James Adam (21 July 1732 – 20 October 1794) was a Scottish

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 furniture designer, but was often overshadowed by his older brother and business partner,

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (architect), William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and train ...

. They were sons of architect William Adam.

Life and career

Adam was born in

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; ; ) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, making it Fife's second-largest s ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

in 1732 as the third son of the architect William Adam. In 1755 Adam worked on Gunsgreen House in the Berwickshire town of Eyemouth. In 1758, Adam, along with his brother Robert, started his business in

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(living in Lower Grosvenor Street), focusing on designing complete schemes for the decoration and furnishing of houses. Palladian design was popular, but Robert had evolved a new, more flexible signature style incorporating elements of classic Roman design alongside influences from Greek,

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and

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

styles, often termed as Adam Style in conventional architecture texts. The Adam brothers' success can also be attributed to a desire to design everything down to the smallest detail, ensuring a sense of unity in their designs. He then followed in Robert's footsteps by undertaking the '' Grand Tour'', leaving in May 1760 and arriving back in London in October 1763. Adam succeeded Robert as Architect of the King's Works in 1768 just before work on the brothers' Adelphi project (1768–1772) almost bankrupted the firm (the business employed other notable architects including Joseph Bonomi (1739–1808) who, from 1768, remained with the Adams until 1781). From 1771 to 1775, he was engaged with his brother in the design and building of Wedderburn Castle near Duns,

Berwickshire Berwickshire (; ) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. The county takes its name from Berwick-upon-Tweed, its original county town, which was part of Scotland at the ...

. Adam emerged from his brother's shadow after Robert's death in 1792, designing several notable buildings in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, including the old Infirmary (1792; demolished 1907), Assembly Rooms (1794; demolished in 1890) and the Tron Kirk (1794). He also designed Portland Place in central London. In 1793, he was part of a group of architects that

John Soane Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neoclassical architecture, Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor ...

was asked to supply plans to for the

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. However, he died at his home in London's Albemarle Street in 1794. Adam had a book collection of some significance which he marked with his personal engraved bookplate. During their lifetime Robert and James Adam published two volumes of their designs, ''Works in Architecture of Robert and James Adam'' (in 1773–1778 and 1779; a third volume was published posthumously, in 1822).

List of architectural works

Public buildings

*Courts of Justice and Corn Market, Hertfordshire, now Shire Hall, Hertford (1768). Altered, but partially restored to original design. A joint project with Robert Adam. File:The Shire Hall, Hertford - geograph.org.uk - 142920.jpg, The Shire Hall, Hertford - geograph.org.uk - 142920 File:York Place 5B, Edinburgh.JPG, St George's Episcopal Chapel, York Place, Edinburgh (1794)

Urban domestic work

* Drumsheugh House in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

for the Erskine family () * The Adelphi development, London (1768–1775) mostly demolished 1930s, a ceiling & fireplace are in 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 ...

* 7 Adam Street File:Adelphi 20130414 161.jpg, The Adelphi, London, largely demolished File:WLA vanda Robert Adam Ceiling roundel with octagon and Apollo and Horae.jpg, Robert Adam ceiling from the Adelphi, now in the V&A File:James Adam (architect) 20130414 156.jpg, 7 Adam Street

Country houses with major work

* Gunsgreen House, Berwickshire (1755) File:Gunsgreen House, Eyemouth.jpg, Gunsgreen House

References