Charles Alfred "Peter" Bransgrove (7 April 1914 – 26 January 1966) was an architect who mostly worked in Dar es Salaam but also in other parts of Tanganyika, Kenya and Uganda.C.A. Bransgrove & Partners architectural practice records

Biography

Born in Kingston, Surrey, England on 7 April 1914 he was the fourth child to Sidney and Julie Bransgrove.Bransgrove family He studied at the School of Architecture at the

Regent Street Polytechnic The University of Westminster is a public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first polytechnic to open in London. The Polytechnic formally received a Royal charter in Aug ...

in London and at the Royal Academy of Architecture, also in London. In 1947 he was employed as an architect for the

Tanganyika Groundnut Scheme The Tanganyika groundnut scheme, or East Africa groundnut scheme, was a failed attempt by the British government to cultivate tracts of its African trust territory Tanganyika (now part of Tanzania) with peanuts. Launched in the aftermath of Worl ...

. When Peter's role in the scheme came to an end in 1948, he moved from Kongwa to Dar es Salaam and opened the first independent architectural practice in Dar es Salaam, C. A. Bransgrove & Partners.C.A. Bransgrove & Partners architectural practice records His design style was a climate-driven version of the

Modernist movement 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 ...

Modernism

Modernism 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 ...

in Architecture was a result of both advancement in technology and fabrication, as well as social enlightenment, that swept through the Western World soon after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Walter Gropius Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969) was a German-American architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in conne ...

founded the

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...

published his "ideas" about architecture and by the end of the 1920s,

Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. Along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd ...

had built the Barcelona Pavilion.

Biography

Peter finished primary school in 1926 and in 1927, at the age of thirteen, was enrolled into the School of Architecture at the

in London. From an early age he was exposed to the new architectural style of the day. It was an exciting period to be part of, with old traditional ways of designing a building opposed to the new movement of thinking sweeping Europe and North America. There would have been much discussion between those 'for' and those 'against'. Having completed five years at the Polytechnic, Peter was employed by the architect Herbert William Matthews in 1934, located at 1 Manchester Square, London. Later (1943), in Peter's nominations papers to be accepted into 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 suppl ...

, Mr Matthews writes:Herbert William Matthews, architect :"For some years he (Peter) was Principal Assistant in my office. I regard him as a very competent architect and a person of integrity and suitable for election to the

RIBA 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 1935, Peter was accepted into the Royal Academy of Architecture.Obituary for Peter Bransgrove published in the Tanganyika Standard newspaper, 27 January 1966 It is quite likely that he continued to work in the office of Mr Matthews during this time. Whilst at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

, Peter won many prizes for his student work, including: Having completed his time at the Academy in 1939, Peter may have left his place of employment to work for various Government Departments. The war in Europe had begun and it would have been difficult to find work. In 1942, 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 opposin ...

, Peter was stationed in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, India as a "Sapper" (

Royal Engineers 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 ...

) Captain, where he was involved in defusing bombs. On his return to England in 1944, Peter resumed his employment with Herbert William Matthews. During this time he also carried out commissions under his own name, mostly around reconstructive work of bomb affected housing. He passed his Registration Final in London in 1944 and was accepted into the

as an Associate in 1945. By 1946 he had taken up work for the

Ministry of Works and Planning Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

. After the war, Britain was stretched financially. All round the world they had assets that had been shipped to various theatres of war and were left idle and unused. In

Tanganyika Tanganyika may refer to: Places * Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state * Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania * Tanzania Main ...

, there was a large amount of civil works machinery that was going to have to be abandoned. At the same time the Overseas Food Corporation saw the need to supply the world with more vegetable oils from nuts, but required civil engineering equipment to make it work. Hence the

was formed and in 1947 Peter took up the opportunity to be involved. :APPOINTMENTS :Mr. C. A. Bransgrove has been appointed Chief Architect to Messrs. Pauling & Co., Ltd., Civil Engineering Contractors for the groundnut project in Tanganyika. He will be pleased to receive trade catalogues, etc., from firms interested in exporting to East Africa. His address is P.O. Kongwa, Tanganyika, East Africa.

Journal Volume 54 – page 576, year 1947 Pauling & Co., Ltd. were employed by the

United Africa Company The United Africa Company (UAC) was a British company which principally traded in West Africa during the 20th century. The United Africa Company was formed in 1929 as a result of the merger of The Niger Company, which had been effectively owne ...

to undertake ground clearance. Pauling & Co. History By 1948, either the demise of the Scheme was becoming apparent or the work for architects was complete. Whatever the reason, Peter's involvement in the

Groundnut Scheme The Tanganyika groundnut scheme, or East Africa groundnut scheme, was a failed attempt by the British government to cultivate tracts of its African trust territory Tanganyika Territory, Tanganyika (now part of Tanzania) with peanuts. Launched in ...

came to an end. In lieu of payment for himself and his new family to return to England, he accepted a plot of land, owned by the Overseas Food Corporation, in the suburb of

Kurasini Kurasini is an administrative ward in the Temeke District of the Dar es Salaam Region of Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the ...

in Dar es Salaam. Here he designed and built the family house that they would live in until the completion of Luther House in 1963. The family then moved into the penthouse of Luther House, which adjoined the practice offices on the fifth floor. In the same year (1948) Peter opened the first independent architectural practice in Dar es Salaam. C. A. Bransgrove & Partners was based in TanCott House and one of his first employees was Alf "Tigger" Hastings. A few years after, Hastings left the practice to set up his own office and co-founded the practice of French & Hastings. Both French and Hastings were possibly with the Royal Engineers during the war. Another notable name to be employed by Peter was H. L. "Sukhi" Shah. His father Luvji Kara Shah, was the bookkeeper for C. A. Bransgrove. Sukhi joined the practice with an eye to becoming an architect. He was shipped off to England in 1952 by his father to attend the Regent Street Polytechnic and studied architecture between 1952–1958. He started his own practice on his return to Dar es Salaam in 1960.Bert Lemmens Joe Herbert Betts joined Peter as a Partner in the early days of the practice and became sole owner of C. A. Bransgrove and Partners for a further four years after Peter's death. A month after the passing of Peter, an architect by the name of Raymond Howes was met off the plane from Australia by Joe Betts to join the practice and stayed until 1971. During that time Joe and Raymond designed many buildings in Dar and other locations in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. In 1970 the practice was taken over by Jackson Hill Architects. The practice of Jackson Hill was incorporated into the firm of Covell Matthews Partnership Ltd, Tanzania in 1972. Peter was involved in many projects and building types throughout Tanganyika, Kenya and Uganda. Mostly however they were in Dar es Salaam and included high rise office blocks, low rise offices, schools, hospitals, hostels, churches, post offices, embassies and private residences. Most notably, the countries for which Peter designed houses for their Consuls were: During the early 1960s, Peter made a number of trips to Rome to the architectural firm of Whiting Associates International, to co-design the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Moshi,

for the Protestant Churches in the country, known collectively as The Good Samaritan Foundation. There is no denying that Peter's design style was a climate-driven version of the

. Known simply as "tropical modernism", the term and therefore type of architecture was a direct mix of both the "international style" of the time and that of the location and requirement to address the heat by ensuring any breeze was unhindered through the building and at the same time deny the sun direct access. Usually based on a grid system, there was a notable lack of fanciful adornment and a strong sense of simplicity. The climate to a certain extent dictated the type of materials used and the methods employed to combat the heat and humidity. From 1951 to 1955 he was a member of the Dar es Salaam City Council and he also served on the Tanganyika Advisory Council for Education and the National Housing Corporation. In 1961, Peter had helped to set up the

International School of Tanganyika The International School of Tanganyika (IST), founded in 1963, is an international school in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The school is an IB World School that hosts the Primary Years, Middle Years, and Diploma programmes. IST operates on two camp ...

. At the time of his death in 1966 he was chairman of the International School Board of Directors. On 10 April 1956 Peter put forward a Patent for "louvre blocks" for use in building in the tropics:Patent number 782,754, application date 25 January 1955, date of filing complete specification 10 April 1956, complete specification published 11 September 1957, The Patent Office, London :"The concrete building block comprises two parallel end panels united by one or more inclined webs extending upwardly from the front edges of the panels to the rear thereof. The blocks are laid in superposed courses, to form louvres, the web having an upward extension which fits between the end panels of the block above it. Keying grooves are provided at the ends of the block." Many of his buildings used this concrete block for ventilation as well as preventing both direct sunlight and rain to enter. Peter has been described by current architects and researchers as a leading exponent of the Modernist style in

during that period and an architect to be admired and extolled for what he contributed during his time.Antoni Folkers, architect, et al "He shaped a considerable part of the old city centre of Dar es Salaam in the fifties and sixties." Peter died in Nairobi Hospital on 26 January 1966, aged 51.