Sir Hugh Maxwell Casson (23 May 1910 – 15 August 1999) was a British architect. He was also active as an interior designer, as an artist, and as a writer and broadcaster on twentieth-century design. He was the director of architecture for the Festival of Britain on the South Bank in 1951. From 1976 to 1984, he was president of the Royal Academy.

Life

Casson was born in London on 23 May 1910, spending his early years in

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—where his father was posted with the Indian Civil Service—before being sent back to England for schooling. He was the nephew of actor, Sir Lewis Casson and his wife, the actress Sybil Thorndike. Casson studied at Eastbourne College in East Sussex, then St John's College, Cambridge (1929–31), after which he spent time at the Bartlett School of Architecture in London and The British School in Athens. He met his future wife, Margaret Macdonald Troup (1913-1995), an architect and designer who taught design at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It o ...

, while they were both students. The couple had three daughters.

Work

Before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, he divided his time between teaching at the Cambridge School of Architecture and working in the London office of his Cambridge tutor, Christopher (Kit) Nicholson. He wrote the book ''New Sights of London'' in 1938 for London Transport, championing modern architecture within reach of London, while remaining critical of the UK's record in innovative building. "He does not mince his words", commented the ''Architect and Building News'' on the cover. During the war, he worked in the

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Service of the

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. Casson was appointed to his role as director of architecture of the Festival of Britain in 1948 at the age of 38, and set out to celebrate peace and modernity through the appointment of other young architects. For example, the

Modernist 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 ...

design of the Royal Festival Hall was led by a 39-year-old,

Leslie Martin Sir John Leslie Martin (17 August 1908, in Manchester – 28 July 2000) was an English architect, and a leading advocate of the International Style. Martin's most famous building is the Royal Festival Hall. His work was especially influence ...

. Casson's Festival achievements led to his being made a (

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

) in 1952. After the war, and alongside his Festival work, Casson went into partnership with young architect Neville Conder. Their projects included corporate headquarters buildings, university campuses, the Elephant House at London Zoo, a building for the

(where Casson was Professor of Interior Design from 1955 to 1975, and later served as Provost), the Microbiology Building (Belfast), and the master planning and design of the Sidgwick Avenue arts faculty buildings for the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

, including the Austin Robinson Building which houses the Faculty of Economics as well as the Marshall Library of Economics. This latter project lasted some 30 years. He was friends with members of the British royal family, and reportedly taught watercolour painting to Prince Charles. In 1955, he designed the interiors for the royal yacht ''Britannia''; he also designed interiors for suites at Buckingham Palace and at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

. From 1953 to 1975 he was professor of

environmental design Environmental design is the process of addressing surrounding environmental parameters when devising plans, programs, policies, buildings, or products. It seeks to create spaces that will enhance the natural, social, cultural and physical environm ...

at the

, where his wife Margaret was

senior tutor Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

. In the 1980s Casson became a television presenter, with his own series, ''Personal Pleasures with Sir Hugh Casson'', about stately homes and places he enjoyed. Casson supplied watercolour illustrations for a new edition of Sir John Betjeman's verse autobiography ''

Summoned by Bells ''Summoned by Bells'', the blank verse autobiography by John Betjeman, describes his life from his early memories of a middle-class home in Edwardian Hampstead, London, to his premature departure from Magdalen College, Oxford. The book was firs ...

'' (1960); ''The Illustrated "Summoned by Bells"'' was published by John Murray in 1989.

Reception

After his work for the Festival of Britain, Casson was knighted in the

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

of 1952. He was made a Knight Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

in 1978, and a Companion of Honour in 1985. He was elected an associate member of the Royal Academy in 1962, and a full member in 1970. He was

treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...

in 1975–1976, and president from 1976 to 1984. During the Summer Exhibition the academy awards an annual Hugh Casson Drawing Prize "for an original work on paper in any medium, where the emphasis is clearly on drawing", and a room in the Keeper's House is named after him. '' Private Eye'' magazine gives the Sir Hugh Casson Award for the "Worst New Building of the Year". An archive of his papers is held by the

Victoria & Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

. Photographs attributed to Casson are held in the

Conway Library The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist c ...

The Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...

, London, whose archive, of primarily architectural images, is being digitised under the wider Courtauld Connects project.

Selected publications

* ''Hugh Casson's Oxford'', London : Phaidon, 1998, ISBN 0714838101 * ''Hugh Casson's Cambridge'', London : Phaidon, 1992, ISBN 0714824593 * ''Hugh Casson's London'', London : Dent, 1983, * ''The Tower of London : an artist's portrait'', with additional text ("An historian's viewpoint") by Richard White, London : Herbert Press in association with HM Tower of London, 1993, * ''Sketch book : a personal choice of London buildings, drawn 1971-1974'' with introduction by John Betjeman, London : Lion and Unicorn Press, 1975, * ''Diary'', Hugh Casson, London : Macmillan, 1981, * ''Nanny Says'', as recalled by Sir Hugh Casson and Joyce Grenfell, ed. Diana, Lady Avebury, London : Dobson, 1972, * ''Bridges'', London : Chatto, 1963. * ''Monuments'', London : Chatto, 1963. * ''Red Lacquer Days. An illustrated journal describing a recent journey to Peking'', London : Lion & Unicorn Press, 1956 * ''An Introduction to Victorian Architecture'', London : Art and Technics, 1948 * ''Homes by the Million. An account of the housing achievement in the U.S.A., 1940-1945'', Harmondsworth : Penguin, 1946 * ''New Sights of London: The Handy Guide to Contemporary Architecture'', London : Westminster : London Transport Publications, 1938 Casson also illustrated many books; perhaps the most famous being ''The Old Man of Lochnagar'',

HRH The Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

with illustrations by Sir Hugh Casson, London : Hamilton, 1980, Casson's biography was published in 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casson, Hugh 1910 births 1999 deaths 20th-century English architects Royal Academicians People educated at Eastbourne College Academics of the Royal College of Art Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Alumni of The Bartlett Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Camoufleurs People from Hampstead People from Chelsea, London Architects from London Knights Bachelor