Basil Spence: Architect Architect

by Long, Philip; Thomas, Jane

• ISBN13: 9781906270001
• ISBN10: 1906270007
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-05-06
• Publisher: National Galleries Of Scotland

Summary

Basil Spence (1907-1976) was one of Britain's most celebrated architects. This book explores his extraordinary career from the 1930s to the 1970s, focusing particularly on the post-war period. Initially known for his work on national exhibitions such as the Festival of Britain, Spence became a household name in 1951 when he won the competition to design a new cathedral for Coventry. He worked on an unusually wide range of projects from housing in Glasgow's Gorbals to the University of Sussex and the British Embassy in Rome. Central to his work was a sensitivity towards materials and a commitment to working with artists. Spence's work is discussed here in a series of essays introduced by a personal memoir especially written by the architect's close family.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. 7
Introduction	p. 9
Living with Spence	p. 13
Working with Spence	p. 17
Evolution of a Practice	p. 23
First Buildings 1932-9: Arts and Crafts to Modernism	p. 35
Exhibition Design	p. 49
Shaping the Sacred: Spence as a Church-builder	p. 63
Building for Modern Ceremony	p. 77
From Genius Loci to the Gorbals: Spence as Architect of Mass Housing	p. 87
'Drawing a New Map of Learning': Spence and the University of Sussex	p. 97
The Architect and the Artists	p. 105
Chronology	p. 119
Sources	p. 123
Notes & References	p. 125
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