Basil Robert Ward (22 July 1902 – 1976) was an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

born in

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

who, with his partners

Amyas Connell Amyas Douglas Connell (23 June 1901 – 19 April 1980) was a highly influential New Zealand architect of the mid-twentieth century. He achieved early and conspicuous success as a student, winning the British Prix de Rome in Architecture in 192 ...

and

Colin Lucas Sir Colin Renshaw Lucas, (born 25 August 1940) is a British historian and university administrator. From 1997 to 2004, he was the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University. In May 2006, he was appointed Chair of the Board of the British Library for ...

, pioneered

modernist architecture Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that form ...

in England.

Life

Basil Ward was articled to James Hay in

Napier, New Zealand Napier ( ; mi, Ahuriri) is a city on the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Hawke's Bay Region, Hawke's Bay region. It is a beachside city with a Napier Port, seaport, known for its sunny climate, esplanade lin ...

from 1918 to 1923. In 1924, with

, he worked his passage to England to further his architectural studies. In 1926–27 he was on a scholarship in Rome. In 1928 he married Beatrix Connell (Amyas Connell's sister; Connell married Maud Hargreaves, Ward's sister) and from then until 1930 worked in

Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

in the Foster & Ward partnership. At the end of 1930 he returned to England and joined the Connell partnership just as High and Over was nearing completion. After dissolution of the Connell, Ward and Lucas partnership in 1939 following the outbreak of war, Ward served in the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, then became a partner in Ramsey, Murray, White and Ward. From 1953 to 1956 he was Lethaby professor of architecture at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

in London, later becoming head of the school of architecture at Manchester College of Art and Design (which subsequently amalgamated with the College of Commerce and John Dalton College of Technology to become

Manchester Polytechnic Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has over 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Educat ...

) and lecturing at

Lancaster University Lancaster University (legally The University of Lancaster) is a public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several pla ...

Connell, Ward and Lucas

Connell and Ward formed the Connell, Ward and Lucas architectural practice in London with the English architect

in May 1934. The partners worked separately and carried out a small but highly significant body of work including modernist private houses (notably 66 Frognal), flats and a film studio. Ward's particular contributions were The Concrete House,

Westbury-on-Trym Westbury on Trym is a suburb and council ward in the north of the City of Bristol, near the suburbs of Stoke Bishop, Westbury Park, Henleaze, Southmead and Henbury, in the southwest of England. With a village atmosphere, the place is partly ...

(with Connell 1934–35) and Usherwood,

Sutton Abinger Abinger is a large, well-wooded and mostly rural civil parish that lies between the settlements of Dorking, Shere and Ewhurst in the district of Mole Valley, Surrey, England. It adjoins Wotton Common on the same side of Leith Hill and inclu ...

, Surrey (1934–35).

Sources

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External links

Dennis Sharp archive
at the

Paul Mellon Centre The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art is a scholarly centre in London devoted to supporting original research into the history of British Art. It was founded in 1970 and endowed by a gift from Paul Mellon. Since 1996, it has been si ...

; research papers on the works of Connell, Ward & Lucas {{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Basil 1902 births 1976 deaths New Zealand expatriates in England Modernist architects 20th-century New Zealand architects