Sir Basil Spence

The architect Basil Spence was born in Bombay, India in 1907, of British parents. His architectural training was at the Heriot-Watt University Architectural School in Edinburgh, and the Bartlett School of Architecture in London. He served in the British Army from 1939-1945 as a Major.

He began work as an assistant in the office of Sir Edwin Lutyens, London, and later in the office of Rowland Anderson. His association with Lutyens influenced the whole of his career, for Basil Spence’s work carried the Lutyens stamp of monumentality, with a deep appreciation of building form and composition. In a truly individual way, Spence developed a form of modern architecture that carried on the Lutyens tradition in contemporary terms, using both modern and traditional forms and materials. After a number of partnerships, he became the principal in Sir Basil Spence and Partners, London. In later years he served as a planning consultant and became a professor, teaching at a number of universities in England. From 1958-1960 he served as the President of the RIBA.

In 1950 he subsequently won the architectural competition for the rebuilding of the Coventry Anglican Cathedral, destroyed during the Second World War. This event was to have a profound effect on his life’s work. Although a controversial piece of architecture, it is undoubtedly his most famous work. In 1974, he was the designer and consultant for the Beehive in Wellington. Basil Spence received many honours at home and overseas, including a knighthood and the Order of Merit.

 

Sources:
WCC Heritage Building Inventory 2001