Alfred Waterhouse

Alfred Waterhouse RA ( born July 19, 1830 in Liverpool, † August 22 1905 in Yattendon ) was an English architect, which is attributable to the Victorian Gothic Revival. Particularly well known he was planning the Natural History Museum in London. He designed numerous other buildings in England. Although he was an expert on Gothic and Renaissance, to Waterhouse was not limited to an architectural style.

Life

Early years

Alfred Waterhouse was born in Aigburth, a suburb of Liverpool. He was a son of wealthy parents, who belonged to the Quakers. In Tottenham, a suburb of London, he went to the Grove School. He then studied architecture under Richard Lane in Manchester. He also spent much of his youth in Europe and studied in France, Italy and Germany. When he returned to England, he founded his own architectural firm in Manchester.

His first orders were simple dwellings. A well-known and successful architect of public buildings he was until he won an architectural competition for the planning of the Manchester Assize Courts. This work showed his ability to plan large and complex buildings and that he was an expert in the field Gothic. Waterhouse remained 12 years in Manchester until he moved in 1865 with his architectural office in London.

To continue up

1865 Waterhouse was one of the architects who were selected to plan the Royal Courts of Justice with. 1868 and nine years after he had the Manchester Assize Courts designed, he won another competition for the design of Manchester Town Hall. In the same year he was involved in the reconstruction of Gonville and Caius College. This was not his first work for a university. Between 1866 and 1867 he designed buildings for the Balliol College and the Cambridge Union Society.

When Caius College, he mixed classical and Gothic elements for the old part of the college together intentionally, while he stayed at Balliol and Pembroke College in its Gothic and adapting these modern needs. The Girton College, a building simple style, dates from the same period of creation. Other projects by Alfred Waterhouse, were at that time the expansion of Eaten Hall in Cheshire and the Heythrop Hall, Oxfordshire.

In 1873 he was one of his most important jobs. The further planning of the Natural History Museum in South Kensington. He designed an idiosyncratic Romanesque terracotta facade, which found many imitators in architecture. The Natural History Museum became his best-known work. This was not his only work in London. He drew on the National Liberal Club, University College Hospital, the Surveyors ' Institution and the Jenner Institute of Preventive Medicine in Chelsea.

In the late 1860s he lived in the area around Reading and is also in charge of the construction of important buildings. So he designed his own residence ( The Foxhill House (1868 ) ), the Yattendon Court, the Reading Town Hall and the Reading School. The Foxhill House is still used today by the University of Reading, as well as the White Knights House, which he built for his father. Also the East Thorpe House, which now houses the Museum of English Rural Life, he planned in 1880 for Alfred Palmer.

In the 1890s he designed for large companies such as the Prudential Assurance Company, and the National Provincial Bank several stores and corporate offices. With the Liverpool Infirmary, he created his greatest hospital. In 1895 he made ​​several plans for expansion of the Victoria University of Manchester.

In 1902 he retired from architecture and worked some with his son Paul Waterhouse ( also an architect ) together. On August 22, 1905 Alfred Waterhouse died in self-created Yattendon Court

Other buildings designed

During his life, Alfred Waterhouse designed many other buildings:

  • St. Mary's Hospital, Manchester
  • Alexandra Hospital, Rhyl
  • Strangeways Prison, Manchester
  • St. Margaret 's School, Bushey
  • Metropole Hotel, Brighton
  • Hove Town Hall, Hove
  • Knutsford Town Hall, Knutsford
  • Alloa Town Hall, Alloa
  • St. Elisabeth's Church, Reddish
  • Weigh House Chapel, Mayfair
  • Hutton Hall, Yorkshire

Memberships and Awards

1861 Waterhouse was a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects and was 1888-1891 president of the professional organization. He won on the big prize for architecture on the world exhibition in Paris in 1867. 1878 he received the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects and belonged to the Royal Academy of Arts. In 1885 he was a full member in 1898 and treasurer of the art institution. He was also a member of various academies ( Vienna, Brussels, Antwerp, Milan, Berlin, Académie des Beaux -Arts, Paris). After 1886 he worked often in architectural competitions as an expert with and 1887 he was a member of an international jury, which decided on the appearance of the western front of the Milan Cathedral.

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