Roger Ulick Branch Westman (16 September 1939 – 29 April 2020) was a British architect. He is best known for his designs of

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...

in London.

Early life and education

Westman was born at

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. Historically in County Durham, it is on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. The 2011 census area classed Hebburn and the Boldons as ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

in 1939, the eldest son of Kenneth Westman, a diplomat stationed in Madrid. Educated at

Norland Place School Norland Place School is a co-educational independent preparatory school for boys and girls 4–11 in Holland Park, London. The school was founded in 1876 by Emily Lord. History Founded in 1876 by Emily Lord, Norland Place School originally ...

Colet Court St Paul's Juniors (formerly Colet Court) is a private preparatory school for boys aged 7 to 13 in Barnes, London. It forms the preparatory department of St Paul's School, to which most Juniors pupils progress at the age of 13. The School was ...

, and

Latymer Upper School Latymer Upper School is a public school in Hammersmith, London, England, on King Street. It derives from a charity school, and is part of the same 1624 Latymer Foundation, from a bequest by the English legal official Edward Latymer. There ...

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

, he studied architecture at the

Architectural Association School of Architecture 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, academic conference, symposia and publications. Histo ...

from 1957. At the AA he received 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

Howard Colls Travelling Studentship Award in 1959, allowing him to study for a short time at the

Polytechnic University of Milan The Polytechnic University of Milan (, abbreviated as PoliMi) is a university in Milan, Italy. It is the largest technical university in the country, with about 40,000 enrolled students. The university offers undergraduate, graduate, and higher ...

Architectural career

Westman began his career at Lambeth council's architecture planning department. He worked with

Edward Hollamby Edward Ernest Hollamby (8 January 1921 – 29 December 1999) was an English architect, town planner, and architectural conservationist. Known for designing a number of modernist housing estates in London, he had also achieved notability for h ...

and Rosemary Stjernstedt on Central Hill Estate, a social housing estate completed in 1974. He designed a large number of homes in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

, Hampstead Garden Suburb, and

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

. Westman was an early proponent of

sustainable architecture Sustainable architecture is architecture that seeks to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings through improved efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, development space and the ecosystem at large. Sometimes, su ...

in large-scale building projects. He wrote an article on sustainable architecture in 1982 for the ''Architects' Journal''. During his career, he won several prizes from the Royal Institute of British Architects. In 1967 Westman was involved in a documentary about twentieth century British architecture, 'Faces of Architecture', directed by Hugh Grieves and produced by the British Film Institute (BFI). Westman gave guest lectures on architectural history at the AA,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

Oxford Brookes Oxford Brookes University (OBU; formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. The university was na ...

and

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

until 1999.

Art and design

Exhibitions

Between June and July 1981, Westman exhibited his scheme 'Walls: A Framework for Communal Anarchy' at the

Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an modernism, artistic and cultural centre on The Mall (London), The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps a ...

. Westman's exhibition received positive reviews in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' and the ''

London Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free of charge in London, England. It is print ...

''. The RIBA and Architectural Association hold collections of drawings by Westman. Two of Westman's paintings of Oxfordshire churches were on display for a time at the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

Set design

Westman used his hands-on artistic ability to great effect in designing and creating sets at opera houses and theatres including the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

London Coliseum The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, City of Westminster, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the Lond ...

, and the National Theatre. Whilst still a student, he worked for the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

as a set designer on productions of ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...

'', ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'', ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'' and others.

Selected projects

* Pepys Estate (1966) * Cheviot Gardens, Lambeth (1968) * Tara Hotel, Kensington (1973) * Central Hill Estate (1974) *

Cressingham Gardens Cressingham Gardens is a council garden estate in Lambeth. It is located on the southern edge of Brockwell Park. It comprises 306 dwellings, a mixture of four, three and two-bedroom houses, and one-bedroom apartments. It was designed at the en ...

(1978) * Alexandra Theatre, Bognor Regis (1980) * South Lambeth Estate (1982) *

Jerma Palace Hotel The Jerma Palace Hotel is a former four-star hotel in Marsaskala, Malta. It was opened as a Libyan investment in 1982, and was managed by Corinthia Hotels International. It was the largest hotel in southern Malta until it closed down in 2007. T ...

, Malta (1982) * Myatt’s Fields South Estate (1984)

Personal life

Westman married Jula, daughter of lawyer and diplomat Rudolf Rabl, in 1965. Together they had two children. He was a maternal

cousin A cousin is a relative who is the child of a parent's sibling; this is more specifically referred to as a first cousin. A parent of a first cousin is an aunt or uncle. More generally, in the kinship system used in the English-speaking world, ...

Evelyn Seymour, 17th Duke of Somerset Evelyn Francis Edward Seymour, 17th Duke of Somerset (1 May 1882 – 26 April 1954), styled as Lord Seymour between 1923–1931, was a British Army officer, landowner, peer, and for eight years Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire. He was also a ...

and a great-great-grandson of soldier and poet Sir Edward Christopher Richard Ulick Branch KCMG CBE. Another distant relative was

George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough Society of Antiquaries of London, FSA (6 March 1766 – 5 March 1840), styled Marquess of Blandford until 1817, was a British nobleman, politician, peer, and collector of antiquities and books. ...

. A member of the

Twentieth Century Society The Twentieth Century Society (abbreviated to C20), founded in 1979 as The Thirties Society, is a British charity that campaigns for the preservation of architectural heritage from 1914 onwards. It is formally recognised as one of the National ...

, he was instrumental in the preservation of several historically important 20th-century buildings. He was a friend of his tutor

John Summerson Sir John Newenham Summerson (25 November 1904 – 10 November 1992) was one of the leading British architectural historians of the 20th century. Early life John Summerson was born at Barnstead, Coniscliffe Road, Darlington. His grandfather wo ...

until Summerson's death in 1992. Westman died on 29 April 2020.

References

External links

Roger Westman
on Architectuul
Roger Westman
on International Architecture Database r ArchINFORM">ArchINFORM.html" ;"title="r ArchINFORM">r ArchINFORMbr>Roger Westman
on German National Library
Roger Westman
on Designing Buildings, the construction wiki. {{DEFAULTSORT:Westman, Roger 1939 births 2020 deaths People from Jarrow People educated at Norland Place School People educated at Colet Court People educated at Latymer Upper School Alumni of the Architectural Association School of Architecture British architects 20th-century English architects British designers