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 ...

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 suppl ...

from 1952 to 1954 and a

Royal Academician The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

. 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 or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

, 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 Ditchling is a village and civil parish in the Lewes (district), Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The village is contained within the boundaries of the South Downs National Park; the order confirming the establishment of the park was sign ...

, Sussex, and at

Malvern College Malvern College is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging coeducational boarding school, boarding and day school in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school (United Kingdom), public school ...

.'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 History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'' (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 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 ...

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

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

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

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

Le Touquet Le Touquet-Paris-Plage (, Picard language, Picard: ''Ech Toutchet-Paris-Plache''), commonly referred to as Le Touquet (), is a Communes of France, commune near Étaples, in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, northern France. ...

in northern France.

Military career

Robertson joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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 (armed forces), 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 colon ...

. He was awarded the British

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

, the French

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

and

Black Star Black Star or Blackstar may refer to: Astronomy *Black star (semiclassical gravity), a theoretical star built using semiclassical gravity as an alternative to a black hole *Saturn, referred to as "Black Star" in ancient Judaeic belief *Black dwarf ...

, and the American

Certificate of Merit Medal The Certificate of Merit Medal was a military decoration of the United States Army that was issued between the years of 1905 and 1918. The Certificate of Merit Medal replaced the much older Certificate of Merit which was authorized by the United S ...

Career as architect

On his return to civilian life in 1919, Robertson formed the firm of Easton & Robertson with

John Murray Easton John Murray Easton (30 January 1889 – 19 August 1975) was a Scottish architect and the winner of the Royal Gold Medal for architecture awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects. Early life Easton was born in Edinburgh on 30 Januar ...

(1889–1975). Their offices were at 168

Regent Street Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George IV of the United Kingdom, George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash (architect), J ...

, 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 A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ad ...

'', but left it when he began to find it too narrowly focussed. UN HQ 157652121 5b5979da9e2

With

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , ; ), was a Swiss-French architectural designer, painter, urban planner and writer, who was one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture ...

Oscar Niemeyer Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (15 December 1907 – 5 December 2012), known as Oscar Niemeyer (), was a Brazilian architect considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was b ...

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 Wallace Kirkman Harrison (September 28, 1895 – December 2, 1981) was an American architect. Harrison started his professional career with the firm of Corbett, Harrison & MacMurray, participating in the construction of Rockefeller Center. He is ...

with the design of the

United Nations Headquarters The headquarters of the United Nations (UN) is on of grounds in the Turtle Bay, Manhattan, Turtle Bay neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It borders First Avenue (Manhattan), First Avenue to the west, 42nd Street (Manhattan), 42nd ...

in New York City, built between 1947 and 1952 in

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...

and aluminium, with glass curtain walls. Robertson was elected a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the

in 1925 and an Associate of the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

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 is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...

was painted by

Rodrigo Moynihan (Herbert George) Rodrigo MoynihanBurke's Landed Gentry 1970, pg 876 (17 October 1910 – 6 November 1990) was an English painter, credited with being a pioneer of abstract painting in England. Early life Moynihan was born in Santa Cruz de Tene ...

. 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 language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia. They had no children. Robertson was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

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 is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

''.

Walter Yust Walter M. Yust (May 16, 1894 – February 29, 1960) was an American journalist and writer. Yust was the American editor-in-chief of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' from 1938 to 1960.

, 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 () was a specialized exhibition held in Paris, France, from April 29 (the day after it was inaugurated in a private ceremony by the President of France) to November 8, 1925 (O ...

in Paris, the event which created the term

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

. 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 ...

was awarded the

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

Bronze Medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

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 th ...

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

Swiss Re Swiss Re Ltd is a Swiss reinsurance company founded in 1863 and headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. It is one of the world's largest reinsurers, as measured by gross premiums written. Swiss Re operates through around 80 offices in 29 countri ...

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 Erich Mendelsohn (); 21 March 1887 – 15 September 1953) was a German-British architect, known for his expressionist architecture in the 1920s, as well as for developing a dynamic functionalism in his projects for department stores and cinem ...

, the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

Printing Works at

Loughton Loughton () is a suburban town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. The town borders Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell, Chingford, and Buckhurst Hill, and lies north-east of Charing Cross. For statistical purposes ...

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

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

(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 th ...

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

Waterloo, London Waterloo () is a district in Central London, and part of the Waterloo and South Bank (ward), Waterloo and South Bank ward of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated east of Charing Cross. The area is part of a List of business improvement ...

, 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 was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

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

Esher Esher ( ) is a town in the borough of Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole, Surrey, River Mole. Esher is an outlying suburb of London, close to the London–Surrey border; with Esher Commons at its ...

, 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 is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

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 British 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