil Urwin Spence,
Training
Spence was born in
In 1929–1930, he spent a year as an assistant, along with
Early career
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/Southside_Garage%2C_Causewayside_Edinburgh.jpg/220px-Southside_Garage%2C_Causewayside_Edinburgh.jpg)
After graduating in 1931, Kininmonth and Spence set up in practice together, based in a room within the office of
In 1934 Spence married, and the Kininmonth & Spence practice merged with Rowand Anderson & Paul.
The first two of these,
Army service
In 1939, Spence was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the
Postwar career
Spence returned to Rowand Anderson & Paul & Partners briefly, before setting up his own practice, Basil Spence & Partners, with Bruce Robertson. He was awarded an
Basil Spence & Partners were responsible for the redevelopment and extension of the University of Glasgow's Kelvin Building, which houses its School of Physics and Astronomy. The project was carried out in three phases. The first, 1947–1952, added a new lecture theatre and housed a synchrotron. Teaching laboratories and another lecture theatre were added in the second phase, which was finished in 1959. A third phase was completed in 1966 and included a museum to showcase Lord Kelvin's old experimental apparatus.[9] Some of this is still on display in the Kelvin Building today, with other items having been moved to form part of an exhibit at the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery.
Coventry Cathedral
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Coventry_Cathedral_-exterior-5July2008.jpg/290px-Coventry_Cathedral_-exterior-5July2008.jpg)
On 14 November 1940, Coventry's Anglican Cathedral was extensively damaged by German bombing, a year into World War II.
In 1944, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott submitted a design proposal to rebuild the cathedral but this was rejected by the Royal Fine Arts Commission. In 1950, a competition was launched to find the most suitable design from a Commonwealth of Nations architect. Over 200 entries were received, and Spence's radical design was chosen. Work began in 1956 and the structure was completed in 1962.[10] Spence was knighted in 1960 for his work at Coventry,[11] while the cathedral was still being built.
On 23 February 2012 the Royal Mail released a stamp featuring Coventry Cathedral as part of its "Britons of Distinction" series.[12]
Later work
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/SIF-Beehive-3-Cropped.jpg/170px-SIF-Beehive-3-Cropped.jpg)
In 1959, Spence secured two important commissions, for the
Spence was also responsible for modernist buildings on
In 1960, Spence designed Mortonhall Crematorium in Edinburgh's Braid Hills area (based on the same angled fin concept as found at Coventry Cathedral). He also designed Trawsfynydd nuclear power station, which was unveiled in Snowdonia, north Wales, in 1968.[13]
Also in 1964, with support from the Nuffield Foundation, the
The Spence practice was rearranged in 1964, with the Canonbury office being renamed Sir Basil Spence OM RA, and the second London office Spence Bonnington & Collins. The Edinburgh office was also renamed for its partners, Spence Glover & Ferguson. From 1961 to 1968, Spence was Professor of Architecture at the
Through the 1970s, Spence continued to work on public and private commissions, universities and offices including Aston University Library and Management Centre. His last work was for an unexecuted cultural centre for Bahrain, which he worked on during illness in 1976. Some of his final commissions were built after his death; for example, his design for the new Glasgow Royal Infirmary was completed in 1981.[14]
Spence died in November 1976 at his home at Yaxley, Suffolk and was buried at nearby Thornham Parva.[15]
His practice, Spence, Ferguson and Glover, continued until 1992 before being disbanded.
Assessment
In 2004, following the bequest of Spence's drawings and office papers, the Sir Basil Spence Archive project was begun by the RCAHMS (now part of HES). A centennial exhibition Basil Spence Back to the Future was organised in Edinburgh, Coventry and London in 2007-8. In 2006, he was the subject of a BBC Scotland documentary, Rebuilding Basil Spence,[16] which revised his place in 20th-century British architecture and asked why he had been for so long overlooked. In 2012, the book Basil Spence Buildings and Projects was published by the RIBA as the culmination of the RCAHMS archive project and the work of the AHRC research project led by Louise Campbell of Warwick University.
In 1993 Spence's
In August 2010,
List of projects
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/HomeOffice_QueenAnnesGate.jpg/170px-HomeOffice_QueenAnnesGate.jpg)
- Broughton Place (country house in the style of a 17th-century Scottish tower house in Broughton, Peeblesshire with decorative reliefs by architectural sculptor Hew Lorimer) (1938)
- Dinnington High School, Rotherham. House bases and block complex (c. 1954)
- Gribloch (country house near Kippen, Stirling) (1938–39)
- Kilsyth Academy, Kilsyth (opened 1954, designed 1930)
- St Ninian and St Martin Church, Whithorn, Wigtownshire. (unrealised) [1]
- Sea and Ships Pavilions for Festival of Britain (1951)
- Duncanrig Secondary School, East Kilbride, Greater Glasgow (1953)
- Basildon Town Centre is a planned town centre developed during the creation of the town of Basildon, Essex.
- St Paul's Church, Wordsworth Avenue, Sheffield
- Sydenham School, Sydenham, London (1956)
- Agricultural Science Building, Sutton Bonington campus(1956–58)
- The churches of St Oswald, Tile Hill – St Chad, Wood End – St John the Divine, Willenhall. Built simultaneously in Coventry (1957)
- Thurso High School Thurso, Scotland (1957)
- The Chadwick Physics Laboratory (1957–9), University of Liverpool
- St. Hugh's Church, Eyres Monsell Estate, Leicester (1955–58)
- Campus development plan at the University of Nottingham (1957–60) including Chemistry Building, Physics and Mathematics Building, Mining and Fluid Mechanics Laboratory, Pope Building, Coates Building
- St Catherine of Siena, Richmond in Sheffield (1959)
- Thorn EMI House, 5 Upper St. Martin's Lane, London (1959) (Spence's original exterior was demolished in the 1990s; reborn as Orion House with a full-height floor plate addition and re-skinned elevations. A 60-foot-tall (18 m) metal sculpture by Geoffrey Clarke for the original façade (incorporating allusions to electric lamp filaments) has been remounted onto the added lift and service riser.)
- Great Michael Rise and Laverockbank Crescent, social housing developments in Newhaven, Edinburgh
- Erasmus Building, Friars Court, Queens' College, Cambridge (1959–1960)
- Froude Building, Highfield Campus, University of Southampton (1959–1966)[18]
- 9 and 10 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh (1956-62)[19]
- Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre (originally 'Swimming Baths'), London (1962–4) (demolished in 1999)[20]
- Swiss Cottage Library (1962–1964), Grade II Listed Building since 1997.[21]
- Spence House, near Beaulieu, Hampshire (designed 1961, for Spence's own use and listed Grade II)
- Coventry Cathedral, completed 1962
- The initial campus design at the University of Sussex (1960s)[22] including Falmer House (1962, now a Grade I listed building)[22]
- Hutchesontown C flats, Gorbals, Glasgow (1962 – demolished in 1993)
- Physics Building, Streatham Campus, University of Exeter
- Herschel Building, Newcastle University (1962)[23]
- Nuffield Theatre, Highfield Campus, University of Southampton (1964)
- University of Durham(1964)
- The Beehive, the executive wing of the New Zealand Parliament Buildings Wellington, New Zealand (1964)
- Worshipful Company of Salters Hall, 1976. Spence died weeks before opening.
- Trawsfyndd Nuclear Power Station (1965)[24]
- Edinburgh University Main Library[25]
- Glasgow Airport(1966) (Spence's original façade was covered over in 1989 when an extension was built to house new check-in desks. The original structure can now be seen only from the check-in hall, departure gates and runway.)
- British pavilion, Expo 67 (1967)[26]
- Newcastle Central Library (1968)[27] – demolished in 2007
- 65 – 103 Canongate, social housing developments in The Canongate, Edinburgh
- Civic Centre, Sunderland (1970)[28]
- Hyde Park Barracks, London (1970)[29]
- Sturmer Way, London (1970)
- British Embassy, Rome (1971)[30]
- Glasgow Royal Infirmary redevelopment – Phases 1 & 2 (1971–82) – now known as the Queen Elizabeth Building and University Block
- Aston University Library (1975) (Sir Basil Spence, Glover and Ferguson). Extended and remodelled in 2010[33]
- 50 Queen Anne's Gate(the former Home Office building), London (1976)
- The Sydney Jones Library (1976) at the University of Liverpool[34]
See also
References
- ^ Let's be frank about Spence, The Guardian (16 October 2007). Retrieved: 10 October 2021.
- ^ a b c "SPENCE, Sir Basil (1907–1976) – English Heritage". www.english-heritage.org.uk.
- ^ a b Back to the Future in Modern Architecture, BBC (30 July 2008). Retrieved: 10 October 2021.
- ^ City of Edinburgh Council: Building Warrant Archive
- ^ "Edinburgh, Ravelston Dykes Road, Ravelston House, Garden". A set of oblique aerial photographs of Ravelston House garden with military vehicles, Edinburgh taken as a camouflage test. Sir Basil Spence Archive. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. 14 March 1944. pp. Canmore ID 273364. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- ^ The Hidden War by Seymour Reit, published by Corgi Books 1980, page 35
- ^ "Matt Weaver examines the career of architect Sir Basil Spence". The Guardian. 16 October 2007.
- ^ "Festival of Britain, Sea and Ships pavilion.Floating dock".
- ^ "University of Glasgow School of Physics and Astronomy".
- ^ Coventry Cathedral. Engineering Timelines. Retrieved: 10 October 2021.
- ^ "Sir Basil Spence Archive Project". www.basilspence.org.uk.
- ^ "Coventry Cathedral architect in Royal Mail stamp set". BBC. 23 February 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
- ^ Hirst, Clayton. Pulling down Snowdonia's power station would be a nuclear waste. The Guardian (21 December 2009). Retrieved: 10 October 2021.
- ^ Glasgow Royal Infirmary: Building, Glasgow Architecture. Retrieved: 10 October 2021.
- ^ "SPENCE, Sir Basil (1907–1976)". English Heritage. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ^ "Researcher – Artworks Scotland, BBC Scotland, 2006: "Rebuilding Basil Spence". Retrieved: 10 October 2021".
- ^ "SYDENHAM: Head welcomes school's English Heritage listing failure". News Shopper. 24 November 2010.
- ^ "Froude | Open Data Service | University of Southampton". data.southampton.ac.uk. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
- ^ "9 AND 10 ST ANDREW SQUARE (LB43349)". portal.historicenvironment.scot. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ^ Taylor, David. Camden gets set to demolish Spence’s Swiss Cottage pool, Architects' Journal (11 November 1999). Retrieved: 10 October 2021.
- ^ Swiss Cottage Library, Historic England. Retrieved: 10 October 2021.
- ^ a b "Sir Basil Spence exhibition : Events and activities : Fifty years : University of Sussex". www.sussex.ac.uk.
- ^ "PMSA". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
- ^ No listed status for Trawsfynydd nuclear power station, BBC News (19 June 2010). Retrieved: 10 October 2021.
- ^ "AJBL – Basil Spence, Ferguson, Glover". www.ajbuildingslibrary.co.uk.
- ^ "Ex. 4". Expo 67 press kit. Citynoise. Archived from the original on 27 October 2009. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
- ^ "Tyne And Wear, Newcastle Upon Tyne, City Library".
- ^ "RIBA Library and Collections". www.architecture.com.
- ^ Eden, Richard (4 November 2017). "The Household Cavalry may seek new household" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ British Embassy Rome Architecture, e-architecture. Retrieved: 10 October 2021.
- ^ "Kensington and Chelsea Town Hall – The Twentieth Century Society".
- ^ "Greater London, Kensington And Chelsea, Chelsea, Kensington And Chelsea Civic Centre".
- ^ Library development enhances Aston University student experience Aston University (4 November 2010). Retrieved: 10 October 2021.
- ^ Kay, Carol. "Designing Libraries – Sydney Jones Library". www.designinglibraries.org.uk.
- Long, Philip and Thomas, Jane, (eds.) Basil Spence: Architect, RCAHMS, 2007
- Campbell, L, Coventry Cathedral: art and architecture in postwar Britain (OUP, 1996)
- Campbell, L, Glendinning, M and Thomas, J, Basil Spence - Buildings and Projects (RIBA, 2012)
- Campbell,L 'Reconstruction, Englishness and Coventry Cathedral', Storia Urbana, no.158 (2018), pp.87-110
- Campbell, L, 'Le phenix et la cite: nation, cathedrale et urbanisme a Coventry', Le Havre 44 Nouveaux Regards (Le Havre/Octopus, 2022).
External links
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- 2 artworks by or after Basil Spence at the Art UK site
- Stringer, Michael (6 August 2010). "Heritage listing threatens Sydenham School rebuild". South London Press. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011.
- "Site record for Greater London, Southwark, Camberwell And Dulwich, Dartmouth Road, Sydenham School". CANMORE.
- Article published by WalesHome about Trawsfynydd, October 2009
- Last-ditch attempt to save Sir Basil's Trawsfynydd from demolition
- "Sir Basil Spence Archive Project". RCAHMS. Homepage for the archive of nearly 40,000 items held by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS).
- "Basil Urwin Spence". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Archived from the original on 20 February 2007. Architect biography.
- "Basil's Bairns". Royal Scottish Academy. Archived from the original on 20 October 2007. Exhibition held from 1 January 2008 at the Royal Scottish Academy, looking at careers of the architects who worked in the studio of Sir Basil Spence.
- Rudden, Liam (8 September 2006). "Rebuilding Sir Basil Spence's battered reputation". The Scotsman. UK.
- "Basil Spence archive exclusive". Wallpaper*. 27 September 2007. Archived from the originalon 15 October 2007. Extract from the Sir Basil Spence archive, featuring 57 images of his work.