- Robert Matthew
Sir Robert Hogg Matthew (1906 - 1975) was a Scottish
architect and a leading proponent ofmodernism .Early life & studies
Robert Matthew was the son of
John Matthew (also an architect, and the partner of Sir Robert Lorimer). He was born and brought up inEdinburgh , and attended theEdinburgh College of Art .Career
Robert was apprenticed with his father's firm. Then in 1936, he joined the Department of Health (Scotland), where by 1945 he had risen to become their Chief Architect and Planning Officer. [ [http://www.edinburgharchitecture.co.uk/oldtown_georgesquare.htm Edinburgh Architecture website] ]
In 1946, Matthew moved to
London , becoming Chief Architect and Planning Officer to theLondon County Council , where he served from 1946 to 1953, working on the post-war reconstruction of Greater London and masterminding the Festival of Britain including such buildings as theRoyal Festival Hall , 1951. It was during these formative postwar years that the LCC’s housing and town planning policy established an international reputation, and many housing schemes (including the famous Roehampton housing estate) were created, as well as many schools. [ [http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/assets/press/releases/press_conference_pack.pdf Document for Press conference for the reopening of the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, Tuesday 29 May 2007] ] ]In 1956, with Stirrat Johnson Marshall, Robert Matthew established the firm of
RMJM (Robert Matthew, Johnson Marshall) in Edinburgh and London. Their first project was New Zealand House in the Haymarket, London (now considered one of Matthew's key buildings). In 1953 he returned to Edinburgh to become the first Professor of Architecture at theUniversity of Edinburgh , where he established the new Department of Architecture in collaboration with RMJM, in a manner that has been compared to that ofWalter Gropius at theBauhaus . He continued as Professor there until 1968. The Matthew Architecture Gallery is now housed in the Department in his honour.Matthew was closely involved with
Basil Spence andAlan Reiach in the University's development plan for George Square, which ultimately resulted in the demolition of three sides of the square, and their replacement with modernist buildings. Matthew/RMJM were directly responsible for the design of the Arts Faculty buildings, now called theDavid Hume tower,Adam Ferguson building and the William Robertson building.In Edinburgh he was also behind the
Royal Commonwealth Pool ,British Home Stores onPrinces Street ,Edinburgh Airport ,Lothian Regional Council Building andWester Hailes Education Centre.Elsewhere, Matthew/RMJM were involved in the design for the campuses of the
University of Stirling andUniversity of York , and withPakistan 's new capital buildings inIslamabad .Honours
During his studies, Robert Matthew won the Pugin Student award (1929) and was Soane medallist (1932). He became a Fellow of the RIBA in 1955 and served as its President from 1962 to 1964. He was awarded an OBE in 1952 and
knight ed in 1962. He was later also President of the Commonwealth Association of Architects [CAA] and the International Union of Architects [UIA] .Other arts
Apart from his work as an architect, Matthew produced drawings that were widely exhibited, and also paintings, although they are less well known. Both display the same aesthetic concerns as
Le Corbusier ,Pablo Picasso andHenry Moore all of whom he was able to count among his friends and colleagues.References
External links
* [http://www.caad.ed.ac.uk/publications/ear/clive.html Research paper: Edinburgh University and the Monumental Tradition]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.