Eric Alfred Lyons

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(1912–1980) was a British

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exper ...

and

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 ...

. He achieved critical recognition in his development of family and technology-embracing housing communities in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the latter part of the 20th century. His partnership in Span Developments led to the building of over 73 estates, some of which have achieved

Conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

status in recognition of the close communities created with substantial garden areas, glass and light, façade angles used for privacy and decoration and separate garages as a practical

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...

for car-based culture and high point of

Modern Architecture Modern architecture, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural movement and style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco and later postmodern movements. Modern architectur ...

widely described a "successful, experimental modernism".Spelthorne Borough Council
Manygate Lane Conservation Area appraisal: in supporting the "successful implementation of modernism" this source cites appraisals of Lyons' work in:
''The Visual Dictionary of Buildings''– Dorling Kindersley
''A History of English Architecture'' – Pelican
''The Buildings of Wales: Glamorgan'' – John Newman
''The Elements of Style'' – Mitchell Besley
''Dictionary of Architecture'' – Penguin
''Dictionary of Building'' – Penguin
''A Vision of Britain'' –

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, a ...

- Doubleday From 1936 to 1937 he worked for

Walter Gropius Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (; 18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969) was a German-born American architect and founder of the Bauhaus, Bauhaus School, who is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modernist architecture. He was a founder of ...

and

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, ...

, in the short period that Gropius was in the UK. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he spent a number of years working on various projects, designing flat-pack furniture for Tecta and entering competitions. It was in 1948 that Span was founded, with Eric Lyons, Leslie Bilsby and Geoff Townsend who had resigned from 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

to become a developer (RIBA rules at the time prohibited architects from being developers). Span estates were typified by sharp Modernist designs with space, light and well-planned interiors, tempered with traditional features such as hung tiles and

stock brick London stock brick is the type of handmade brick which was used for the majority of building work in London and South East England until the increase in the use of Flettons and other machine-made bricks in the early 20th century. Its distincti ...

. Lavishly landscaped communal gardens were also a common feature of Lyons' designs. Outside of his Span work, he developed a number of other schemes, such as public housing for World's End in Chelsea, Pitcairn House (1961-63) as part of the LCC's Frampton Park Estate in Hackney, and his final development in

Vilamoura Vilamoura is a coastal luxury resort in the Loulé municipality in Algarve, Portugal. It is one of the three corners of Algarve's Golden Triangle (Algarve), Golden Triangle. Vilamoura comprises one of the largest single tourist complexes in Europe ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. He was president of the

from 1975 to 1977. He died in 1980 from

motor neurone disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of both upper and low ...

References

External links

Highsett (Cambridge)New Ash Green historyMarsham LodgeTemplemereFieldendbdonline: Spanning a diverse art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyons, Eric 1912 births 1980 deaths 20th-century English architects Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Presidents of the Royal Institute of British Architects Deaths from motor neuron disease