The year 1936 in architecture involved some significant events.
Events
* May 27 – begins her maiden Atlantic crossing. Interior design, under the direction of E. C. Leach, is by
Arthur Joseph Davis and J. C. Whipp of Mewès & Davis (UK) and
Benjamin Wistar Morris (USA) with much craftsmanship undertaken by the
Bromsgrove Guild of Applied Arts
The Bromsgrove Guild of Applied Arts (1898–1966) was a company of modern artists and designers associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement, founded by Walter Gilbert. The guild worked in metal, wood, plaster, bronze, tapestry, glass and ...
.
* July 20 – At the outbreak of the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...
, mobs break into the unfinished church of
Sagrada Família
The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, shortened as the Sagrada Família, is an unfinished church in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world. Designed by ...
in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...
, destroying much of architect
Antoni Gaudí
Antoni Gaudí i Cornet (; ; 25 June 1852 – 10 June 1926) was a Catalan architect from Spain known as the greatest exponent of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí's works have a highly individualized, '' sui generis'' style. Most are located in Barc ...
's workshops, models and drawings and wrecking the crypt where he is buried.
* October –
Rose Connor
Rose Connor (March 4, 1892 – December 29, 1970) was an American architect. Called "one of the earliest and most successful women architects of the 20th century", her architectural work was largely residential projects in Southern California, ...
opens her own architectural practice in
Pasadena, California.
* October 29 – Construction of
Via della Conciliazione
Via della Conciliazione (Road of the Conciliation) is a street in the Rione of Borgo within Rome, Italy. Roughly in length, it connects Saint Peter's Square to the Castel Sant'Angelo on the western bank of the Tiber River. The road was construct ...
in Rome begins.
Buildings and structures
Buildings

*
Johnson Wax Headquarters
Johnson Wax Headquarters is the world headquarters and administration building of S. C. Johnson & Son in Racine, Wisconsin. Designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright for the company's president, Herbert F. "Hib" Johnson, the building was ...
,
Racine, Wisconsin
Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River. Racine is situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and approximately 60 ...
, designed by
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...
.
*
Campana Factory
The Campana Factory is a historic building in Batavia, Illinois. It was built in 1936 to serve as a factory for The Campana Company, which produced Italian Balm, the most popular hand lotion in the United States during The Great Depression. The ...
,
Batavia, Illinois
Batavia () is a city mainly in Kane County and partly in DuPage County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in the Chicago metropolitan area, it was founded in 1833 and is the oldest city in Kane County. Per the 2020 census, the population ...
, designed by Frank D. Chase and Childs & Smith, built.
*
Owens-Illinois
O-I Glass, Inc. is an American company that specializes in container glass products. It is one of the world's leading manufacturers of packaging products, holding the position of largest manufacturer of glass containers in North America, South ...
Glass Company building in
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and accordin ...
, built.
*
George Rogers Clark Memorial in
Vincennes, Indiana
Vincennes is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Indiana, United States. It is located on the lower Wabash River in the southwestern part of the state, nearly halfway between Evansville and Terre Haute. Founded in 1732 by French ...
by
Frederic Charles Hirons
Frederic Charles Hirons (March 28, 1882 - January 23, 1942) was an American architect, based in New York City, who designed the Classical George Rogers Clark National Memorial, in Vincennes, Indiana, among the last major Beaux-Arts style public ...
dedicated.
*
Lasipalatsi "temporary" office and commercial building in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...
, designed by
Viljo Revell
Viljo Gabriel Revell (25 January 1910 – 8 November 1964) was a Finnish architect of the functionalist school. In Finland he is best known for the design of the Lasipalatsi ("Glass Palace") and Palace Hotel, both in Helsinki. Internationally ...
, Heimo Riihimäki and Niilo Kokko, built.
*
Peter Jones (department store)
Peter Jones & Partners is a large department store in central London. It is owned by John Lewis Partnership and located in Sloane Square, Chelsea.
History
The shop is named after Peter Rees Jones (1842–1905), the son of a Carmarthenshi ...
in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, designed by
William Crabtree
William Crabtree (1610–1644) was an astronomer, mathematician, and merchant from Broughton, then in the Hundred of Salford, Lancashire, England. He was one of only two people to observe and record the first predicted transit of Venus in 16 ...
of Slater, Crabtree and Moberly, completed.
*
Casa Bloc (workers' apartments),
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...
, designed by
Josep Lluís Sert
Josep Lluís Sert i López (; 1 July 190215 March 1983) was a Spanish architect and city planner.
Biography
Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Sert showed keen interest in the works of his uncle, the painter Josep Maria Sert, and of Gaudí. He ...
, completed.
*
Casa del Fascio (Como)
The Casa del Fascio of Como (), also called Palazzo Terragni, is a building located in Como, Italy, in the Piazza del Popolo (former Piazza Impero), and it is one of the masterpieces of Italian Modern Architecture. It was designed by Italian arch ...
, designed by
Giuseppe Terragni
Giuseppe Terragni (; 18 April 1904 – 19 July 1943) was an Italian architect who worked primarily under the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini and pioneered the Italian modern movement under the rubric of Rationalism. His most famous work is the ...
, completed.
*
Vytautas the Great War Museum
The Vytautas the Great War Museum ( lt, Vytauto Didžiojo karo muziejus) is a museum in Kaunas, Lithuania. It was built in Art Deco and early functionalism style.
Originally it was established in 1921 by Vladas Nagevičius but later it was deci ...
in
Kaunas
Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Tra ...
,
Lithuania completed.
*
Olympic Stadium (Berlin)
''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...
, designed by
Werner March
Werner Julius March (17 January 1894 – 11 January 1976) was a German architect, son of Otto March (1845-1913), and brother of Walter March, both also well-known German architects. Werner March designed Germany's 1936 Olympic stadium ...
, opened.
*
Mounts Baths
Mounts Baths is a swimming pool in Northampton, England. Built in 1936, it is notable for its Art Deco style.
It is a Grade II listed building, listed on 28 January 2013. It is regarded by Historic England as "a particularly good example of a Mo ...
,
Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
, England, designed by
James Caldwell Prestwich
James Caldwell Prestwich (1852–1940) was an English architect. He was born in Atherton, Lancashire and educated at Leigh and Nantwich Grammar Schools. He trained to be an architect in London and returned to Leigh in 1875 to start an architectur ...
, built.
*
Tilkka
Tilkka Hospital ( fi, Tilkan sairaala, sv, Tilkka sjukhus; often referred to simply as Tilkka) is a former military hospital in Helsinki, Finland. It is located at Mannerheimintie 164 in the Pikku Huopalahti district.
Tilkka military hospital was ...
military hospital,
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
, Finland, designed by Olavi Sortta, completed.
*
Florin Court (apartments), London, designed by
Guy Morgan and Partners.
*
Pullman Court (apartments), London, designed by
Frederick Gibberd
Sir Frederick Ernest Gibberd (7 January 1908 – 9 January 1984) was an English architect, town planner and landscape designer. He is particularly known for his work in Harlow, Essex, and for the BISF house, a design for a prefabricated counci ...
in 1933, completed.
* '
Beehive
A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus ''Apis'' live and raise their young. Though the word ''beehive'' is commonly used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature ...
' terminal at
Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
, designed by
Frank Hoar
Harold Frank Hoar, FRIBA (13 September 1909 – 3 October 1976) was a British architect, artist, academic and architectural historian. Hoar first came to public prominence when, at the age of 25, he won a competition to design the first ter ...
of Hoar, Marlow & Lovett, opened.
*
Airship hangar
Airship hangars (also known as airship sheds) are large specialized buildings that are used for sheltering airships during construction, maintenance and storage. Rigid airships always needed to be based in airship hangars because weathering was a s ...
at
Bartolomeu de Gusmão Airport
Bartolomeu de Gusmão Airport was a Brazilian airport built to handle the operations with the rigid airships '' Graf Zeppelin'' and '' Hindenburg''. The airport was named after Bartolomeu Lourenço de Gusmão (1685–1724), a Portuguese priest ...
,
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...
, Brazil opened.
*
Zwickau Hauptbahnhof
Zwickau Hauptbahnhof is the main railway station of Zwickau in the German state of Saxony.
History
On 18 September 1845 Zwickau was connected by a branch line to the Leipzig–Reichenbach railway line. This was followed on 11 May 1858 by the ...
(railway station), Germany, designed by Otto Falk, opened.
*
Campion Hall, Oxford
Campion Hall is one of the five permanent private halls of the University of Oxford in England. It is run by the Society of Jesus and named after Edmund Campion, a martyr and fellow of St John's College, Oxford. The hall is located on Brewer St ...
(college), England, designed by
Edwin Lutyens, opened.
*
Church of St Monica, Bootle
St. Monica's is a Roman Catholic parish church in Bootle, Merseyside. The church building was designed by the architect F. X. Velarde. Construction was started in 1930 and completed in 1936, and the church was dedicated by Archbishop Richard Dow ...
, England, designed by
F. X. Velarde
Francis Xavier Velarde (1897 – 28 December 1960) was an English architect who practised in Liverpool, Merseyside, England.
Biography
Velarde was trained at the Liverpool School of Architecture from 1920, and from 1928 taught at the school. I ...
.
* Kenwood House,
Nairobi
Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city prope ...
, Kenya, designed by
Ernst May
Ernst May (27 July 1886 – 11 September 1970) was a German architect and city planner.
May successfully applied urban design techniques to the city of Frankfurt am Main during the Weimar Republic period, and in 1930 less successfully expor ...
.
* The Laughing Water
roadhouse,
Cobham, Kent
Cobham () is a village and civil parish in the borough of Gravesham in Kent, England. The village is located south-east of Gravesend, and just south of Watling Street, the Roman road from Dover to London. The parish, which includes the hamlet ...
, England, designed by
Clough Williams-Ellis
Sir Bertram Clough Williams-Ellis, CBE, MC (28 May 1883 – 9 April 1978) was a Welsh architect known chiefly as the creator of the Italianate village of Portmeirion in North Wales. He became a major figure in the development of Welsh architec ...
, built.
*
The Maybury roadhouse, Edinburgh, designed by Paterson & Broom, opened.
*
Obelisk of Buenos Aires
The Obelisco de Buenos Aires (Obelisk of Buenos Aires) is a national historic monument and icon of Buenos Aires. Located in the Plaza de la República in the intersection of avenues Corrientes and 9 de Julio, it was erected in 1936 to commemorat ...
designed by
Alberto Prebisch.
*
Canadian National Vimy Memorial
The Canadian National Vimy Memorial is a war memorial site in France dedicated to the memory of Canadian Expeditionary Force members killed during the First World War. It also serves as the place of commemoration for Canadian soldiers of the Fir ...
, designed by
Walter Seymour Allward
Walter Seymour Allward, (18 November 1874 – 24 April 1955) was a Canadian monumental sculptor best known for the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. Featuring expressive classical figures within modern compositions, Allward's monuments evoke them ...
, dedicated.
* 5 Frug Street,
White City (Tel Aviv)
The White City ( he, העיר הלבנה, ''Ha-Ir ha-Levana''; ar, المدينة البيضاء ''Al-Madinah al-Baydha’a'') is a collection of over 4,000 buildings in Tel Aviv from the 1930s built in a unique form of the International Style, ...
,
Mandatory Palestine
Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...
, designed by Yehuda Liolka.
* British
General Post Office
The General Post Office (GPO) was the state mail, postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Before the Acts of Union 1707, it was the postal system of the Kingdom of England, established by Charles II of En ...
K6 'Jubilee'
red telephone box
The red telephone box, a telephone kiosk for a public telephone designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, is a familiar sight on the streets of the United Kingdom, Malta, Bermuda and Gibraltar.
Despite a reduction in their numbers in recent years ...
, designed by
Giles Gilbert Scott
Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (9 November 1880 – 8 February 1960) was a British architect known for his work on the New Bodleian Library, Cambridge University Library, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, Battersea Power Station, Liverpool Cathedral, and d ...
, introduced.
Awards
*
Olympic gold medal
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece be ...
–
Hermann Kutschera of
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
for ''Skistadium''.
* Olympic silver medal –
Werner March
Werner Julius March (17 January 1894 – 11 January 1976) was a German architect, son of Otto March (1845-1913), and brother of Walter March, both also well-known German architects. Werner March designed Germany's 1936 Olympic stadium ...
of
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
for ''National sports field''.
* Olympic bronze medal –
Hermann Stieglholzer and
Herbert Kastinger of
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
for ''Fighting site in Vienna''.
*
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 suppl ...
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 ...
–
Charles Holden
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...
.
*
Grand Prix de Rome
The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...
, architecture: André Remondet for ''a naval museum''.
Births
* March 17 –
Juha Leiviskä
Juha Ilmari Leiviskä (born 17 March 1936 in Helsinki) is a prominent Finnish architect and designer. He is especially known for his churches and other sacral buildings.
Life and career
The son of engineer Toivo Ilmari Leiviskä and teacher ...
, Finnish architect
* April 17 –
Verma Panton, Jamaican architect (died
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...
)
* July 25 –
Glenn Murcutt
Glenn Marcus Murcutt AO (born 25 July 1936) is an Australian architect and winner of the 1992 Alvar Aalto Medal, the 2002 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the 2009 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and the 2021 Praemium Imperiale. Glen ...
, English-born Australian architect
* October 4 –
Christopher Alexander
Christopher Wolfgang John Alexander (4 October 1936 – 17 March 2022) was an Austrian-born British-American architect and design theorist. He was an emeritus professor at the University of California, Berkeley. His theories about the nature o ...
, Viennese-born architect
* December 14 –
Frank Williams, American architect (died
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
)
Deaths
* June 29 –
Luigi Manini
Luigi Pietro Manini, Count of Fagagna (Crema, Lombardy-Venetia, 8 March 1848 – Brescia, 29 June 1936) was an Italian set designer, architect, painter. He arrived in Lisbon, Portugal in 1879, where he lived until he returned to Italy in 1913. M ...
, Italian architect and stage designer also working in Portugal (born
1848
1848 is historically famous for the wave of revolutions, a series of widespread struggles for more liberal governments, which broke out from Brazil to Hungary; although most failed in their immediate aims, they significantly altered the poli ...
)
* September 17 –
Edward Hudson, English architectural publisher and patron (born
1854
Events
January–March
* January 4 – The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the ''Samarang''.
* January 6 – The fictional detective Sherlock Holmes is perhaps born.
* January 9 – The Te ...
)
*
Philip Mainwaring Johnston, English architect (born
1865
Events
January–March
* January 4 – The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad near Wall Street, in New York City.
* January 13 – American Civil War : Second Battle of Fort Fisher ...
)
References
{{reflist, 30em