Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

Howard Morley Robertson MC RA (16 August 1888 – 5 May 1963) was an American-born British architect, President 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 supp ...

from 1952 to 1954 and a Royal Academician. In 1949, he was the winner of the

Royal Gold Medal The Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture. It is gi ...

for architecture.

Early life

Born on 16 August 1888 in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

, Utah, United States, Robertson was the younger son of Casper Ludovic van Uytrecht Robertson, originally from Liverpool, by his marriage to Ellen Duncan, of Ohio. He spent his early childhood in the United States and was sent to England in the 1890s to be educated at Eastfield House, Ditchling, Sussex, and at Malvern College.'Robertson, Sir Howard (Morley) (born 16 August 1888, died 5 May 1963)' in '' Who Was Who 1961–1970'' (London: A. & C. Black, 1979 reprint, )R. E. Enthoven, revised by Catherine Gordon, 'Robertson, Sir Howard Morley (1888–1963), architect', in ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' (Oxford University Press, 2007)Sir Howard Robertson, R.A.
at racollection.org.uk, accessed 26 May 2011 Robertson then trained at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, from which he graduated in 1907, and also in France.'Sir Howard Robertson, Graduated AA 1907', i
AA Alumni RIBA Gold Medal Winners
at aaschool.ac.uk, accessed 26 May 2011 In 1913, he received a diploma in architecture from the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centur ...

in Paris. Between 1913 and 1914, he gained experience in the offices of architects in London,

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, and New York City, and worked on a project at

Le Touquet Le Touquet-Paris-Plage (; pcd, Ech Toutchet-Paris-Plache; vls, 't Oekske, older nl, Het Hoekske), commonly referred to as Le Touquet (), is a commune near Étaples, in the Pas-de-Calais department, northern France. It has a population of ...

in northern France.

Military career

Robertson joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during 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 ...

and served in France from 1915 to 1919, rising to the rank of

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

. He was awarded the British

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

, the French

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

and Black Star, and the American Certificate of Merit Medal.

Career as architect

On his return to civilian life in 1919, Robertson formed the firm of Easton & Robertson with John Murray Easton (1889–1975). Their offices were at 168 Regent Street, London, and they continued the partnership until 1931. In 1920 he began to teach at the AA School of Architecture in London, where he became a friend of the School's secretary, F. R. Yerbury. They later travelled together in Europe. Robertson was appointed as Principal of the School in 1926 and from 1929 to 1935 was its Director of Education. He became a member of the '' Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne'', but left it when he began to find it too narrowly focussed. UN HQ 157652121 5b5979da9e2

With Le Corbusier, Oscar Niemeyer,

Sven Markelius Sven Gottfrid Markelius (25 October 1889 – 24 February 1972) was a Swedish modernist architect. Markelius played an important role in the post-war urban planning of Stockholm, for example in the creation of the model suburbs of Vällingby (1950 ...

, and others, Robertson was a member of the Board of Design Consultants which assisted Wallace Harrison with the design of the

United Nations Headquarters zh, 联合国总部大楼french: Siège des Nations uniesrussian: Штаб-квартира Организации Объединённых Наций es, Sede de las Naciones Unidas , image = Midtown Manhattan Skyline 004.jpg , im ...

in New York City, built between 1947 and 1952 in reinforced concrete and aluminium, with glass curtain walls. Robertson was elected a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

in 1925 and an Associate of the Royal Academy on 22 April 1949 and a Royal Academician on 24 April 1958. He was President of the

from 1952 to 1954. In that role, his

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

was painted by Rodrigo Moynihan. In 1927, Robertson married Doris Adeney Lewis, who was also an architect and had been one of his architectural students, the daughter of J. R. Lewis of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia. They had no children. Robertson was knighted in 1954 and died on 5 May 1963, while his widow survived him until 1981. Robertson published books within his profession, including ''The Principles of Architectural Composition'' (1924), and ''Architecture Arising'' (1948). As "H. Rob." he contributed articles to the 14th edition of ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

''. Walter Yust, ed., 'Initials and Names of Contributors' in ''Encyclopædia Britannica: a new survey of universal knowledge'' vol. 1 (1950), p. xlv: "H. Rob.— Howard Morley Robertson. Partner in firm of Easton and Robertson, architects, London. Consultant Architect to National Service Hostels Corporation. Author of ''Principles of Architectural Composition''; etc."

Work

Robertson designed the British Pavilion for the 1925

International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts The International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts (french: Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes) was a World's fair held in Paris, France, from April to October 1925. It was designed by the Fren ...

in Paris, the event which created the term

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

. His Permanent Exhibition Hall for the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

was awarded 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 ...

Bronze Medal in 1928. His ''Schloss Freudenberg'', at

Rotkreuz Risch is a municipality in the canton of Zug in Switzerland. It is also promoted as Risch-Rotkreuz. Four villages (Rotkreuz, Risch, Buonas and Holzhäusern) belong to the municipality ''Risch''. On 24 November 2007 it was decided to promote the ...

in Switzerland, is a country house built for Erwin Hürlimann, chairman of

Swiss Re Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd,
Swiss Re. Retrieved on 18 January 2011. "Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd ("Swiss Re") ...

insurance, between 1929 and 1933. His other notable buildings include the Metropolitan Water Board Laboratories, London (1938), in which he paid tribute to the work of Erich Mendelsohn, the Bank of England Printing Works at

Loughton Loughton () is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. Part of the metropolitan and urban area of London, the town borders Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill, and is northeast of Chari ...

in Essex (1956), and the Faculty of Letters building at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

(1956). His twenty-six-storey

Shell Centre The Shell Centre in London is the global headquarters of oil major Shell plc. It is located on Belvedere Road in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a prominent feature on the South Bank of the River Thames near County Hall, and now forms ...

(also called the Upstream Building, 1961), in York Road,

Waterloo, London Waterloo () is a district in Central London, and part of the Bishops ward of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated east of Charing Cross. The area is part of a business improvement district known as Waterloo Quarter, which includes The ...

, was so high that it caused planning arguments, while its

style was unwelcome to other architects, who considered it out of keeping with the

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 ...

of other large new buildings in the neighbourhood. 'Sentosa',

Esher Esher ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole. Esher is an outlying suburb of London near the London-Surrey Border, and with Esher Commons at its southern end, the town marks one limit of the Greater London Built-Up ...

, another domestic building designed by Robertson, built for the Erhardt family in 1934, was made a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

in 1985.

Publications

*Howard Robertson, ''Modern Dutch Architecture'' (1922) *Howard Robertson, ''Architecture Explained, with an introductory note by J. C. Squire'' (London: E. Benn Ltd, 1926; New York: George H. Doran Co.) *Howard Robertson, ''The Principles of Architectural Composition'' (London: The Architectural Press, 1924; with foreword by Robert Atkinson) **''Los Principios de la Composición Arquitectónica'' (Spanish translation) *Howard Robertson, ''Some Recent French Developments in Domestic Architecture'' (1927) *Howard Robertson, Francis Rowland Yerbury, ''Examples of Modern French Architecture'' (London: Ernest Benn, 1928) *Howard Robertson, ''The Four Inns of Court'' (Ludowici-Celadon Co., 1930) *As "H. Rob.", articles on architectural subjects contributed to ''

'', revised 14th edition (1933–1973) *Howard Robertson, ''Modern Architectural Design'' (London: The Architectural Press, 1932; new edition 1952) *Howard Robertson, ''Französiche Baukunst der Gegenwart'' (Berlin: E. Wasmuth, 1933)Robertson, Howard
at d-nb.info (''Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek''), accessed 1 June 2011 *Howard Robertson, ''Reconstruction and the Home'' (1947) *Howard Robertson, ''Architecture Arising'' (London: Faber and Faber, 1948) *Howard Robertson & Francis Rowland Yerbury, ''Travels in Modern Architecture 1925–1930'' (London: The Architectural Association, 1989) (posthumously)

Notes

External links

RAA/LIB/2/137 Sir Howard Robertson, member's file 1949
at racollection.org.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Howard Morley 1888 births 1963 deaths Architects from Salt Lake City École des Beaux-Arts alumni 20th-century British architects Art Deco architects Recipients of the Legion of Honour People educated at Malvern College Royal Academicians Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects Writers from Salt Lake City Presidents of the Royal Institute of British Architects