![Notre Dame de France Church Interior, London, UK - Diliff](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Notre_Dame_de_France_Church_Interior%2C_London%2C_UK_-_Diliff.jpg)
Hector Othon Corfiato (1892 – 3 May 1963) was a Greek architect.
He was professor of architecture and director, at
The Bartlett
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
School of Architecture, University College London from 1946 to 1959, and professor emeritus from 1960.
Corfiato graduated from the
École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts
The Beaux-Arts de Paris is a French ''grande école'' whose primary mission is to provide high-level arts education and training. This is classical and historical School of Fine Arts in France. The art school, which is part of the Paris Science ...
in Paris, and established the firm of Corfiato, Thomson & Partners.
From 1953 to 1955 he was the architect responsible for rebuilding
Notre Dame de France
Notre Dame de France is a French Catholic church in London's Soho. It is located on Leicester Place just north of Leicester Square.
History
The origins of the church date back to the mid 1800s, however, the building itself is older. In 1861, ...
, a French Catholic church on
Leicester Place
Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester ...
in London's Soho, which was grade II listed in 1998.
![Debre Libanos Monastery Ethiopia Oct19 D72 12186](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Debre_Libanos_Monastery_Ethiopia_Oct19_D72_12186.jpg)
Another distinguished building of the same period is the chapel of the Roman Catholic Seminary for the Diocese of Westminster (
Allen Hall) in Beaufort Street, London which was completed in 1958. In 1961, he designed the reconstructed church of
Debre Libanos
Debre Libanos (Amharic: ደብረ ሊባኖስ, om, Dabra libanose) is an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo monastery, lying northwest of Addis Ababa in the North Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region. It was founded in 1284 by Saint Tekle Haymanot as D ...
, Ethiopia.
His nationality is disputed, "Some alumni claim he was Greek,
others Egyptian, while an
Architects' Journal
''Architects' Journal'' is an architectural magazine published in London by Metropolis International.
History
The first edition was produced in 1895. Originally named ''The Builder's Journal and Architectural Record'', from 1906 to 1910 it was kn ...
article describes him as a 'relatively unknown French architect'. "
In 1922, he was awarded the FRANCE SOCIETE DES ARCHITECTS prize medal, 50mm in bronze, it is named to HECTOR CORFIATOPULO. The medal was sold on eBay some years ago along with other later medals bearing the name CORFIATO.
The London Gazette of 6 January 1933, confirms that Hector Orthon Corfiatopulo, known as Hector Orthon Corfiato, a Greek Architect of 121 Willifield Way, Golders Green, Middlesex, became a naturalised British subject on 21 December 1932. This would seem to confirm that Corfiato was a Greek architect, who became a British architect and that he was not a 'French architect'.
In 2006, his St William of York Roman Catholic church in Stanmore, designed in 1959, was grade II listed.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corfiato, Hector
1892 births
1963 deaths
Greek architects
Greek expatriates in France
Architects of Roman Catholic churches
Greek emigrants to England