CBE PRA RIBA

The relatives of Sir Philip Dowson, a former student of the AA and Member since 1949, have contacted the Architectural Association with the following obituary, which they wished be forwarded onto the AA community:

"It is with deep regret that the family announce the death of Sir Philip Dowson CBE PRA RIBA in the early hours of August 22, 2014.

Sir Philip Dowson was one of Britain’s most important architects. Educated at Gresham's School, Norfolk, he spent a year reading mathematics at University College, Oxford, before joining the Royal Navy during the Second World War and serving in both the Atlantic and Pacific theatres. He returned to study Art History at Clare College, Cambridge, from 1947 to 1950, and then trained at the Architectural Association.

He joined the engineering firm Ove Arup and Partners in 1953 as an architect and in 1963, with Ove Arup, Ronald Hobbs and Derek Sugden, became a founding partner and later chief architect of Arup Associates. Composed of an innovative and collaborative team of influential architects, engineers and quantity surveyors, Arup Associates' approach to design was rational, scientific, and based on a belief that the function of a building, the nature of the materials used and the necessary methods of construction should form the basis of design.

Among numerous awards and honours, Sir Philip Dowson was made a CBE in 1969, and received a Knighthood in 1980. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 1979 and two years later was awarded the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture. He was President of the Royal Academy of Arts from 1993 to 1999.

He is survived by his wife, Lady Sarah Dowson MBE, his son, two daughters, and six grandchildren. The funeral is to be private, and a memorial service will be announced at a future date."

Former AA President Sir Michael Hopkins has also written this obituary, Remembering Sir Philip Dowson PRA, for the Royal Academy
https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/article/remembering-sir-philip-dowson-pra

Sir Philip's achievements are also featured in the following articles:

Forbes Mellon Library, Clare College, Cambridge
http://www.arupassociates.com/en/projects/forbes-mellon-library-clare-college/

RIBA Gold Medal
http://www.architecture.com/RIBA/Awards/RoyalGoldMedal/175Exhibition/WinnersBiogs/1980s/1981.aspx

Telegraph feature on 50 Years of Arup Associates
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/property-and-architecture/16260/50-years-of-arup-associates.html

Sir Philip Dowson on Radio 4's Last Word (available til September 2015)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04gyqtd