James Gowan (18 October 1923 – 12 June 2015) was a Scottish-born architect known for his post-modernist designs of the "engineering style" which influenced a generation of British architects.

Life

Gowan was born in

Pollokshields Pollokshields ( gd, Buthan Phollaig, Scots: ''Powkshiels'') is an area in the Southside of Glasgow, Scotland. Its modern boundaries are largely man-made, being formed by the M77 motorway to the west and northwest with the open land of Pollok ...

, Glasgow in 1923. He was brought up by his grandparents in

Partick Partick ( sco, Pairtick, Scottish Gaelic: ''Partaig'') is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park (across the River Kelvin), and ...

after his parents' separation, but went to live with his mother aged 12 and attended

Hyndland Secondary School Hyndland Secondary School is a non-denominational state comprehensive school in the Hyndland area of Glasgow, Scotland. The school provides secondary education for children from the local area, although there are many children from other areas ...

. He studied architecture at the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, an ...

before joining the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. He was stationed in Palestine as a radar operator. After the war, he moved to London and completed his studies at Kingston School of Architecture. He married Margaret Barry in October 1944, having two daughters.

Career

After graduating Gowan was employed by Philip Powell who had been his tutor at Kingston. His projects included working on the Skylon design for the 1951

Festival of Britain The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Historian Kenneth O. Morgan says the Festival was a "triumphant success" during which people: ...

, then Stevenage New Town. Then later while working at Lyons Israel Ellis he met James Stirling with whom he formed a practice in 1956.

Gowan and Stirling

Leicester University Engineering Building

Gowan and Stirling's initial project was to design

Langham House Close Langham House Close on Ham Common in Ham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is a development of three Grade II* listed buildings designed in 1955 by the British architects James Gowan and James Stirling. The Le Corbusier-influence ...

on Ham Common, West London, which according to the Guardian "quickly established the pair as one of the most radical practices of their generation". Gowan said of his work that "We were reacting against the older generation, setting up a critique of what might be done – a reaction against boredom, plainness and the mechanical nature of contemporary rationalism, of social rationalism and dainty well-produced things." Their most well-known work was on the Le Corbusier-influenced University of Leicester Engineering Building. This building was noted for its technological and geometric character, with glazed towers clad in red tiles evocative of the local

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

industrial aesthetic and a crystalline workshop roof consisting of 2,500 diamond-shaped glass panels. The pair split acrimoniously due to fundamental differences of opinion as to the correct approach for their next commission which was the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

History Faculty Library, with Gowan believing strongly that reusing aspects of their earlier design did not fit the purposes of the Library building.

Solo projects and teaching

Gowan then created designs for projects such as Schreiber House in

West Hampstead West Hampstead is an area in the London Borough of Camden in north-west London. Mainly defined by the railway stations of the same name, it is situated between Childs Hill to the north, Frognal and Hampstead to the north-east, Swiss Cottage ...

, built in 1964 for furniture designer Chaim Schreiber, for which Gowan designed bespoke fitted-furniture that Schreiber subsequently made. Almost two decades later, in 1982, Gowan designed a second house for Schreiber. Gowan also worked on large housing schemes in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

and East Hanningfield. Later in the 1990s, he began to work on a series of Italian hospitals and care homes, notably the Istituto Clinico Humanitas near Milan., Clinica Humanitas Gavazzeni in Bergamo, Techint offices in Milan, all in association with the Italian Architect Renato Restelli. Gowan did not receive the personal recognition to match the boldness of his designs and his contribution to the work with Stirling was unfairly understated. His career after the split did not reach the heights of his partner's, but he was recognised as a very influential teacher at the Architectural Association School of Architecture, Heriot-Watt University, and 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 o ...

. His mentoring can be seen to have borne fruit in the work of Richard Rogers,

Peter Cook Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English actor, comedian, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishme ...

, Quinlan Terry amongst others. He was appointed Bannister Fletcher Professor at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

in 1975 and also taught in the US as visiting professor. National Life Stories conducted an oral history interview (C467/101) with James Gowan in 2012-13 for its Architects Lives' collection held by the British Library.National Life Stories, 'Gowan, James (1 of 10) National Life Stories Collection: Architects' Lives', The British Library Board, 2013
Retrieved 10 April 2018

References

External links

James Gowan
obituary at ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Gowan, James 20th-century Scottish architects Architects from Glasgow Alumni of Kingston University Academics of Heriot-Watt University 1923 births 2015 deaths Royal Air Force personnel of World War II 21st-century Scottish architects People from Partick Pollokshields Royal Air Force airmen