Robert Chitham (1935 or 36 – 13 September 2017) was a British architect and writer. He was the author of ''The Classical Orders of Architecture'' published in 1985. A revised edition was published in 2005.
[British Library catalogue]
accessed 11 April 2011 He drew from the diagramming and harmony of proportions of classical forms starting from
Vitruvius
Vitruvius (; c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled ''De architectura''. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attribute ...
, to
Palladio
Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of th ...
, and foremost to
James Gibbs. Chitham was the most recent architect to spell out extensively a more updated, modern, and refined version of classical architecture. Chitham was also the author of ''Measured drawing for architects'', published in 1980.
[
Chitham was a consultant architect to Chapman Taylor, a London-based architectural practice. In this capacity he was responsible in the early 1980s for a scheme to save a large number of historic buildings in ]Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions.
Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...
, near the British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
. He served as chairman of the Register of Architects Accredited in Building Conservation, and was head of the historic buildings division of English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
.
He was the author of "The Classical Orders of Architecture" (Architectural Press, updated 2005) which provided "an accessible introduction" to the basics of Classical architecture
Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect V ...
.[Petter, Hugh,]
The Classical Orders of Architecture By Robert Chitham
, ''Architects' Journal
''Architects' Journal'' is an architectural magazine published in London by Metropolis International.
History
The first edition was produced in 1895. Originally named ''The Builder's Journal and Architectural Record'', from 1906 to 1910 it was kn ...
'', 3 March 2005. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
Notes
References
*Chitham, Robert,
The classical orders of architecture
' (2nd edition), Oxford: Architectural Press, 2005,
Architects from London
2017 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
1930s births
{{UK-architect-stub