Sir Donald Gibson, Coventry's City Architect

Sir Donald Edward Evelyn Gibson

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(11 October 1908 – 22 December 1991) was

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

’s first City

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 ...

and Planning Officer, from 1938-1954; most famous for the postwar redevelopment of Coventry city centre following the

Coventry Blitz The Coventry Blitz ( blitz: from the German word ''Blitzkrieg'' meaning "lightning war" ) or Coventration of the city was a series of bombing raids that took place on the British city of Coventry. The city was bombed many times during the Sec ...

Education

Gibson was educated at the

High School of Dundee The High School of Dundee is an independent, co-educational, day school in Dundee, Scotland, which provides nursery, primary and secondary education to just over one thousand pupils. Its foundation has been dated to 1239, and it is the only priv ...

and

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...

before attending the Manchester School of Architecture. He spent his fourth year at Harvard,Andrew Saint, ‘Gibson, Sir Donald Edward Evelyn (1908–1991)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 training in Boston, USA, before returning to the UK to qualify in 1932.

Redevelopment of Coventry

At the age of 29, Gibson was appointed as Coventry’s first City Architect and Planning Officer. The re-planning of Coventry City Centre began before the Blitz in 1940-1941; indeed, Gibson produced the initial plan to rebuild part of the city in early 1940, in order to resolve the problems of overcrowding and congestion of the medieval town centre.Coventry: the people, city centre redevelopment and housing, Voices of Postwar England, 13 June 2008, accessed 5 October 201

/ref> It was, however, the extensive wartime damage that enabled the Gibson plan to be turned into reality. The Gibson plan involved a re-thinking of the city centre, introducing what was then a brand new

town planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

concept, with the main premise being a separation of motor traffic and pedestrians. Such traffic-free shopping precinct was the first in Europe, and was seen as a "truly pioneering design" in its day. In addition, Gibson was responsible for the first rooftop parking plus the development of a civic theatre (the Belgrade Theatre) and the circular market. The Gibson plan saw extensive consultation with local people, with the "proposals and suggestions for the physical reconstruction and planning of the City of Coventry" set out in a book entitled ''The Future Coventry'', published by the Corporation of Coventry. It was also supported by the Government, where the then Minister of Works,

Lord Reith Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

commented, "Coventry would be a test case, not for me and my authority, but for the Government and for England". Gibson was succeeded by Arthur Ling who was City Architect from 1955 until 1964. The redevelopment of the city was featured in a special edition of ''Architectural Design'' published in December 1958.

Later career

Gibson left Coventry in 1955, and became County Architect in Nottinghamshire. Gibson subsequently knighted and became the government’s senior architect, responsible for raising architectural standards. Gibson was External

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

of Architecture at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

from 1966 to 1968.

Awards

Gibson was awarded the Coventry Award of Merit in 1966.The Coventry Award of Merit, Coventry City Council Cabinet Member Report 9.4 dated 22 March 2011, accessed 5 October 2011 He was President of the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...

in 1964–65.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Donald Herbert Art Gallery and Museum 1908 births 1991 deaths People educated at the High School of Dundee People educated at Manchester Grammar School Harvard University alumni Academics of the University of Leeds 20th-century English architects Architects from Warwickshire Presidents of the Royal Institute of British Architects