Monica Pidgeon
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Monica Pidgeon (29 September 1913 – 17 September 2009) was a British
interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...
er and architectural writer best known as the editor of ''
Architectural Design Building design, also called architectural design, refers to the broadly based architectural, engineering and technical applications to the design of buildings. All building projects require the services of a building designer, typically a licen ...
'' from 1946 to 1975.


Early life

Pidgeon was born Monica Lehmann in 1913 in Catemu, Chile. Her father was a French
mining engineer Mining engineering is the extraction of minerals from the ground. It is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, metallurgy, geotechnical engineering and surveying. A mining engineer m ...
; her mother was Scottish. In 1929, her parents moved the family to London so their children could finish their education at English schools; she attended St Martin-in-the-Fields High School for Girls in
Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...
. After graduating, she enrolled in a two-year
interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...
course at
The Bartlett The Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment, also known as The Bartlett, is the academic centre for the study of the built environment at University College London (UCL), United Kingdom. It is home to thirteen departments, with specialisms incl ...
School of Architecture at
University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
(UCL). She had initially tried to study architecture but
Albert Richardson Albert Richardson may refer to: * Albert Richardson (architect) (1880–1964), English architect * Albert Richardson (priest) (1868–1905), English missionary to Africa and India * Albert Richardson (Wisconsin politician) (1864–1937), American po ...
, the head of the Bartlett school at the time, did not believe women belonged in architecture and her father convinced her to focus on interior design instead.


Career

After graduating from UCL, Pidgeon worked for a furniture company in
Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...
. When the business closed, she began working as a freelance writer and illustrator. In 1941, she joined the staff of ''
Architectural Design Building design, also called architectural design, refers to the broadly based architectural, engineering and technical applications to the design of buildings. All building projects require the services of a building designer, typically a licen ...
'' as the assistant to its editor, Tony Towndrow. When Towndrow moved to Australia in 1946, Pidgeon was promoted to editor. The magazine's owners, who believed a female editor would not appeal to readers and advertisers and were adverse to the idea themselves, mandated that male architects' names be included on the masthead as "consultants". Apart from a few book reviews written early in her tenure at ''Architectural Design'', Pidgeon's own writing featured in the magazine only rarely. Under Pidgeon, ''Architectural Design'' featured well-known and little-known architects, showcased post-war reconstructive architecture, and promoted sustainable design. Pidgeon also avoided criticism: she believed that it was better not to write anything about poor designs and buildings than to publish critical reviews. Standard Catalogue Company, who owned the magazine, intended to cease production of the magazine in the late 1960s, but Pidgeon convinced them to continue publication using only the revenue earned from subscriptions instead of advertising. She left ''Architectural Design'' in 1975 to take up a position as editor of the ''
RIBA Journal The ''RIBA Journal'' (often known simply as the ''RIBAJ'') is an architecture magazine and website published by the Royal Institute of British Architects, based in London. It has the largest circulation of any UK-originating architecture magazine. ...
'', and stayed there until Peter Murray took over in 1979. Pidgeon was an extraordinary photographer whose black and white photographs were prominently featured in the 2018 exhibition entitled Eternal City: Rome in the Photographs Collection of the Royal Institute of British Architects. Organized by the Polo Museo del Lazio, RIBA, and the British School in Rome, the exhibition was held at the Museo Vittoriano in Rome's Monument to Vittorio Emmanuele II from June to October 2018. Pidgeon's photograph of four, young stylish Italian men walking away from the colonnade and piazza of St. Peter's Church was the centerpiece of the exhibition's marketing literature. Her eye and capability for architectural photography compared to the skill of fellow photographers featured in the exhibit. Most of Pidgeon's photography that was presented occurred in 1961. Pidgeon's architectural photography bravely integrated the lives of Italian people from young children to seniors, many of them female, as cultural icons living within the greatest architecture of the Western world. Pidgeon retired in 1979. She established Pidgeon Audio Visual, a collection of materials featuring architects and designers discussing their work, to be shown at architectural schools. She continued compiling recordings for the collection until her late eighties.
National Life Stories National Life Stories (NLS) is an independent charitable trust and limited company (registered as the "National Life Story Collection") based within the British Library Oral History section, whose key focus and expertise is oral history fieldwork. ...
conducted an oral history interview (C467/39) with Monica Pigeon in 1999 for its Architects Lives' collection held by the British Library.National Life Stories, 'Pigeon, Monica (1 of 25) National Life Stories Collection: Architects' Lives', The British Library Board, 1999
Retrieved 10 April 2018


Honours

Pidgeon joined 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 ...
as an honorary fellow in 1970 and was made an honorary fellow of the
Architectural Association The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, commonly referred to as the AA, is the oldest private school of architecture in the UK. The AA hosts exhibitions, lectures, symposia and publications. History The Architectura ...
in 1979. For her work on the Pidgeon Audio Visual project, she was made an honorary fellow of the
American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...
in 1987.


Family

Pidgeon's sister,
Olga Lehmann Olga Lehmann (10 February 1912 – 26 October 2001) was a British visual arts, visual artist. Early life Born in San Felipe de Aconcagua Province, Catemu, Chile, to Mary Grisel Lehmann (née Bissett) and mining engineer Andrew William Lehm ...
, was a visual artist, while her brother,
Andrew George Lehmann Andrew George Lehmann (17 February 1922 – 9 July 2006) was a literary critic, academic, and seminal author and essayist in French Symbolism, and the intellectual history of European Romanticism. Early life Born in Chile to Mary Grisel Lehmann (n ...
, was a literary critic. She married Raymond Pidgeon, whom she met as a student at University College London, in 1936; they had a daughter named Annabel and son named Carl, and divorced in 1946. Her granddaughter is
Rebecca Pidgeon Rebecca Pidgeon (born October 10, 1965) is an American-British actress who has appeared on stage and in feature films. She is also a singer, songwriter and recording artist. Early life Pidgeon was born to English parents in Cambridge, Massachus ...
, an actress and singer.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pidgeon, Monica 1913 births 2009 deaths English interior designers Chilean interior designers Chilean women writers English women non-fiction writers Chilean women architects English magazine editors English women magazine editors 20th-century English non-fiction writers Chilean emigrants to England Alumni of the Bartlett People from San Felipe de Aconcagua Province Honorary Fellows of the American Institute of Architects 20th-century English women writers Chilean people of German descent Chilean people of French descent Chilean people of Scottish descent English people of Scottish descent English people of French descent English people of German descent British women magazine editors