Frederick Lloyd Roche,

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 ...

(11 March 1931 – 9 November 1992), was a British architect who worked on the programme of

new towns in the United Kingdom The new towns in the United Kingdom were planned under the powers of the New Towns Act 1946 ( 9 & 10 Geo. 6. c. 68) and later acts to relocate people from poor or bombed-out housing following the Second World War. Designated new towns were place ...

. He was Chief Architect of

Runcorn Runcorn is an industrial town and Runcorn Docks, cargo port in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England. Runcorn is on the south bank of the River Mersey, where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. It is upstream from the port of Live ...

Development Corporation from 1965 to 1970 and General Manager of the Milton Keynes Development Corporation from 1970 to 1981. In 1985, he was appointed a CBE.

Career

Roche trained at Regent Street Polytechnic (now

University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Po ...

) and qualified in 1955. He remained in London for three years working as a housing architect and moved to

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

in 1958 where he became an architect specialising in schools. In 1963, he returned to housing when he became principal development architect for the Midlands Housing Consortium. In 1965, Roche became chief architect and planning officer for

new town. He led on the design of the new town centre, Runcorn Shopping City. In 1970, he moved to

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

in north Buckinghamshire to be General Manager of the Development Corporation at the age of 39. He oversaw the major growth of the 'new city' through to 1981. Thereafter, he joined with

Terence Conran Sir Terence Orby Conran (4 October 1931 – 12 September 2020) was a British designer, restaurateur, retailer and writer. He founded the Design Museum in Shad Thames, London in 1989. The British designer Thomas Heatherwick said that Conran "m ...

to establish the new architecture and planning consultancy, Conran Roche. The company developed a number of projects during the 1980s, including

Butler's Wharf Butler's Wharf is an England, English historic building at Shad Thames on the south bank of the River Thames, just east of London's Tower Bridge, now housing luxury flats and restaurants. Lying between Shad Thames and the Thames Path, it overl ...

and Michelin House in London. He retired as managing director in 1988 due to ill health.

Awards and recognition

In 1985 Roche was appointed a

. He was a vice-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 1983 to 1985 and honorary treasurer from 1985 to 1986. He is commemorated in Milton Keynes by having a linear civic garden named for him.

References

External links

The Fred Roche Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roche, Fred 1931 births Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 1992 deaths 20th-century British architects History of Milton Keynes Alumni of the Regent Street Polytechnic