Architect, England
C.R.Ashbee was one of the best-known figures of the British Arts and Crafts
movement. He was born on 17 May 1863 in Spring Grove, Isleworth, on the western
fringe of London. Ashbee attended Wellington College from 1877 to 1882 and graduated
from King’s College, Cambridge, in 1886. At King’s College, Ashbee became exposed to
the thoughts of Ruskin, which were to influence his lifelong commitment to the Arts and
Crafts. Among Ashbee’s noteworthy accomplishments were the founding of the Guild of
Handicraft; a series of houses on Cheyne Walk, London; the development of the Survey
of London; and his role as civic adviser to the city of Jerusalem during renovations to the
old city.
Following King’s College, Ashbee joined the architectural firm of Bodley and Garner,
the leading English church architects of their day. For the next two years, Ashbee lived at
Toynbee Hall, meeting William Morris for the first time on 4 January 1886. Ashbee drew
on his experiences at Toynbee Hall in founding his own School and Guild of Handicraft,
inaugurated on 23 January 1888. The School and Guild grew in part from Ashbee’s
reading class on Ruskin in the winter of 1896–97 and a later class on drawing and
decoration (both at Toynbee Hall). Ashbee rented for two years the top floor of a
warehouse on Commercial Street, which served as a combined workshop and
schoolroom. The primary goal of the School and Guild, observed Ashbee, was “the
application of Art to Industry” (Burrough, 1969, p. 85). The School lasted only until
1895, but the Guild (which produced furniture, silver and metalwork, jewelry, and later,
books) was Ashbee’s constant focus until it began to decline in 1905. Shortly after its
inauguration, the Guild’s work was favorably received at the first exhibition of the Fine
Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society in September 1888. After William Morris’s death in
1896, the Guild purchased and operated his Kelmscott Press. For most of his career,
Ashbee maintained an architectural office as well as the Guild of Handicraft. His first
architectural office opened in September 1890 at 15 Lincoln’s End Fields, London. Soon
the volume of work required a larger space, and the firm moved to Essex House on Mile
End Road in 1891.
A major undertaking of Ashbee’s career was the large-scale movement of the Guild of
Handicraft, its workers, and their families to Chipping Campden in the Gloucestershire
countryside in 1902. Inspired by Ruskin’s 1882 explanation of his St. George’s Guild,
focusing on the value of rural life, work, and community, Ashbee and his Guild
renovated buildings in the small rural town for their purposes. Chief among the renovated
buildings was the old Silk Mill (1902, woodshed and engine house; 1909, pottery kilns),
Encyclopedia of 20th-century architecture 144
which became the center of the Chipping Campden site. By 1905, however, the Guild
was in decline. Its distance from London made marketing its wares more difficult, and
competitors, such as Liberty, began to produce comparatively inexpensive copies of its
silver work. The dismal economic times and remote location of the Guild made letting
workers go an impractical solution to these problems. Instead, the Guild began to
liquidate its assets in 1907. Despite the Guild’s eventual demise, it served as a model for
other socially conscious projects, such as Jane Addams’s Hull House in Chicago.
In addition to his work with the Guild, Ashbee designed, built, and
renovated many houses, including several on Cheyne Walk, London,
where his work is perhaps best known. He combined the ambiance of old
London, brickwork, and an asymmetrical arrangement of elements to
produce simple and functional houses appropriate for their riverside
setting.In 1893 Ashbee began work on the first house—The Ancient
Magpie and Stump at 37 Cheyne Walk—which became his mother’s
house and was Ashbee’s first executed design. He then bought land that he was interested in developing, designed houses for the land, and showed the homes to
friends, colleagues, and real estate agents to attract a clientele. Ashbee created drawings
for 21 sites, often designing multiple schemes simultaneously. Other homes in the area
with which Ashbee was involved as architect or renovator were 24 Cheyne Row (1895)
and the following structures on Cheyne Walk: 72–73 (1896–97), 118–119 (1897–98), 74
(1897–98), 38–39 (1898–99), and 75 (1901–02). Of these houses, only 38–39 survives.
Ashbee also made significant contributions to architecture and the study of its history
through two additional projects. In 1894 he began work on the Survey of London, one of
his most enduring legacies to English architectural history. The aim of this ambitious
project was to record all historic buildings in London. Today, the Survey of London is a
continuing and scholarly record. Following the Guild’s demise, Ashbee was appointed
civic adviser to the city of Jerusalem to survey the old city and to begin the restoration
process. Ashbee worked on the restoration of Jerusalem between 1919 and 1922, when he
resigned and retired to Godden Green, Kent.
In addition to his architectural and crafts pursuits, Ashbee traveled and lectured
extensively in the United States in 1896 and 1900–01 (the East and Midwest) and in
1908–09 (California), visiting some 14 states on his coast-to-coast tour. Some time in late
November or early December 1900, Ashbee met Frank Lloyd Wright, with whom he was
to keep up a lifelong correspondence and friendship. During his 1909 visit to California,
Ashbee met Charles Sumner Greene and was impressed by the architectural and furniture
work of the firm, which was just completing work on the Blacker and Gamble Houses in
Pasadena, California.
Ashbee died on 23 May 1942. His multidimensional life had been dedicated to his
belief that “the things which made for good craftsmanship were in the end neither
technical nor aesthetic, but moral and social” (Crawford, 1985.
Ove Arup
Architectural engineer, England
Ove Arup was arguably one of the greatest engineers of the 20th century. Born in
1895 in Newcastle upon Tyne in England to Scandinavian parents, he first studied
philosophy and graduated from the University of Copenhagen in 1916. Six years later, he
received a second degree in engineering. This wide-ranging interest and curiosity was to
influence both his own work and that of others with whom he consulted. Throughout his
life—his practice Ove Arup and Partners grew to include more than 50 offices in 40
countries with a staff of almost 4,000—he retained a speculative yet rigorously
questioning approach to design.
Having qualified as a civil engineer and with a special interest in reinforced concrete,
Arup joined the Danish company Christiani and Nielsen in 1922, a company that
designed and built civil engineering structures. He worked in Hamburg before moving to
their London office, where he became chief designer in 1925.
With this experience not only in the design but also in the construction of structures,
Arup became increasingly interested in developing a holistic approach to design. His
particular skill in the use of a new material, reinforced concrete, created opportunities for
him to work with other designers who were committed to the ideals of the Modern
movement. Collaborating with Tecton (a group of young architects in London) and with
Berthold Lubetkin in particular, Arup was to play an influential role in the design of a
several iconic buildings of the period. The first was the Gorilla House (1933) at the
London Zoo, followed by the Penguin Pool (1934). Both explored the fluid forms made
possible by using reinforced concrete. He went on to work with Lubetkin on the design of
Highpoint One. This residential building in London was also built in reinforced concrete
but explored the potential of the material to create an eight-story tower.
The construction of Highpoint coincided with Arup’s move in 1934 to join J.L.Kier
and Company, the contractors who built the scheme. This project was especially
significant because it allowed Arup and Lubetkin to work on a design that required the
complete integration of architecture, structure, and building method. As a result, Arup
Encyclopedia of 20th-century architecture 140
became increasingly enthusiastic about collaboration between the professions in building
design, an enthusiasm that motivated his own practice.
Established in 1946, the practice was formerly called Ove Arup and
Partners, Consulting Engineers, in 1949, flourishing in the postwar period with the reconstruction of cities and the design of numerous new
buildings and improved infrastructure. Arup was sought out by an increasing number of
architects, especially those who were interested in innovative forms of engineering,
integrative design, and the use of new materials. His work at this time included the
Brynmawr Rubber Factory (1952, Gwent) in Wales, designed with Architects Co-
Partnership; Michael Scott’s Bus Station and Offices (1952) in Dublin; and the
Hunstanton School (1954, London), designed by Alison and Peter Smithson. After the
young Danish architect Jørn Utzon won the competition to design the Sydney Opera
House in Australia in 1957, he asked Arup to collaborate on the design. Arup played a
central role in the translation of the architect’s early sketches into an outstanding building
Entries A–F 141
defined by the famous series of elegant vaulted roofs. After the building opened to
acclaim in 1973, the material research and design studies established Arup’s reputation as
an engineer of great creativity and international standing.
Arup designed a number of significant civil engineering projects, including the
Kingsgate Footbridge (1963) over the River Wear in Durham, England. He brought
together structural and civil engineers, environmental engineers, building economists, and
architects in a parallel partnership, Arup Associates, to design buildings and engineering
structures. Ove Arup and Partners grew as a multidisciplinary consultancy and became
one of the largest engineering design practices in the world. This collaborative,
interprofessional way of working enhanced talent and made the practice a center for
design innovation and research. After the Sydney Opera House, Arup and his colleagues
worked with the German engineer Frei Otto on the development of lightweight structures,
studies that were to result in projects such as the Garden Pavilion (1975) in Mannheim.
Collaboration with Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano on their competition entry for the
Centre Pompidou in Paris was awarded first prize in 1971. In 1979 a further collaboration
with Richard Rogers and another with Norman Foster resulted in successful designs for
limited competitions for new headquarters buildings for Lloyds of London (1979–85) and
the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank (completed in 1986) in Hong Kong. Arup also
continued to work with Renzo Piano on numerous projects, including the Menil Gallery
(1984) and Kansai International Airport (1988–94).
Arup advocated a way of working that not only brought together many of the
disciplines to generate ideas at the beginning of the design process but that also created
multidisciplinary teams that directed projects through to completion. Many other
significant engineers emerged from the practice, including Jack Zunz, Ted Happold, Tom
Barker, Peter Rice, Jane Wernick, Chris Wise, and Cecil Balmond.
Arup received the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture in 1966 and in 1971 was
knighted by the queen of England for his services to architecture and engineering. His
inspiration created a practice that has been central to the development of outstanding
architecture and structural design worldwide. He remained actively involved in practice
until his death in 1988.
Ove Arup was arguably one of the greatest engineers of the 20th century. Born in
1895 in Newcastle upon Tyne in England to Scandinavian parents, he first studied
philosophy and graduated from the University of Copenhagen in 1916. Six years later, he
received a second degree in engineering. This wide-ranging interest and curiosity was to
influence both his own work and that of others with whom he consulted. Throughout his
life—his practice Ove Arup and Partners grew to include more than 50 offices in 40
countries with a staff of almost 4,000—he retained a speculative yet rigorously
questioning approach to design.
Having qualified as a civil engineer and with a special interest in reinforced concrete,
Arup joined the Danish company Christiani and Nielsen in 1922, a company that
designed and built civil engineering structures. He worked in Hamburg before moving to
their London office, where he became chief designer in 1925.
With this experience not only in the design but also in the construction of structures,
Arup became increasingly interested in developing a holistic approach to design. His
particular skill in the use of a new material, reinforced concrete, created opportunities for
him to work with other designers who were committed to the ideals of the Modern
movement. Collaborating with Tecton (a group of young architects in London) and with
Berthold Lubetkin in particular, Arup was to play an influential role in the design of a
several iconic buildings of the period. The first was the Gorilla House (1933) at the
London Zoo, followed by the Penguin Pool (1934). Both explored the fluid forms made
possible by using reinforced concrete. He went on to work with Lubetkin on the design of
Highpoint One. This residential building in London was also built in reinforced concrete
but explored the potential of the material to create an eight-story tower.
The construction of Highpoint coincided with Arup’s move in 1934 to join J.L.Kier
and Company, the contractors who built the scheme. This project was especially
significant because it allowed Arup and Lubetkin to work on a design that required the
complete integration of architecture, structure, and building method. As a result, Arup
Encyclopedia of 20th-century architecture 140
became increasingly enthusiastic about collaboration between the professions in building
design, an enthusiasm that motivated his own practice.
Established in 1946, the practice was formerly called Ove Arup and
Partners, Consulting Engineers, in 1949, flourishing in the postwar period with the reconstruction of cities and the design of numerous new
buildings and improved infrastructure. Arup was sought out by an increasing number of
architects, especially those who were interested in innovative forms of engineering,
integrative design, and the use of new materials. His work at this time included the
Brynmawr Rubber Factory (1952, Gwent) in Wales, designed with Architects Co-
Partnership; Michael Scott’s Bus Station and Offices (1952) in Dublin; and the
Hunstanton School (1954, London), designed by Alison and Peter Smithson. After the
young Danish architect Jørn Utzon won the competition to design the Sydney Opera
House in Australia in 1957, he asked Arup to collaborate on the design. Arup played a
central role in the translation of the architect’s early sketches into an outstanding building
Entries A–F 141
defined by the famous series of elegant vaulted roofs. After the building opened to
acclaim in 1973, the material research and design studies established Arup’s reputation as
an engineer of great creativity and international standing.
Arup designed a number of significant civil engineering projects, including the
Kingsgate Footbridge (1963) over the River Wear in Durham, England. He brought
together structural and civil engineers, environmental engineers, building economists, and
architects in a parallel partnership, Arup Associates, to design buildings and engineering
structures. Ove Arup and Partners grew as a multidisciplinary consultancy and became
one of the largest engineering design practices in the world. This collaborative,
interprofessional way of working enhanced talent and made the practice a center for
design innovation and research. After the Sydney Opera House, Arup and his colleagues
worked with the German engineer Frei Otto on the development of lightweight structures,
studies that were to result in projects such as the Garden Pavilion (1975) in Mannheim.
Collaboration with Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano on their competition entry for the
Centre Pompidou in Paris was awarded first prize in 1971. In 1979 a further collaboration
with Richard Rogers and another with Norman Foster resulted in successful designs for
limited competitions for new headquarters buildings for Lloyds of London (1979–85) and
the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank (completed in 1986) in Hong Kong. Arup also
continued to work with Renzo Piano on numerous projects, including the Menil Gallery
(1984) and Kansai International Airport (1988–94).
Arup advocated a way of working that not only brought together many of the
disciplines to generate ideas at the beginning of the design process but that also created
multidisciplinary teams that directed projects through to completion. Many other
significant engineers emerged from the practice, including Jack Zunz, Ted Happold, Tom
Barker, Peter Rice, Jane Wernick, Chris Wise, and Cecil Balmond.
Arup received the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture in 1966 and in 1971 was
knighted by the queen of England for his services to architecture and engineering. His
inspiration created a practice that has been central to the development of outstanding
architecture and structural design worldwide. He remained actively involved in practice
until his death in 1988.
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