PhD AADipl
The AA is sad to report that AA student and teacher Professor Ranulph Glanville died of cancer on the 20th December 2014. This obituary was written by AA Head of Computing, Julia Frazer who was his student in her first year at the AA in 1972.
Ranulph was an architect, cybernetician, design researcher, theorist, educator, prolific writer, musician, artist, chef and bon viveur – that is until the end of the 80s when he had to stop drinking. His formidable intellect and breadth of knowledge were legendary. He was a deeply serious intellectual who also knew how to play the fool. His musical compositions were taken sufficiently seriously to be played by Olivier Messiaen and known to Karlheinz Stockhausen and John Cage. He was also extremely knowledgeable about certain aspects of Architecture and for example he gave radio talks for the Open University on Alvar Aalto (Ranulph typically learned to speak Finnish) and he wrote a seminal essay about Aalto for the Makers of Modern Culture.
He was born in 1946 of Anglo-Irish descent and enjoyed a liberal Froebel Kindergarten, then Bryanston School and the Architectural Association (1964-1971) where his contemporaries included Leon van Schaik, Grahame Shane, Stephen Gage, Robin Evans, Dick Bunt, Oliver Freeman and John Frazer. He went on to be awarded two PhDs by Brunel University first in Cybernetics 1975 and then Human Learning 1987. Brunel awarded him the highest degree of DSc in Cybernetics and Design 2006.
His most important contribution was in cybernetics and in particular to bringing a unique form of architectural thinking to the development of what is known as second order cybernetics where the observer is fully involved in the system feedback loop – a very AA way of thinking. He played a very significant role in this notoriously arcane field being a close associate of key figures like Heinz von Foerster and Gordon Pask. Ranulph triumphed as President of the American Society for Cybernetics from 2008-2014 and he was the first European to be elected to this prestigious position.
His other International posts and professorships were extensive and included: First year AA unit master from 1971 to 78, lecturer at Portsmouth Polytechnic 1978 to 96. He was appointed Professor of Research in Innovation Design Engineering at the RCA and later as Professor of Research Design at LUCA in Belgium.
On a personal note Ranulph was an inspirational teacher who eased me in my first year at the AA from my first degree in Mathematics into the world of architecture forming a bridge for me through our shared love of music and art. We also shared a love for fine wine and we would bid together at Sotheby’s. What a wonderful introduction for a student! Ranulph became a close friend and was best man at my wedding to John. He visited us in Ireland and went on to teach for John in Hong Kong and Australia. He visited us to say goodbye just two weeks before his death and was still talking enthusiastically and animatedly about the world of ideas.
He leaves his partner Aartje Hulstein and son Severi from his marriage to his first wife Tuulikki Leskinen. He also leaves a massive legacy of papers in the domains of architecture and cybernetics and many very loyal and grateful students and friends.
Note from the Archives: Ranulph's archive of papers has been donated to the University of Vienna, where they will sit alongside those of both Gordon Pask and Heinz von Foerster. The AA Archives, have been permitted to scan and make available on its online catalogue Ranulph's architectural drawings and material created whilst studying and teaching at the AA. These are expected to be available online later in 2015