Frederick Lloyd Roche,

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 March 1931 – 9 November 1992), was a British architect who worked on the programme of

new towns in the United Kingdom The new towns in the United Kingdom were planned under the powers of the New Towns Act 1946 and later acts to relocate populations in poor or bombed-out housing following the Second World War. They were developed in three waves. Later developments ...

. He was Chief Architect of

Runcorn Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in the Borough of Halton in Cheshire, England. Its population in 2011 was 61,789. The town is in the southeast of the Liverpool City Region, with Liverpool to the northwest across the River Mersey. ...

Development Corporation from 1965 to 1970 and General Manager of the

Milton Keynes Development Corporation Milton Keynes Development Corporation (MKDC) was a development corporation operating from 1967 to 1992 oversee the planning and early development of Milton Keynes, a new town midway between London and Birmingham. Establishment MKDC established o ...

from 1970 to 1981. In 1985, he was appointed a CBE.

Career

Roche trained at Regent Street Polytechnic (now

University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Polyte ...

) and qualified in 1955. He remained in London for three years working as a housing architect and moved to

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 ...

in 1958 where he became an architect specialising in schools. In 1963, he returned to housing when he became principal development architect for the Midlands Housing Consortium. In 1965, Roche became chief architect and planning officer for

new town. He led on the design of the new town centre,

Runcorn Shopping City Runcorn Shopping City, formerly Halton Lea and Runcorn Shopping Centre, is a medium-sized indoor shopping centre in Runcorn, England. Opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1972, it is the main shopping area in Runcorn and has over 125,000 visitors per w ...

. In 1970, he moved to Milton Keynes in north Buckinghamshire to be General Manager of the Development Corporation at the age of 39. He oversaw the major growth of the 'new city' through to 1981. Thereafter, he joined with

Terence Conran Sir Terence Orby Conran (4 October 1931 – 12 September 2020) was an English designer, restaurateur, retailer and writer. He founded the Design Museum in Shad Thames, London in 1989 The British designer Thomas Heatherwick said that Conran ...

to establish the new architecture and planning consultancy, Conran Roche. The company developed a number of projects during the 1980s, including Butler's Wharf and

Michelin House Michelin House at 81 Fulham Road, Chelsea, London, was constructed as the first permanent UK headquarters and tyre depot for the Michelin Tyre Company Ltd. The building opened for business on 20 January 1911. In 1987 the building was converted t ...

in London. He retired as managing director in 1988 due to ill health.

Awards and recognition

In 1985 Roche was appointed a

. He was a vice-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 ...

from 1983 to 1985 and honorary treasurer from 1985 to 1986. He is commemorated in Milton Keynes by having a linear civic garden named for him.

References

External links

The Fred Roche Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roche, Fred 1931 births Alumni of the University of Westminster Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 1992 deaths 20th-century British architects History of Milton Keynes