David Wyn Roberts (1911 in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
– 8 November 1982) was a British architect and educator, who designed more university buildings for
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...
than any other architect. With a
modernist
Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
practice based in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
, he also designed many city
housing projects, schools, and
private residence
A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...
s.
Early life
Roberts' father, John Roberts, was a preacher and historian of the
Presbyterian Church of Wales
The Presbyterian Church of Wales ( cy, Eglwys Bresbyteraidd Cymru), also known as Calvinistic Methodist Church (), is a denomination of Protestant Christianity in Wales.
History
The church was born out of the Welsh Methodist revival and the ...
. David Roberts was educated at the
Cardiff High School
Cardiff High School ( cy, Ysgol Uwchradd Caerdydd) is a comprehensive school in the Cyncoed area of Cardiff, Wales. Stephen Jones has been Headteacher since 2011. It has been rated as Excellent for current performance and Excellent for prospect ...
and
Welsh School of Architecture
The Welsh School of Architecture (WSA) ( cy, Ysgol Bensaernïaeth Cymru) is an academic school of Cardiff University. It is generally regarded as a world leading school of architecture, and one of the top architecture schools in Britain. In 201 ...
, and was awarded the 1936 RIBA Soane Medal.
David Roberts was commissioned as an officer in the
Royal Engineer
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
s in August 1942
and he served in the
Italian campaign.
Roberts married architect Margaret MacDonald Baird, and they settled in Cambridge where they built their house at 11
Wilberforce Road
Wilberforce Road is a street in the western outskirts of Cambridge, England, which runs north–south for 550 metres, connecting Madingley Road with Adams Road, which runs eastwards to Grange Road. The road was built in 1933, although several ...
. Their only son, Nicholas Wyn Roberts, born in 1948, became an architect and professor of architecture at Woodbury University in Los Angeles.
Career
Roberts began teaching at the
Department of Architecture, University of Cambridge
The Department of Architecture is part of the Faculty of Architecture and History of Art in the University of Cambridge. Both Departments are housed in Scroope Terrace on Trumpington Street, Cambridge.
The department is currently led by James ...
in 1946, and became a fellow of
Magdalene College, Cambridge in 1958. He influenced many students and employees who became scholars and architects, including
Anthony Vidler,
Lionel March
Lionel John March (26 January 1934 20 February 2018) was a British mathematician, architect and digital artist, perhaps best known for his early pioneering of computer-aided architecture and art.
Early life and education
March was born in Ho ...
,
Nicholas Ray
Nicholas Ray (born Raymond Nicholas Kienzle Jr., August 7, 1911 – June 16, 1979) was an American film director, screenwriter, and actor best known for the 1955 film '' Rebel Without a Cause.'' He is appreciated for many narrative features p ...
,
Cedric Price
Cedric Price FRIBA (11 September 1934 – 10 August 2003) was an English architect and influential teacher and writer on architecture.
The son of an architect (A.G. Price, who worked with Harry Weedon), Price was born in Stone, Staffordshire ...
, and
John G. Ellis. Roberts was a modernist architect in postwar Cambridge with his University Health Centre built in 1951. Roberts's earliest college work was at Magdalene where, in Benson and Mallory Courts, he created a small townscape; he refurbished existing houses, and built new infill, to create a street effect, rather than imposing the conventional form of a college courtyard.
With his headquarters overlooking the Cam, Roberts kept his office small, six to eight people. Many young architects passed through the practice. Rory Spence wrote in the catalogue, ''David Roberts Architect'', "He seemed to approach each job with fresh enthusiasm and great integrity. It is no wonder that he had such admiration for
Philip Webb
Philip Speakman Webb (12 January 1831 – 17 April 1915) was a British architect and designer sometimes called the Father of Arts and Crafts Architecture. His use of vernacular architecture demonstrated his commitment to "the art of commo ...
and the meticulous individual care which he lavished on each design. Like Webb, David never worked to a formula, as so many of even the best architects do, and possibly for this reason his buildings are less well-known than they should be. There is always a strong idea at the heart of each building, related to its context, which is unique to that building".
A former student, Geoffrey Clarke, became a partner in 1964.
Roberts is described as the first architect to specialise in modern educational buildings. He gave a stepped profile to his designs for student accommodation (for example at
Clare College
Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...
in 1956 and
Jesus College in 1963) to give the rooms a dual aspect. His student accommodation buildings at Jesus College, Cambridge and
St Hugh's College, Oxford, have already been given a heritage listing of Grade II.
Roberts and his wife are buried together in the
Ascension Parish Burial Ground in Cambridge.
Notable works
*University Health Centre, Gresham Road, Cambridge, 1949
*St Mary's Convent School, Bateman Road, Cambridge, 1955–1971
*River Building, Magdalene College, Cambridge, 1956
*Clare Hostel, Chesterton Lane, Cambridge, 1957
*Boathouse for
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, 1957
*The Snowcat, Arbury Road, Cambridge, 1959
*Sacher Building,
New College, Oxford, 1961
*
St Bede's School, Birdwood Road, Cambridge, 1961
*
Dominican Priory, Buckingham Road, Cambridge, 1961
*North Court,
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...
, 1963
*
Fitzwilliam Museum
The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Vis ...
, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, 1963
*Kenyon Building,
St Hugh's College, Oxford, 1964 (now Grade II
listed
Listed may refer to:
* Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm
* Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic
* Endangered species in biology
* Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...
)
*Roscoe and Gladstone Halls of Residence,
University of Liverpool
, mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning
, established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
, 1965
*
Churchill College
Churchill College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It has a primary focus on science, engineering and technology, but still retains a strong interest in the arts and humanities.
In 1958, a trust was establish ...
, Wolfson Flats, Cambridge, 1965
*St Hugh's College, Stage II, Oxford, 1966
*Cromwell Court, Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, 1982
Collaboration with Geoffrey Clarke
*New Master's Lodge, Magdalene College, Cambridge, 1966
*East Road Development, Cambridge, 1968
*Buckingham Court, Magdalene College, Cambridge, 1968
*Cosin Court,
Tennis Court Terrace, Cambridge, 1969
*Wolfson Court, Clarkson Road,
Girton College, Cambridge
Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college statu ...
, 1970
*Trinity Hall, Central Site Development, Cambridge, 1973
*Fitzwilliam Museum, Stage II, Cambridge, 1973
*
Burrell's Field, Grange Road, Cambridge, 1976
*
Darwin College, Silver Street, Cambridge, 1977
*Rose Crescent Shops,
Rose Crescent
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
, Cambridge, 1979
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, David Wyn
1982 deaths
1911 births
20th-century Welsh architects
Academics of the University of Cambridge
Alumni of the Welsh School of Architecture
Architects from Cardiff
People from Cambridge
Royal Engineers officers
Welsh scholars and academics