Reginald Harold Uren

FRIBA 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 ...

(5 March 1906 – 17 February 1988) was a New Zealand-born

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 ...

who worked in the United Kingdom for most of his career.

Life and work

Uren was born in the Belfast area of Christchurch, South Island on 5 March 1906, the son of Richard Ellis Uren and Christina Uren. He qualified as an architect in New Zealand in 1929, before moving to Britain to further his career. Uren worked in the engine room of steamer as a greaser to secure passage to Britain. He married Dorothy Morgan in 1930 and the couple had one daughter. In Britain, Uren briefly studied architecture at the Bartlett School, University College London and under

Charles Holden Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

. He became an Associate Member 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 suppl ...

in 1931. In 1933, he won the architectural competition to design

Hornsey Town Hall Hornsey Town Hall is a public building in Hatherley Gardens in the Crouch End area of Hornsey, London. The building was used by the Municipal Borough of Hornsey as its headquarters until 1965. It is a Grade II* listed building. History Early hi ...

against a field of 281 entries. The town hall was his first major commission in Britain and one of the first large

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

designs constructed in the country, showing influences of

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and

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architecture of the period. The design was well received and Uren was awarded the RIBA London Architecture Medal for 1935. John Lewis, Oxford Street

In 1936, Uren became a partner in the practice of Slater, Moberley & Uren; later Slater, Uren and Pike. The practice specialised in the design of department stores including the

Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and as ...

store of

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

(1955) and the extension of Peter Jones in

Sloane Square Sloane Square is a small hard-landscaped square on the boundaries of the central London districts of Belgravia and Chelsea, located southwest of Charing Cross, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The area forms a boundary betwe ...

(1966). He also designed the

Arthur Sanderson & Sons Arthur Sanderson & Sons Ltd, now known simply as Sanderson, is a British manufacturer of fabrics and wallpaper, founded in 1860. Company The company was founded in 1860 in Islington, London, by Arthur Sanderson (1829–1882), who began by ...

Building (1958, now the

Sanderson Hotel The Sanderson Hotel is a hotel on Berners Street, London, built in 1958 as the new headquarters and showroom for Arthur Sanderson and Sons, manufacturers of wallpaper, fabrics and paint, for the company's centennial. The building was designed ...

) in

Berners Street Berners Street is a thoroughfare located to the north of Oxford Street in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, originally developed as a residential street in the mid-18th century by property developer William Berners (property de ...

. For the

London Passenger Transport Board The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for local public transport in London and its environs from 1933 to 1948. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and brand was Lond ...

's 1930s extensions of the

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, ...

and Northern lines, Uren worked with Charles Holden on the design of two new station buildings at

Rayners Lane Rayners Lane is a suburban district in the London Borough of Harrow that forms the western part of Harrow. Located between Pinner and West Harrow, it takes its name from a road in the area, also called Rayners Lane (formerly also spelt ''Rayner ...

(1938) and Finchley Central (unbuilt). Other public buildings designed by Uren include the Granada Cinema at

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

(1937, with Cecil Masey and

Theodore Komisarjevsky Fyodor Fyodorovich Komissarzhevsky (russian: Фёдор Фёдорович Комиссаржевский; 23 May 1882 – 17 April 1954), or Theodore Komisarjevsky, was a Russian, later British, theatrical director and designer. He began his car ...

), St George's Swimming Pools in

Shadwell Shadwell is a district of East London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets , east of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the Thames between Wapping (to the west) and Ratcliff (to the east). This riverside location has meant ...

(1965) and Norfolk County Hall (1966). Uren retired from practice in 1967 and returned to New Zealand where he died in 1988.

Legacy

A number of Uren's commissions are recognised as architecturally significant and are

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

for protection against uncontrolled alteration.

, the Sanderson Building and the Granada Cinema in Woolwich are listed Grade II* and Rayners Lane station is listed Grade II.

References

External links

RIBA Photographic Archive, (search results for Reginald Uren)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uren, Reginald 1906 births 1988 deaths Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects History of the London Underground Modernist architects People associated with transport in London People from Petone Transport design in London 20th-century New Zealand architects People educated at Hutt Valley High School 20th-century British architects New Zealand emigrants to the United Kingdom