Sir Leslie Martin
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Sir John Leslie Martin (17 August 1908, in
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
– 28 July 2000) was an English architect, and a leading advocate of the
International Style The International Style is a major architectural style and movement that began in western Europe in the 1920s and dominated modern architecture until the 1970s. It is defined by strict adherence to Functionalism (architecture), functional and Fo ...
. Martin's most famous building is the
Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...
. His work was especially influenced by
Alvar Aalto Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, see ...
.


Life

After studying at
Manchester University The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...
, Leslie Martin taught at the
University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...
. In 1937 he co-edited with
Ben Nicholson Benjamin Lauder Nicholson, OM (10 April 1894 – 6 February 1982) was an English painter of abstract compositions (sometimes in low relief), landscapes, and still-life. He was one of the leading promoters of abstract art in England. Backg ...
and
Naum Gabo Naum Gabo (born Naum Neemia Pevsner; Russian language, Russian: Наум Борисович Певзнер; Hebrew language, Hebrew: נחום נחמיה פבזנר) (23 August 1977) was an influential sculptor, theorist, and key figure in Russia's ...
the journal ''
Circle A circle is a shape consisting of all point (geometry), points in a plane (mathematics), plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the Centre (geometry), centre. The distance between any point of the circle and the centre is cal ...
'', which reviewed avant-garde abstract art and architecture. In 1939 Martin and his wife,
Sadie Speight Sadie Speight, Lady Martin (26 May 1906 – 23 October 1992), was a British architect, designer and writer, and a leading figure in, and chronicler of, the Modern architecture, Modern movement of art, architecture and design in early 20th-century ...
, co-wrote ''The flat book''. During the Second World War Martin was assigned to the pre-nationalisation Railway companies to supervise re-building of bomb-damaged regional rail stations. In this capacity Martin developed pre-fabricated designs to speed construction. Following the war he was made a Deputy Architect to the
London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
(LCC), and in 1948 Hugh Casson selected him to lead the design team for the
Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...
, the most prestigious building project of the Festival of Britain. Partly in recognition of his achievement, Martin was made Chief Architect of the LCC in 1953; he used his position to promote emerging younger architects Colin St. John Wilson, James Stirling, and
Alison and Peter Smithson Alison Margaret Smithson (22 June 1928 – 14 August 1993) and Peter Denham Smithson (18 September 1923 – 3 March 2003) were English architects who together formed an architectural partnership, and are often associated with the New Brutali ...
. From 1956, he was made head of the Architecture School at
Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
where Colin St John Wilson was his assistant. He was
Slade Professor of Fine Art The Slade Professorship of Fine Art is the oldest professorship of art and art history at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford and University College, London. History The chairs were founded concurrently in 1869 by a bequest from the art collect ...
at the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
for 1965–66.


Planning work

Martin was involved initially with Patrick Hodgkinson in the
Brunswick Centre The Brunswick Centre is a grade II listed residential and shopping centre in Bloomsbury, London, England. It is located between Brunswick Square and Russell Square and is administratively in the London Borough of Camden. Planning and design ...
, an early experiment in planned mixed-use development in
Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...
that was partially completed. The 1950s also saw the creation of the Loughborough Estate in
Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...
, south London, designed by Martin. In the 1960s the British government commissioned Martin to draw plans for a wholesale demolition and redevelopment of the area between
St James's Park St James's Park is a urban park in the City of Westminster, central London. A Royal Park, it is at the southernmost end of the St James's area, which was named after a once isolated medieval hospital dedicated to St James the Less, now the ...
and the
Thames Embankment The Thames Embankment was built as part of the London Main Drainage (1859-1875) by the Metropolitan Board of Works, a pioneering Victorian civil engineering project which housed intercept sewers, roads and underground railways and embanked the ...
in London. It would have involved the demolition of most of the Victorian and Edwardian government offices (the Foreign Office, the Commonwealth Office, the old Home Office, etc.) in
Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...
, which were then scheduled for demolition, and left the
Banqueting Hall An assembly hall is a hall to hold public meetings or meetings of an organization such as a school, church, or deliberative assembly. An example of the last case is the Assembly Hall (Washington, Mississippi) where the general assembly of the s ...
as a traffic island and the original Scotland Yard building enveloped in the middle of a courtyard of offices. The plans met with determined opposition from the public and conservation groups, especially the
Victorian Society The Victorian Society is a UK charity and amenity society that campaigns to preserve and promote interest in Victorian and Edwardian architecture and heritage built between 1837 and 1914 in England and Wales. As a statutory consultee, by l ...
, and their implementation was delayed.
Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 ...
's government eventually formally abandoned Martin's plan in 1971. The existing buildings were subsequently restored and opened to the public. Taking a broader view of Martin's work, a picture emerges of the man as a quiet achiever ''par excellence''. Through his skilled networking in support of promising younger architects, and his self-effacing work on committees, he strongly influenced the course of post-war British architecture. "He was efficient, cooperative, impeccably well networked and calmly authoritative, justifying his advice with his immense architectural expertise and his scientific investigations of planning needs."


Architectural commissions

Martin with Wilson completed a number of academic buildings including halls of residence Harvey Court for Gonville and Caius College, one of the most important examples of brick
brutalism Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the b ...
, and the William Stone Building for
Peterhouse Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...
; and the Tinbergen Building and the St. Cross faculty libraries for
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
. Martin was also the masterplanner for
Leicester University The University of Leicester ( ) is a public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, University College, Leicester, gained university ...
. One of his later projects was an extension to
Kettle's Yard Kettle's Yard is an art gallery and house in Cambridge, England. The director of the art gallery is Andrew Nairne. Both the house and gallery reopened in February 2018 after an expansion of the facilities. History and overview Kettle's Yar ...
Art Gallery to house the works of Dame Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, and others. Martin and his wife, Sadie Speight, were responsible for the modernist house Brackenfell (Grade II listed) in
Brampton Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...
,
Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...
. Designed in 1936 and completed in 1938 for textile designer and artist Alastair Morton, of Edinburgh Weavers. The interior colour scheme was reputedly designed by Ben Nicholson who lived locally when married to Winifred Roberts. Brackenfell is still a private house.Campbell, L. "Constructivism and contexualism in a modern country house: the design of Brackenfell (Leslie Martin and Sadie Speight, 1937–8)", ''Architectural History'', vol. 50 (2006), pp. 247–266


References

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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Leslie 1908 births 2000 deaths Brutalist architects Alumni of the Manchester School of Architecture Academics of the University of Hull Fellows of Jesus College, Cambridge Knights Bachelor Recipients of the Royal Gold Medal 20th-century English architects Slade Professors of Fine Art (University of Oxford) Modernist architects from England Royal Academicians