Robert Adam (born 1948) is a

Driehaus Architecture Prize The Driehaus Architecture Prize, fully named The Richard H. Driehaus Prize at the University of Notre Dame, is a global award to honor a major contributor in the field of contemporary traditional and classical architecture. The Driehaus Prize was ...

winning British architect,

urban design Urban design is an approach to the design of buildings and the spaces between them that focuses on specific design processes and outcomes based on geographical location. In addition to designing and shaping the physical features of towns, city, ...

er and author, known for championing classical and

traditional A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

styles. Adam is a visiting professor at the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...

and

Design Council The Design Council, formerly the Council of Industrial Design, is a United Kingdom Charitable trust, charity incorporated by royal charter. Its stated mission is "to champion great design that improves lives and makes things better". It was instr ...

Expert. His career was the subject of Richard John's ''Robert Adam and the Search for a Modern Classicism'', a survey of Adam's projects with a foreword by Charles,

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

Education and early career

Adam attended the

University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Po ...

. In 1973, he won the

British School at Rome The British School at Rome (BSR) is a British interdisciplinary research centre supporting the arts, humanities and architecture established in Rome. Historical and archaeological study are at the core of its activities. History The British Sc ...

's Rome Prize in Architecture. Adam practiced as an architect, working part-time as a freelance architectural journalist until 1977, when he became partner at a firm in Winchester. In 1992, he founded Robert Adam Architects there. In 2021, he was awarded Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) by

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (OBU; formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Th ...

Work

Edinburgh Forthside

Adam was appointed master-planner of Edinburgh Forthside in which capacity he designed streetscapes of low-rise buildings in

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

and Granton. Adam prescribed strict design codes on the area's developers so that both modern and traditional architects could build alongside one another without clashing. Builders had to adhere to guidelines on size, materials and proportions. Adam also laid out rules on how the buildings relate to the streets such as a ban on glass facades.

Bodleian Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library

Adam designed

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

’s Bodleian Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library, which opened in 2001 and incorporated Oxford's

Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street in Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University ...

collections. The principal building is a circular library, with a smaller circular entrance onto the street, and attached wings arranged around internal courtyards. His design referenced ancient Greek architecture, specifically the

Temple of Apollo at Bassae Bassae (, – ''Bassai'', meaning "little vale in the rocks"

Ashley Park

Ashley Park, Hampshire, a new country house, completed in 2004, was the first new building to gain permission under 1997 English planning regulations that allowed major new houses in the countryside. It was described by the government inspector that granted the permission as, "an innovative approach to the classical traditions, re-interpreted for the 21st century."

198–202, Piccadilly

198–202 Piccadilly, London, an office development with ground floor retail, was completed in 2007. The classical building was designed to fit within the established historic setting. An octagonal tower marks the corner of the site and, at the upper levels, a colonnaded glass rooftop pavilion screens the plant rooms. Each façade is detailed to reflect the character of that street and the design incorporates cast bronze column capitals by classical sculptor,

Alexander Stoddart Alexander "Sandy" Stoddart (born 1959) is a Scotland, Scottish sculptor, who, since 2008, has been the Queen's Sculptor in Ordinary for Scotland, Sculptor in Ordinary in Scotland and is now the King's Sculptor in Ordinary. He works primarily ...

Books

* ''Classical Architecture: A Complete Handbook'', (1990) London:Viking * ''The 7 Sins of Architects'', (2010) * ''The Globalisation of Modern Architecture: The Impact of Politics, Economics and Social Change on Architecture and Urban Design since 1990'', (2012) Newcastle upon Tyne:Cambridge Scholars Publishing * ''Classic Columns: 40 Years of Writing on Architecture'', (2017) Cumulus * ''Time for Architecture: On Modernity, Memory and Time in Architecture and Urban Design'', (2020) Newcastle upon Tyne:Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Exhibits

''Pembroke Table'' (1986), a drop-leaf table designed by Robert Adam in the permanent collection of the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

, cited by the museum as "an example of the revivalism that has become a significant, if much debated, part of 1980s architecture and design." ''Tower of the Orders'' – A drawing by Adam, displayed at

RIBA ''Riba'' (, or , ) is an Arabic word used in Islamic law and roughly translated as " usury": unjust, exploitative gains made in trade or business. ''Riba'' is mentioned and condemned in several different verses in the Qur'an3:130

, intended to represent the "continuity of classicism with the antique architectural orders".

Awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adam, Robert Living people 1948 births 20th-century British architects 21st-century British architects Alumni of the University of Westminster New Classical architects