Howard Robertson (architect)
Encyclopedia
Sir
Howard Morley Robertson MC
RA
(16 August 1888 – 5 May 1963) was an American-born
British
architect, President of the Royal Institute of British Architects
from 1952 to 1954 and a Royal Academician.
In 1949 he was the winner of the Royal Gold Medal
for architecture.
, United States
, Robertson was the younger son of Casper Ludovic van Uytrecht Robertson, originally from Liverpool, by his marriage to Ellen Duncan, of Ohio. He spent his early childhood in the United States and was sent to England in the 1890s to be educated at Eastfield House, Ditchling
, Sussex
, and at Malvern College
. Robertson then trained at the Architectural Association School of Architecture
in London
, from which he graduated in 1907, and also in France
. In 1913 he received a diploma in architecture from the École des Beaux-Arts
in Paris
. Between 1913 and 1914 he gained experience in the offices of architects in London, Boston
, and New York
, and worked on a project at Le Touquet in northern France.
during the First World War
and served in France from 1915 to 1919, rising to the rank of Colonel
. He was awarded the British Military Cross
, the French Légion d'honneur and Black Star, and the American Certificate of Merit Medal
.
, London, which continued until 1931. In 1920 he began to teach at the AA School of Architecture in London, where he became a friend of the School's secretary, F. R. Yerbury. They later travelled together in Europe. Robertson was appointed as Principal of the School in 1926 and from 1929 to 1935 was its Director of Education. He became a member of the Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne
, but left it when he began to find it too narrowly focussed.
With Le Corbusier
, Oscar Niemeyer
, Sven Markelius
, and others, Robertson was a member of the Board of Design Consultants which assisted Wallace Harrison
with the design of the United Nations Headquarters
(1947-1952) in New York
, using reinforced concrete
, glass curtain wall
s, and aluminium
.
Robertson was elected a Fellow
of the Royal Institute of British Architects
in 1925 and an Associate of the Royal Academy
on 22 April 1949 and a Royal Academician on 24 April 1958. He was President of the Royal Institute of British Architects
from 1952 to 1954. In that role, his portrait
was painted by Rodrigo Moynihan
.
In 1927 Robertson married Doris Adeney Lewis, who was also an architect and had been one of his architectural students, the daughter of J. R. Lewis of Melbourne
, Australia
. They had no children. Robertson was knighted in 1954 and died on 5 May 1963, while his widow survived him until 1981.
Robertson designed the British Pavilion for the 1925 International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts in Paris, the event which created the term Art Deco
. His Permanent Exhibition Hall for the Royal Horticultural Society
was awarded the RIBA
Bronze Medal in 1928. His Schloss Freudenberg, at Rotkreuz in Switzerland
, is a country house built for Erwin Hürlimann, chairman of Swiss Reinsurance
, between 1929 and 1933.
His other notable buildings include the Metropolitan Water Board Laboratories, London (1938), in which he paid tribute to the work of Erich Mendelsohn
, the Bank of England
Printing Works at Loughton
in Essex
(1956), and the Faculty of Letters building at the University of Reading
(1956). His twenty-six storey Shell Centre
(also called the Upstream Building, 1961), in York Road, Waterloo, London
, was so high that it caused planning arguments, while its Art Deco
style was unwelcome to other architects, who considered it out of keeping with the Modernism
of other large new buildings in the neighbourhood.
'Sentosa', Esher
, another domestic building designed by Robertson, built for the Erhardt family in 1934, was made a listed building in 1985.
Sir
Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
Howard Morley Robertson MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
RA
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
(16 August 1888 – 5 May 1963) was an American-born
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
architect, President of the Royal Institute of British Architects
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
from 1952 to 1954 and a Royal Academician.
In 1949 he was the winner of the Royal Gold Medal
Royal Gold Medal
The Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture....
for architecture.
Early life
Born on 16 August 1888 in Salt Lake City, UtahUtah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Robertson was the younger son of Casper Ludovic van Uytrecht Robertson, originally from Liverpool, by his marriage to Ellen Duncan, of Ohio. He spent his early childhood in the United States and was sent to England in the 1890s to be educated at Eastfield House, Ditchling
Ditchling
Ditchling is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The village is contained within the boundaries of the South Downs National Park; the order confirming the establishment of the park was signed in Ditchling....
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, and at Malvern College
Malvern College
Malvern College is a coeducational independent school located on a 250 acre campus near the town centre of Malvern, Worcestershire in England. Founded on 25 January 1865, until 1992, the College was a secondary school for boys aged 13 to 18...
. Robertson then trained at the Architectural Association School of Architecture
Architectural Association School of Architecture
The Architectural Association School of Architecture, more usually known as the AA, is an architectural school in London, United Kingdom...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, from which he graduated in 1907, and also in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. In 1913 he received a diploma in architecture from the École des Beaux-Arts
École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts
The École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-arts is the distinguished National School of Fine Arts in Paris, France.The École des Beaux-arts is made up of a vast complex of buildings located at 14 rue Bonaparte, between the quai Malaquais and the rue Bonaparte, in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Près,...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Between 1913 and 1914 he gained experience in the offices of architects in London, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, and New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and worked on a project at Le Touquet in northern France.
Military career
Robertson joined the British ArmyBritish Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
during the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and served in France from 1915 to 1919, rising to the rank of Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
. He was awarded the British Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
, the French Légion d'honneur and Black Star, and the American Certificate of Merit Medal
Certificate of Merit Medal
The Certificate of Merit Medal was a military decoration of the United States Army that was issued between the years of 1905 and 1918. The Certificate of Merit Medal was a military decoration which replaced the much older "Certificate of Merit" which had first been issued by the U.S...
.
Career as architect
In 1919, with John Murray Easton (1889–1975), he formed the partnership of Easton & Robertson at 168 Regent StreetRegent Street
Regent Street is one of the major shopping streets in London's West End, well known to tourists and Londoners alike, and famous for its Christmas illuminations...
, London, which continued until 1931. In 1920 he began to teach at the AA School of Architecture in London, where he became a friend of the School's secretary, F. R. Yerbury. They later travelled together in Europe. Robertson was appointed as Principal of the School in 1926 and from 1929 to 1935 was its Director of Education. He became a member of the Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne
Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne
The Congrès internationaux d'architecture moderne – CIAM was an organization founded in 1928 and disbanded in 1959, responsible for a series of events and congresses arranged around the world by the most prominent architects of the time, with the objective of spreading the principles of the Modern...
, but left it when he began to find it too narrowly focussed.
With Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
, Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho is a Brazilian architect specializing in international modern architecture...
, Sven Markelius
Sven Markelius
Sven Gottfrid Markelius was one of the most important modernist Swedish architects. Markelius played an important role in the post-war urban planning of Stockholm, for example in the creation of the model suburb of Vällingby .Born in Stockholm in October 1889, he attended the Royal Institute of...
, and others, Robertson was a member of the Board of Design Consultants which assisted Wallace Harrison
Wallace Harrison
Wallace Kirkman Harrison , was an American architect.-Career:Harrison started his professional career with the firm of Corbett, Harrison & MacMurray, participating in the construction of Rockefeller Center...
with the design of the United Nations Headquarters
United Nations headquarters
The headquarters of the United Nations is a complex in New York City. The complex has served as the official headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1952. It is located in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan, on spacious grounds overlooking the East River...
(1947-1952) in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, using reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
, glass curtain wall
Curtain wall
A curtain wall is an outer covering of a building in which the outer walls are non-structural, but merely keep out the weather. As the curtain wall is non-structural it can be made of a lightweight material reducing construction costs. When glass is used as the curtain wall, a great advantage is...
s, and aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
.
Robertson was elected a Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of the Royal Institute of British Architects
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
in 1925 and an Associate of the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
on 22 April 1949 and a Royal Academician on 24 April 1958. He was President of the Royal Institute of British Architects
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
from 1952 to 1954. In that role, his portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
was painted by Rodrigo Moynihan
Rodrigo Moynihan
Rodrigo Moynihan was an English painter.-Biography:Moynihan was born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, in 1910. His Anglo-Spanish family moved to London in 1918 and then to Wisconsin...
.
In 1927 Robertson married Doris Adeney Lewis, who was also an architect and had been one of his architectural students, the daughter of J. R. Lewis of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. They had no children. Robertson was knighted in 1954 and died on 5 May 1963, while his widow survived him until 1981.
Work
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
. His Permanent Exhibition Hall for the Royal Horticultural Society
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert...
was awarded the RIBA
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
Bronze Medal in 1928. His Schloss Freudenberg, at Rotkreuz in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, is a country house built for Erwin Hürlimann, chairman of Swiss Reinsurance
Swiss Re
Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd , generally known as Swiss Re, is a Swiss reinsurance company. It is the world’s second-largest reinsurer, after having acquired GE Insurance Solutions. The company has its headquarters in Zurich...
, between 1929 and 1933.
His other notable buildings include the Metropolitan Water Board Laboratories, London (1938), in which he paid tribute to the work of Erich Mendelsohn
Erich Mendelsohn
Erich Mendelsohn was a Jewish German architect, known for his expressionist architecture in the 1920s, as well as for developing a dynamic functionalism in his projects for department stores and cinemas.-Early life:...
, the Bank of England
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
Printing Works at Loughton
Loughton
Loughton is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located between 11 and 13 miles north east of Charing Cross in London, south of the M25 and west of the M11 motorway and has boundaries with Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill...
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
(1956), and the Faculty of Letters building at the University of Reading
University of Reading
The University of Reading is a university in the English town of Reading, Berkshire. The University was established in 1892 as University College, Reading and received its Royal Charter in 1926. It is based on several campuses in, and around, the town of Reading.The University has a long tradition...
(1956). His twenty-six storey Shell Centre
Shell Centre
Shell Centre, in London, United Kingdom is one of the two "central offices" of oil major Shell .Shell Centre is located on the Belvedere Road in the London Borough of Lambeth...
(also called the Upstream Building, 1961), in York Road, Waterloo, London
Waterloo, London
Waterloo is a district of London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated east of Charing Cross. The area is part of a business improvement district known as Waterloo Quarter, which includes The Cut and the Old Vic and Young Vic theatres, including some sections in the...
, was so high that it caused planning arguments, while its Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
style was unwelcome to other architects, who considered it out of keeping with the Modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
of other large new buildings in the neighbourhood.
'Sentosa', Esher
Esher
Esher is a town in the Surrey borough of Elmbridge in South East England near the River Mole. It is a very prosperous part of the Greater London Urban Area, largely suburban in character, and is situated 14.1 miles south west of Charing Cross....
, another domestic building designed by Robertson, built for the Erhardt family in 1934, was made a listed building in 1985.
Publications
- Howard Robertson, Modern Dutch Architecture (1922)
- Howard Robertson, Architecture Explained, with an introductory note by J. C. Squire (London: E. Benn Ltd, 1926; New York: George H. Doran Co.)
- Howard Robertson, The Principles of Architectural Composition (London: The Architectural Press, 1924; with Foreword by Robert AtkinsonRobert Atkinson (architect)Robert Atkinson, OBE was an English architect primarily working in the Art Deco style.Atkinson was born in Wigton, Cumberland and studied at University College, Nottingham before studying abroad in Paris, Italy and America. He was a talented draughtsman and worked for C.E. Mallows from 1905...
)- Los Principios de la Composición Arquitectónica (SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
translation)
- Los Principios de la Composición Arquitectónica (Spanish
- Howard Robertson, Some Recent French Developments in Domestic Architecture (1927)
- Howard Robertson, Francis Rowland Yerbury, Examples of Modern French Architecture (London: Ernest Benn, 1928)
- Howard Robertson, The Four Inns of Court (Ludowici-Celadon Co., 1930)
- As "H. Rob.", articles on architectural subjects contributed to Encyclopædia BritannicaEncyclopædia BritannicaThe Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
, revised 14th edition (1933–1973) - Howard Robertson, Modern Architectural Design (London: The Architectural Press, 1932; new edition 1952)
- Howard Robertson, Französiche Baukunst der Gegenwart (Berlin: E. Wasmuth, 1933)
- Howard Robertson, Reconstruction and the Home (1947)
- Howard Robertson, Architecture Arising (London: Faber and Faber, 1948)
- Howard Robertson & Francis Rowland Yerbury, Travels in Modern Architecture 1925-1930 (London: The Architectural Association, 1989) (posthumously)
External links
- RAA/LIB/2/137 Sir Howard Robertson, member's file 1949 at racollection.org.uk