Cedric Price FRIBA (11 September 1934 – 10 August 2003) was an English

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 ...

and influential teacher and writer on architecture.

Early life and education

The son of the architect A.G. Price, who worked with Harry Weedon, Price was born in

Stone, Staffordshire Stone is a market town and civil parish in Staffordshire, England; it is situated approximately 7 miles (11 km) north of the county town of Stafford, 7 miles (11 km) south of Stoke-on-Trent and 15 miles (24 km) north of Rugeley. As a notable c ...

. He studied

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, graduating in 1955, and the

Architectural Association School of Architecture The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, commonly referred to as the AA, is the oldest private school of architecture in the UK. The AA hosts exhibitions, lectures, academic conference, symposia and publications. Histo ...

(AA) in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where he encountered and was influenced by the modernist architect and urban planner

Arthur Korn Arthur Korn (20 May 1870 – 21 December/22 December 1945) was a German physicist, mathematician and inventor. He was involved in the development of the fax machine, specifically the transmission of photographs or telephotography, known as the ...

.Melvin J. 2003.
Obituary: Cedric Price, Hugely creative architect ahead of his time in promoting themes of lifelong learning and brownfield regeneration
. ''The Guardian'', 15 August 2003. From 1958 to 1964 he taught part-time at the AA and at the Council of Industrial Design. He later founded ''Polyark'', an architectural schools network.

Career

After graduating, Price worked briefly for Erno Goldfinger, Denys Lasdun, the partnership of

Maxwell Fry Edwin Maxwell Fry, CBE, RA, FRIBA, F RTPI (2 August 1899 – 3 September 1987) was an English modernist architect, writer and painter. Originally trained in the neo-classical style of architecture, Fry grew to favour the new modernist style, ...

and

Jane Drew Dame Jane Drew (24 March 1911 – 27 July 1996) was an English modernist architect and town planner. She qualified at the Architectural Association School in London, and prior to World War II became one of the leading exponents of the Moder ...

, and applied unsuccessfully for a post at

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

, working briefly as a professional illustrator before starting his own practice in 1960. He worked with The Earl of Snowdon and Frank Newby on the design of the Snowdon Aviary at

London Zoo London Zoo, previously known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens and sometimes called Regent's Park Zoo, is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828 and was originally intended to be used as a colle ...

(1961). He later also worked with

Buckminster Fuller Richard Buckminster Fuller (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, publishing more t ...

on the ''Claverton Dome''. One of his more notable projects was the East London Fun Palace (1961), developed in association with theatrical director

Joan Littlewood Joan Maud Littlewood (6 October 1914 – 20 September 2002) was an English theatre director who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and is best known for her work in developing the Theatre Workshop. She has been called "The Mother of M ...

and

cybernetician Cybernetics is the transdisciplinary study of circular causal processes such as feedback and recursion, where the effects of a system's actions (its outputs) return as inputs to that system, influencing subsequent action. It is concerned with ...

Gordon Pask. Although it was never built, its flexible space influenced other architects, notably

Richard Rogers Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside (23 July 1933 – 18 December 2021) was a British-Italian architect noted for his modernist and constructivist designs in high-tech architecture. He was the founder at Rogers Stirk Harbour + ...

and

Renzo Piano Renzo Piano (; born 14 September 1937) is an Italian architect. His notable works include the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (with Richard Rogers, 1977), The Shard in London (2012), Kansai International Airport in Osaka (1994), the Whitney ...

whose

Centre Georges Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

extended many of Price's ideas – some of which Price used on a more modest scale in the Inter-Action Centre at

Kentish Town Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England, in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town, close to Hampstead Heath. Kentish Town likely derives its name from Ken-ditch or Caen-ditch, meaning the "bed of a waterw ...

(1971). Having conceived the idea of using architecture and education as a way to drive economic redevelopment—notably in the north Staffordshire Potteries area (the 'Think-Belt' project)—he continued to contribute to planning debates. Think-Belt (1963–66) envisaged the reuse of an abandoned railway line as a roving "higher education facility", re-establishing the Potteries as a centre of science and technology. Mobile classroom, laboratory and residential modules could be moved grouped and assembled as required. In 1969, with planner

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 "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...

Peter Hall and the editor of ''New Society'' magazine

Paul Barker Paul Gordon Barker (born February 8, 1959), also referred to as Hermes Pan, is an American musician, best known as the former bass guitarist, producer and engineer for industrial metal band Ministry from 1986 to 2003. Prior to Ministry, he pr ...

, he published ''Non-plan'', a work challenging planning orthodoxy. In 1984, Price proposed the redevelopment of London's

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial area on the south bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Lambeth, central London, England. The South Bank is not formally defined, but is generally understood to be situated betwe ...

, and foresaw the

London Eye The London Eye, originally the Millennium Wheel, is a cantilevered observation wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. It is the world's tallest cantilevered observation wheel, and the most popular paid Tourist attractions in the ...

by suggesting that a giant

Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a big wheel, giant wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondola ...

should be constructed by the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

Personal life and death

Price was the partner of the actress

Eleanor Bron Eleanor Bron (born 14 March 1938) is an English stage, film and television actress, and an author. Her film roles include Ahme in the Beatles musical ''Help!'' (1965), the Doctor in '' Alfie'' (1966), Margaret Spencer in '' Bedazzled'' (1967) an ...

. They had no children. Price died in London, aged 68, in 2003.

Recognition

In 2002, Price was awarded the Austrian Frederick Kiesler Prize for Architecture and the Arts.

References

Notes Further reading * Hardingham, Samantha (2016)
Cedric Price Works 1952–2003: A Forward-Minded Retrospective
'' a two-volume anthology, co-published by the

Architectural Association The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, commonly referred to as the AA, is the oldest private school of architecture in the UK. The AA hosts exhibitions, lectures, symposia and publications. History The Architectura ...

(AA) and the

Canadian Centre for Architecture The Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA; ) is a Architecture museum, museum of architecture and research centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 1920, rue Baile (1920, Baile Street), between rue Fort (Fort Street) and rue Saint-Ma ...

(CCA) * Bron, Eleanor and Hardingham, Samantha, eds. (2005)
''Annotations: v. 7: CP Retriever''
Institute of International Visual Arts (INIVA), London * Hardingham, Samantha (2003) ''Cedric Price: Opera'', London: John Wiley & Sons, London. * Hardingham, Samantha and Rattenbury, Kester, eds. (2007) ''Cedric Price: Potteries Thinkbelt''. London: Routledge. * Hughes, Jonathan and Sadler, Simon, eds. (2000) ''Non-Plan: Essays on Freedom, Participation and Change in Modern Architecture and Urbanism''. Oxford: Architectural Press. * Muschamp, Herbert (15 August 2003
"Cedric Price, Influential British Architect With Sense of Fun, Dies at 68" (obituary)
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' * Price, Cedric (1984) ''Cedric Price: Works II'',

; republished in 2003 as ''Cedric Price: The Square Book''. London: Wiley-Academy, London. * Staff (ndg
"Cedric Price"

Design Museum The Design Museum in Kensington, London, England, exhibits product, industrial, graphic, fashion, and architectural design. In 2018, the museum won the European Museum of the Year Award. The museum operates as a registered charity, and all fund ...

* Staff (22 August 2003
"Cedric Price, A leading light of the 'megastructure' movement whose work was guided by amusing and inspirational ideas" (obituary)
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

External links

* Finding aid for th
Cedric Price fonds
at the

br>(digitized items)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Price, Cedric People from Stone, Staffordshire 1934 births 2003 deaths 20th-century English architects Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Alumni of the Architectural Association School of Architecture Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects Architects from Staffordshire