SMITHSON, Peter (Denham) 1923-2003

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born September 18, 1923, in Stockton-on-Tees, Durham, England; died of a heart attack March 3, 2003, in London, England. Architect, educator, and author. Along with his wife, Alison, Smithson was a noted British architect who became known for his New Brutalism style. He attended King's College, Durham, before the war interrupted his studies. During World War II, he fought in Burma and India; he then returned to university and completed a degree in architecture in 1947. After working in the Architects' Department for the London County Council for a year, he and his wife started a private architectural firm in 1950. Together, they competed to win a contract to rebuild the Coventry Cathedral. Though they lost this commission, they went on to design the Economist Building complex, which includes three structures arranged in an L-shaped complex. Completed in 1964, it is considered to be among their best works. In 1972 Smithson's reputation suffered with the Robin Hoods Gardens housing complex, which was criticized by many for having an "inhumane" feeling to it and was subjected to repeated vandalization. Later designs fared better, but were often seen as less unique than his earlier work. Nevertheless, Smithson remained respected for his ideas on architecture, and during the 1950s and 1960s he was a tutor at the Architectural Association School; beginning in 1976, he was also Banister Fletcher Professor of Architecture at University College in London. During the 1980s, he continued teaching at the University of Munich, the University of Barcelona, and the University of Delft. Later in their career, Smithson and his wife designed furniture for the Germany company Tecta, some of which was exhibited at galleries. The Smithsons published a number of books on architecture, including The Euston Arch and the Growth of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (1968), Without Rhetoric: An Architectural Aesthetic, 1955-1972 (1973), The Heroic Period of Modern Architecture (1981), and The Charged Void: Architecture (2001). Smithson was also the sole author of Bath: Walks within the Walls (1971; revised, 1980). Smithson was working on a second volume to The Charged Voice when he died.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

BOOKS

Johnson, Donald Leslie, and Donald Langmead, Makers of Twentieth-Century Modern Architecture, Greenwood Press (Westport, CT), 1997.

Writers Directory, 18th edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 2003.

PERIODICALS

New York Times, March 7, 2003, p. C13.

Times (London, England), March 10, 2003.