James Gowan

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James Gowan (born October 18, 1923 in Glasgow , Scotland , † June 12, 2015 ) was a British architect .

Life

The son of a butcher grew up with his grandparents in Partick near Glasgow after his parents divorced . His architecture studies at the Glasgow School of Art , in which he was particularly interested in Gothic , was interrupted during World War II by working as a radar mechanic for the Royal Air Force . After the war he completed his studies at the Kingston School of Architecture in Surrey with Philip Powell. During the brief employment in his office Powell & Moya, he wrote the winning competition design for the Skylon at the Festival of Britain in 1951 and plans for the New Town Stevenage .

In 1954 he joined Lyons Israel Ellis, where he met James Stirling . From 1956 to 1963 he worked with this, among other things, the engineering faculty of the University of Leicester , which is considered the first postmodern building in England.

After differences of opinion with Stirling over the subsequent construction of the history faculty, he worked alone in his studio in Notting Hill from 1964 . The luxurious Schreiber House was built in 1964 and is considered one of the most important houses of the 20th century.

As a result, he devoted himself increasingly to social housing and teaching: Gowan taught at various universities, such as the Royal College of Art in London, and the Heriot Watt University. In 1975 he became Bannister Fletcher Professor at University College London , and he was also a visiting professor at Princeton University . His students at the Architectural Association included Peter Cook , Richard Rogers, and Quinlan Terry .

In the last years of his life, Gowan designed several hospitals in Italy in collaboration with Renato Restelli.

buildings

Leicester University Engineering Faculty (1963)
  • Churchill Gardens Housing Complex in Pimlico
  • 1956: Cowes Residence on the Isle of Wight (with James Stirling)
  • 1956: Apartment building in Richmond, Surrey (with James Stirling)
  • 1958: Langham House Close, Ham Common, West London (with James Stirling)
  • 1962: Housing Estate in Preston, Lancashire (with James Stirling, demolished in 2007)
  • 1963: University of Leicester Engineering Laboratories (with James Stirling)
  • 1964: Chaim Schreiber's home in Hampstead
  • 1967: House in St. David's, Wales
  • 1967: Public housing in Greenwich , Creek Road
  • 1968: Public housing in Greenwich, Trafalgar Road
  • 1982: Schreiber House II in Chester
  • 2006: Instituto Clinica Humanitas in Rozzano, Milan
  • Housing in East Hanningfield
  • House for the brother-in-law on the Isle of Wight.
  • Bookshop of the Royal College of Art, Euston

literature

  • Ellis Woodman: Modernity and Reinvention: The Architecture of James Gowan. Artifice 2008
  • James Gowan: Style and Configuration . Academy, 1994

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ James Stirling, Cowes Residence, Isle of Wight, 1956. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  2. ^ Langham House Close, Richmond upon Thames. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  3. ^ Stirling's Preston Housing. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  4. ^ A b Robert Maxwell: New English Architecture . Hatje, 1972.
  5. ↑ James Gowan's House, Hampstead, London. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  6. ↑ Clerk House, Chester. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  7. ↑ In tribute to James Gowan, his lovely RCA bookshop (sadly replaced by some white painted plasterboard). Retrieved June 29, 2015.
personal data
SURNAME Gowan, James
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British architect
DATE OF BIRTH October 18, 1923
PLACE OF BIRTH Glasgow , Scotland , United Kingdom
DATE OF DEATH June 12, 2015