Basil Spence
Sir Basil Urwin Spence , OM , OBE , RA (born August 13, 1907 in Bombay - † November 19, 1976 ) was a Scottish architect, known for the Coventry Cathedral and the Houses of Parliament in Wellington .
His father was a precious metal tester for the Royal Mint .
After attending school in India, Basil was sent to Scotland, where he graduated from George Watson's College in Edinburgh from 1919 to 1925 . Spence then studied architecture at the Edinburgh College of Art (ECA). During a year of practice in London, he attended evening classes with Albert Edward Richardson at the Bartlett School of Architecture . When he returned to the ECA in 1930 for his senior year, he was given a teaching position there, although still a student. He taught in Edinburgh until 1939 when he was called up for military service.
After graduating in 1931, he opened an office with William Kininmonth . He soon specialized in exhibition architecture, for example for the Empire Exhibition (Glasgow 1938) .
Spence took part in D-Day in 1944. After the war he opened his own office with Bruce Robertson.
From 1955 to 1957 Spence taught at the University of Leeds . From 1958 to 1960 he was chairman of the Royal Institute of British Architects.
In 1959 Spence received three major contracts: the British Embassy next to Michelangelo's Porta Pia in Rome (completed in 1971), the high-rise residential building in Hyde Park Barracks in London (completed in 1970) and the construction of several high-rise residential buildings in the Gorbal redevelopment area in Glasgow (completed in 1965, demolished in 1993).
literature
- Sir Basil Spence , in: Internationales Biographisches Archiv 07/1977 of February 7, 1977, in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely available)
Web links
- Sir Basil Spence Archive Project , Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) project
Individual evidence
- ^ British Embassy. In: arch INFORM .
- ^ British Embassy at Structurae
- ↑ Sir Basil Spence Archives: HYDE PARK CAVALRY BARRACKS // LONDON, ENGLAND
- ↑ Hutchesontown C Development, THE GORBALS, GLASGOW, SCOTLAND , Sir Basil Spence Archive Project of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS)
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Spence, Basil |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Spence, Sir Basil Urwin |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Scottish architect |
DATE OF BIRTH | August 13, 1907 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Bombay |
DATE OF DEATH | November 19, 1976 |