Robert Adam (architect, born 1948)

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Professor

Robert Adam
Born1948 (age 75–76)
NationalityBritish
CitizenshipUK
Alma materUniversity of Westminster[1]
Occupations
  • Architect
  • Author
Era1980s–present
Notable work
AwardsDriehaus Architecture Prize
WebsiteOfficial website

Robert Adam FRIAS (born 1948) is a Driehaus Architecture Prize winning British architect, urban designer and author, known for championing classical and traditional styles. Adam is a visiting professor at the University of Strathclyde and Design Council Expert.[2][3][4][5][6][7][1]

His career was the subject of Richard John's Robert Adam and the Search for a Modern Classicism, a survey of Adam's projects with a foreword by Charles, Prince of Wales.[8][9]

Education and early career[edit]

Adam attended the University of Westminster. In 1973, he won the British School at Rome's Rome Prize in Architecture.[1]

Adam practiced as an architect, working part-time as a freelance architectural journalist until 1977, when he became partner at a firm in Winchester. In 1992, he founded Robert Adam Architects there.[10][1][3]

In 2021, he was awarded Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) by Oxford Brookes University.[1]

Work[edit]

Edinburgh Forthside[edit]

Adam was appointed master-planner of Edinburgh Forthside in which capacity he designed streetscapes of low-rise buildings in Leith and Granton.[5]

Adam prescribed strict design codes on the area's developers so that both modern and traditional architects could build alongside one another without clashing. Builders had to adhere to guidelines on size, materials and proportions. Adam also laid out rules on how the buildings relate to the streets such as a ban on glass facades.[11]

Bodleian Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library[edit]

Entrance to the Bodleian Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library designed by Robert Adam.

Adam designed Oxford University’s Bodleian Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library, which opened in 2001 and incorporated Oxford's Ashmolean Museum collections. The principal building is a circular library, with a smaller circular entrance onto the street, and attached wings arranged around internal courtyards. His design referenced ancient Greek architecture, specifically the Temple of Apollo at Bassae.[12]

Ashley Park[edit]

Ashley Park in Hampshire, photo by Paul Barker

Ashley Park, Hampshire, a new country house, completed in 2004, was the first new building to gain permission under 1997 English planning regulations that allowed major new houses in the countryside. It was described by the government inspector that granted the permission as, "an innovative approach to the classical traditions, re-interpreted for the 21st century."[13]

198–202, Piccadilly[edit]

198-202 Piccadilly, London, photo by Morley von Sternberg

198–202 Piccadilly, London, an office development with ground floor retail, was completed in 2007. The classical building was designed to fit within the established historic setting. An octagonal tower marks the corner of the site and, at the upper levels, a colonnaded glass rooftop pavilion screens the plant rooms. Each façade is detailed to reflect the character of that street and the design incorporates cast bronze column capitals by classical sculptor, Alexander Stoddart.[14]

Books[edit]

  • Classical Architecture: A Complete Handbook, (1990) London:Viking[15]
  • The 7 Sins of Architects, (2010)[1]
  • The Globalisation of Modern Architecture: The Impact of Politics, Economics and Social Change on Architecture and Urban Design since 1990, (2012) Newcastle upon Tyne:Cambridge Scholars Publishing[16]
  • Classic Columns: 40 Years of Writing on Architecture, (2017) Cumulus[1]
  • Time for Architecture: On Modernity, Memory and Time in Architecture and Urban Design, (2020) Newcastle upon Tyne:Cambridge Scholars Publishing[17]

Exhibits[edit]

Pembroke Table (1986), a drop-leaf table designed by Robert Adam in the permanent collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, cited by the museum as "an example of the revivalism that has become a significant, if much debated, part of 1980s architecture and design."[18][1]

Tower of the Orders – A drawing by Adam, displayed at RIBA, intended to represent the "continuity of classicism with the antique architectural orders".[19]

Awards[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Classical Architects – Traditional Architects, Winchester, Hampshire – Robert Adam". www.robertadamarchitect.com. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  2. ^ "Design Council announces new network of design experts". Design Council. Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Architect Robert Adam A Place at The Table". WTTW. 22 March 2017. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  4. ^ Bayley, Stephen (29 July 2007). "Athens looks silly on the Dilly". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 March 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Eternal sunshine of the spotless redevelopment". The Guardian. 7 March 2005. Archived from the original on 20 February 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Hidden Passions". The Guardian. London. 24 July 2006. Archived from the original on 12 July 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Our Staff". University of Strathclyde. Archived from the original on 8 June 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  8. ^ WorldCat listing. OCLC 800210398. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  9. ^ Binney, Marcus (7 March 2011). "Cornucopia of new Classical country houses". The Times. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  10. ^ Napier, Andrew (14 July 2020). "Robert Adam leaves firm he founded to start a new one". Hampshire Chronicle. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  11. ^ Pearman, Hugh (6 March 2005). "Adam for a New Generation". The Times. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  12. ^ "Sackler Library, Oxford, UK". Manchester History. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  13. ^ "New generation of manors born". TheGuardian.com. 22 June 2002. Archived from the original on 25 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  14. ^ Olcayto, Rory (5 June 2007). "Piccadilly's classical cover up". Building. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  15. ^ "9780670844661: Classical Architecture: A Complete Handbook – AbeBooks – Robert Adam: 0670844667". Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  16. ^ Worldcat listing. OCLC 1048888805. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  17. ^ Amazon.co.uk. ASIN 1527545970.
  18. ^ "Victoria and Albert Museum item 0145021". Victoria and Albert Museum. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  19. ^ Adam, Robert (1986). The tower of the orders. OCLC 642577094. Archived from the original on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  20. ^ "Robert Adam Receives Major Architectural Prize". INTBAU. 23 January 2017. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  21. ^ "THE ARTHUR ROSS AWARDS, 1982–2021" (PDF). The Institute of Classical Architecture and Art. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  22. ^ Green, Kate (23 December 2014). "Georgian Group Architectural Awards 2014". Country Life. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  23. ^ "Georgian Glories" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
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