Architecture of England

The architecture of England refers to the architecture practiced in the territory of the present-day country of England, and in the historic Kingdom of England. The term can also be used to refer to buildings created under English influence or by English architects in other parts of the world, particularly in the English and later British colonies and Empire, which developed into the Commonwealth of Nations.

Apart from Anglo-Saxon architecture, the major forms of non-vernacular architecture employed in England before 1900 originated elsewhere in western Europe, chiefly in France and Italy, while 20th-century Modernist architecture derived from both European and American influences. Each of these foreign modes became assimilated within English architectural culture and gave rise to local variation and innovation, producing distinctive national forms. Among the most characteristic styles originating in England are the Perpendicular Gothic of the late Middle Ages, High Victorian Gothic and the 'Queen Anne' style.

English

English may refer to:

Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank

Norman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank of Reddish, OM, HonFREng (born 1 June 1935) is a British architect whose company, Foster + Partners, maintains an international design practice famous for high-tech architecture.

He is one of Britain's most prolific architects of his generation. In 1999 he was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize, often referred to as the Nobel Prize of architecture. In 2009 Foster was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award in the Arts category. In 1994 he received the AIA Gold Medal.

Biography

Early life in Manchester

Foster was born to Robert Foster and Lilian Smith in 1935 in Reddish, Stockport, Cheshire. They moved, soon after his birth, two miles to 4 Crescent Grove in Levenshulme, Manchester, which they rented for fourteen shillings (70p) a week: Foster has no recollection of Reddish.

He attended Burnage Grammar School for Boys in Burnage. In a Guardian interview in 1999, Foster said he always felt 'different' at school and was bullied. and he retired into the world of books.

John Soane

Sir John Soane RA (/soʊn/; born John Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor of architecture at the Royal Academy and an official architect to the Office of Works. He received a knighthood in 1831.

His best-known work was the Bank of England (his work there is largely destroyed), a building which had a widespread effect on commercial architecture. He also designed Dulwich Picture Gallery, which, with its top-lit galleries, was a major influence on the planning of subsequent art galleries and museums. His main legacy is an eponymous museum in Lincoln's Inn Fields, which comprises his former home and office, designed to display the art works and architectural artifacts that he collected during his lifetime. The museum is described in the Oxford Dictionary of Architecture as 'one of the most complex, intricate, and ingenious series of interiors ever conceived'.