James Gowan | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1923-10-18)18 October 1923 Pollokshields, Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died | 15 June 2015(2015-06-15) (aged 91) London, England |
| Alma mater | Glasgow School of Art,Kingston School of Architecture |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Spouse | |
| Practice | Associated architectural firm[s] |
| Buildings | Langham House Close |
| Projects | Skylon |
| Design | Leicester Engineering Building, Schrieber house, Hampstead |
James Gowan (18 October 1923 – 12 June 2015) was a Scottish-born architect known for his post-modernist designs of the "engineering style" which influenced a generation of British architects.[1][2][3]
Gowan was born inPollokshields, Glasgow in 1923. He was brought up by his grandparents inPartick after his parents' separation, but went to live with his mother aged 12 and attendedHyndland Secondary School.[1] He studied architecture at theGlasgow School of Art before joining theRoyal Air Force during theSecond World War. He was stationed in Palestine as a radar operator. After the war, he moved to London and completed his studies atKingston School of Architecture. He married Margaret Barry in October 1944, having two daughters.[2]
After graduating Gowan was employed byPhilip Powell who had been his tutor at Kingston. His projects included working on theSkylon design for the 1951Festival of Britain, thenStevenage New Town. Then later while working atLyons Israel Ellis he metJames Stirling with whom he formed a practice in 1956.[2]
Gowan and Stirling's initial project was to designLangham House Close onHam Common, West London, which according to the Guardian "quickly established the pair as one of the most radical practices of their generation".[3]
Gowan said of his work that "We were reacting against the older generation, setting up a critique of what might be done – a reaction against boredom, plainness and the mechanical nature of contemporary rationalism, of social rationalism and dainty well-produced things."[3]
Their most well-known work was on theLe Corbusier-influencedUniversity of Leicester Engineering Building. This building was noted for its technological and geometric character, with glazed towers clad in red tiles evocative of the localVictorian era industrial aesthetic and a crystalline workshop roof consisting of 2,500 diamond-shaped glass panels.[2] The pair split acrimoniously due to fundamental differences of opinion as to the correct approach for their next commission which was theUniversity of CambridgeHistory Faculty Library, with Gowan believing strongly that reusing aspects of their earlier design did not fit the purposes of the Library building.[2]
Gowan then created designs for projects such asSchreiber House inWest Hampstead, built in 1964 for furniture designerChaim Schreiber, for which Gowan designed bespoke fitted-furniture that Schreiber subsequently made.[4] Almost two decades later, in 1982, Gowan designed a second house for Schreiber.[5]
Gowan also worked on large housing schemes inGreenwich andEast Hanningfield. Later in the 1990s, he began to work on a series of Italian hospitals and care homes, notably theIstituto Clinico Humanitas near Milan.,[2] Clinica Humanitas Gavazzeni in Bergamo, Techint offices in Milan, all in association with the Italian Architect Renato Restelli.
Gowan did not receive the personal recognition to match the boldness of his designs and his contribution to the work with Stirling was unfairly understated. His career after the split did not reach the heights of his partner's, but he was recognised as a very influential teacher at theArchitectural Association School of Architecture,Heriot-Watt University, and theRoyal College of Art. His mentoring can be seen to have borne fruit in the work ofRichard Rogers,Peter Cook,Quinlan Terry amongst others.[3] He was appointed Bannister Fletcher Professor atUniversity College London in 1975 and also taught in the US as visiting professor.[1]
National Life Stories conducted an oral history interview (C467/101) with James Gowan in 2012-13 for its Architects Lives' collection held by the British Library.[6]
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