Bradshaw Gass & Hope Monograph
Submitted by Austen Redman on Thu, 2007-06-28 08:59.
It has been an eventful few days for me.
On Thursday I was invited to an Exhibition and book launch in Manchester. Some months ago I had a chapter published in a festschrift for John Archer called Making Manchester. My contribution was an essay on Bradshaw Gass & Hope architects, a firm I have been studying since I was a student. While I was writing my essay I was contacted by Jane & Timothy Lingard who where working on their own book. I shared some documents and photographs with them and I am rather pleased with how their monograph has turned out.
The full title of the book is Bradshaw Gass and Hope: The Story of an Architectural Practice - the First One Hundred Years 1862-1962. The exhibition was held in a room at the Manchester Royal Exchange, a building substantially enlarged and remodeled by the practice in 1914-21, and illustrated on the front cover. The building is now a theater and its facade has been altered by the addition of a new lift in the apsidal portico.
Although some of the power of the original elevation is lost, I think the result isn't bad and provides interesting views of the architectural features.
The book can be bought on Amazon here:
The Bolton News made quite a feature of the event.
My journey home was delayed by the floods on Monday. There has been a lot of damage in Hull and the house where I have been renting a room came within inches of flooding.
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Portico Library, Manchester?
Austen,
You wouldn't happen to have any photos of the interior of the Portico Library (in Manchester I believe?) by Thomas Harrison?
I've been working on a design for a new synagogue project here in San Antonio, Texas, USA. After getting to a certain point, and surfing around the web for a while, I've come to find out that the main sanctuary space I've developed is very similar in character to the portico library's interior space...
I've been slowly educating myself on classical architecture for the past 2 years, or so, and have really enjoyed this website as a great source and appreciate your (& others) contributions.
Thanks, Chris Derrington
Texas, USA
Portico Library
Hi Chris,
I'm afraid I don't have any photographs of the Portico Library in my collection. There are some photographs on the library's website, but you have probably already seen these:
http://www.theportico.org.uk/home.htm
The shallow pendentive dome is usually seen as a characteristic of Sir John Soane's work. Bradshaw Gass & Hope used something similar at the Magistrates court in Bolton. I have a photograph of this, but it does not show the dome very well.
Good luck with your design.
Austen.
Thanks
Thanks Austen for the info. - Chris