Sir Basil Spence

We were delighted to launch the Sir Basil Spence Archives website last week as part of a larger collaborative project with the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments Scotland, The Lighthouse, Glasgow, and The National Galleries of Scotland. to celebrate the centenary of his birth.

The website showcases the breadth and depth of Sir Basil Spence’s extraordinary career in designing and building some of Britain’s most prominent buildings at a time of great social change. Few architects can match the variety of work which he achieved which included a Cathedral, an airport, country houses, universities and an embassy.

The website is rich in images, videos and audio clips and uniquely offers a ‘memory sharing’ area to engage viewers who have direct experience of living, working, learning or worshiping in Spence’s buildings.

It accompanys a major exhibition of fascinating original material that explores key achievements as well as Spence’s less well known works. A major exhibition, Back to the Future: Sir Basil Spence 1907- 1976, will be opening at the Dean Gallery, National Galleries of Scotland, in Edinburgh on 19th Oct 2007 and running until 10th Feb 2008. There is also a touring exhibiton, currently at Coventry Cathedral which will come to the Omni Centre in Leith on 13th Oct 2007.