Richard John Robert Feilden OBE (29 March 1950 – 3 January 2005) was a British architect who co-founded Feilden Clegg Architects.

Life and work

Feilden was born in

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

on 29 March 1950. His father, Bob Feilden, was an engineer who served as the Director General of the

British Standards Institution The British Standards Institution (BSI) is the national standards body of the United Kingdom. BSI produces technical standards on a wide range of products and services and also supplies certification and standards-related services to business ...

from 1970 to 1981. His uncle

Bernard Feilden Sir Bernard Melchior Feilden CBE FRIBA (11 September 1919 – 14 November 2008) was a conservation architect whose work encompassed cathedrals, the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal. Biography Feilden was born in Hampstead, London. He was edu ...

was a

conservation architect Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

. Richard Feilden changed his university studies from engineering to architecture, graduating from

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, followed by further studies at the

Architectural Association The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, commonly referred to as the AA, is the oldest independent school of architecture in the UK and one of the most prestigious and competitive in the world. Its wide-ranging programme ...

. In 1978 he set up his own architecture practice in

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

, with fellow architect Peter Clegg: now

Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios (also known as FCBStudios) is a British architectural design firm, established in 1978, with offices in Bath, London, Manchester, Belfast and Edinburgh. The firm is known for its pioneering work in sustainable desi ...

. The practice specialised in designing and constructing low-energy housing. He built his own house in Warleigh, Wiltshire. He was known to be outspoken, honest and critical of the problems with building design and wider issues, such as global sustainability. He argued that

head teacher A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...

s should be centrally involved in the design of their schools and criticised the mediocrity of school design. According to architect Sunand Prasad, Feilden's greatest achievement was to form Feilden Clegg into "a modern form of practice that explicitly embraces the collaborative nature of producing architecture." In 1998 he became part of Lord Rogers' Urban Task Force and, in 2000, was appointed to the

Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) was an executive non-departmental public body of the UK government, established in 1999. It was funded by both the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for C ...

. Feilden was accidentally killed in Warleigh on 3 January 2005, when a tree fell on him while he was clearing a patch of woodland as a memorial to his father, who had died eight months earlier. In tribute the 2005 RIBA President, George Ferguson, said of Feilden: "He showed that good architecture needn't be showy or iconic. What is great about his practice is that, although Richard led from the front, it wasn't reliant on one single person. They're the one firm we lose to graciously."

Personal life

Feilden married Patricia "Tish" Nielson in 1975. They had three children.

Richard Feilden Foundation

In 2005, the Richard Feilden Foundation was set up in his memory. The charity is a network of professionals, with expertise of the built environment and education sectors who provide skills and transfer knowledge to enhance educational infrastructure across Africa. It partners with like-minded organisations and individuals to collaborate on building education projects in Africa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feilden, Richard John Robert 1950 births 2005 deaths Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Architects from Lincolnshire People from Lincoln, England Officers of the Order of the British Empire Accidental deaths in England