Cedric Price
Cedric Price FRIBA | |
|---|---|
| Born | 11 September 1934 Stone, Staffordshire,England |
| Died | 10 August 2003(aged 68) London,England |
| Alma mater | St John's College, Cambridge Architectural Association School of Architecture |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Partner | Eleanor Bron(?–2003; his death) |
Cedric PriceFRIBA(11 September 1934 – 10 August 2003) was an Englisharchitectand influential teacher and writer on architecture.
Early life and education[edit]
The son of an architect (A.G. Price, who worked withHarry Weedon),[1]Price was born inStone, Staffordshire,and studiedarchitectureatSt John's College, Cambridge,graduating in 1955, and theArchitectural Association School of ArchitectureinLondon,where he encountered and was influenced by the modernist architect and urban plannerArthur Korn.[2]From 1958 to 1964 he taught part-time at the Architectural Association School of Architecture and at theCouncil of Industrial Design.He later foundedPolyark,an architectural schools network.
Career[edit]
After graduating, Price worked briefly forErno Goldfinger,Denys Lasdun,the partnership ofMaxwell FryandJane Drew,and applied unsuccessfully for a post atLondon County Council,working briefly as a professional illustrator before starting his own practice in 1960.[1]He worked withThe Earl of SnowdonandFrank Newbyon the design of theSnowdon AviaryatLondon Zoo(1961).[3]He later also worked withBuckminster Fulleron theClaverton Dome.
One of his more notable projects was the East LondonFun Palace(1961),[4]developed in association with theatrical directorJoan LittlewoodandcyberneticianGordon Pask.[5]Although it was never built, its flexible space influenced other architects, notablyRichard RogersandRenzo PianowhoseCentre Georges PompidouinParisextended many of Price's ideas – some of which Price used on a more modest scale in theInter-Action CentreatKentish Town,London(1971).[2]
Having conceived the idea of using architecture and education as a way to drive economic redevelopment – notably in the north StaffordshirePotteriesarea (the 'Think-Belt' project) – he continued to contribute to planning debates. Think-Belt (1963–66) envisaged the reuse of an abandoned railway line as a roving "higher education facility", re-establishing the Potteries as a centre of science and technology. Mobile classroom, laboratory and residential modules could be moved grouped and assembled as required.[5]
In 1969, with plannerSirPeter Halland the editor ofNew SocietymagazinePaul Barker,he publishedNon-plan,a work challenging planning orthodoxy.
In 1984 Price proposed the redevelopment of London'sSouth Bank,and foresaw theLondon Eyeby suggesting that a giantFerris wheelshould be constructed by theRiver Thames.
Personal life and death[edit]
Price was the partner of the actressEleanor Bron.They had no children.[6]
Price died in London, aged 68, in 2003.[6]
Recognition[edit]
In 2002, Price was awarded theAustrian Frederick Kiesler Prize for Architecture and the Arts.[7]
References[edit]
Notes
- ^ab"Cedric Price: Architect-thinker who built little but whose influence was talismanic".Independent.13 August 2003.Retrieved18 April2016.
- ^abMelvin J. 2003. 'Obituary: Cedric Price, Hugely creative architect ahead of his time in promoting themes of lifelong learning and brownfield regeneration'.The Guardian,15 August 2003.
- ^"The Architecture and Engineering of The Snowdon Aviary at London Zoo"(PDF).University of Westminster, Department of Architecture.Retrieved6 October2017.
- ^Mathews, S (11 January 2006). "The Fun Palace as Virtual Architecture: Cedric Price and the Practices of Indeterminacy".Journal of Architectural Education.59:39–48.doi:10.1111/j.1531-314X.2006.00032.x.S2CID110328304.
- ^ab"Cedric Price".Daily Telegraph.15 August 2003.Retrieved18 April2016.
- ^abMuschamp, Herbert (23 August 2003)."Cedric Price, Influential British Architect With Sense of Fun, Dies at 68".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved24 January2023.
- ^https:// kiesler.org/en/kiesler-prize-2002
Further reading
- Hardingham, Samantha (2016)Cedric Price Works 1952–2003: A Forward-Minded RetrospectiveArchived24 November 2019 at theWayback Machinea two-volume anthology, co-published by theArchitectural Association(AA) and theCanadian Centre for Architecture(CCA)
- Bron, Eleanor and Hardingham, Samantha, eds. (2005)Annotations: v. 7: CP Retriever,Institute of International Visual Arts (INIVA), London
- Hardingham, Samantha (2003)Cedric Price: Opera,London: John Wiley & Sons, London.
- Hardingham, Samantha and Rattenbury, Kester, eds. (2007)Cedric Price: Potteries Thinkbelt.London: Routledge.ISBN978-0-415-43412-6
- Hughes, Jonathan andSadler, Simon,eds. (2000)Non-Plan: Essays on Freedom, Participation and Change in Modern Architecture and Urbanism.Oxford: Architectural Press.ISBN9780750640831
- Muschamp, Herbert(15 August 2003)"Cedric Price, Influential British Architect With Sense of Fun, Dies at 68" (obituary)The New York Times
- Price, Cedric (1984)Cedric Price: Works II,Architectural Association;republished in 2003 asCedric Price: The Square Book.London: Wiley-Academy, London.
- Staff (ndg)"Cedric Price"Design Museum
- Staff (22 August 2003)"Cedric Price, A leading light of the 'megastructure' movement whose work was guided by amusing and inspirational ideas" (obituary).The Times
External links[edit]
- Finding aid for theCedric Price fondsat theCanadian Centre for Architecture(digitized items)
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