1937 in architecture explained

The year 1937 in architecture involved some significant architectural events and new buildings.

Events

• May – The Georgian Group is set up as part of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings in England.
• September 7 – Witley Court in Worcestershire, England, is gutted by fire.^[1]
• J. M. Richards becomes editor of the Architectural Review (London), continuing until 1971.
• Icelandic State Architect Guðjón Samúelsson's design for the Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík is commissioned; it will be constructed 1945–86.

Buildings and structures

Buildings opened

• May 6 – Chelsea Bridge in Pimlico, London, designed by G. Topham Forrest, former head of London County Council's Architect's Department, opened by the Prime Minister of Canada, William Lyon Mackenzie King.^[2]
• May 27 – The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, longest suspension bridge in the world by the length of central span (1937–1964), designed by Joseph B. Strauss.
• July 18 – Haus der deutschen Kunst ("House of German Art") in Munich, designed by Paul Troost (died 1934), opened by Adolf Hitler to display art of the Third Reich.

Buildings completed

• Thousand Islands Bridge over the Saint Lawrence River, linking Canada and the United States.
• Petőfi Bridge, Budapest, Hungary.
• Holy Trinity Church, Sighișoara, Romania, designed by Dumitru Petrescu Gopeş.
• Bethlehem Church, Copenhagen, Denmark, by Kaare Klint after original designs by his father, Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint (died 1930).
• Church of St Michael and All Angels, Northenden, Manchester, England, designed by Nugent Cachemaille-Day.
• Church of Our Lady Star of the Sea and St Winefride, Amlwch, Wales, designed by Giuseppe Rinvolucri.
• Senate House (University of London), designed by Charles Holden.
• Dolphin Square in Pimlico, London, designed by Gordon Jeeves.
• Villa Myrdal, designed by Sven Markelius.
• 3 Mapu Street, White City (Tel Aviv), Mandatory Palestine, designed by Ben-Ami Shulman.
• St Ann's Court, near Chertsey in England, a modernist circular house designed by Raymond McGrath for Gerald L. Schlesinger and his partner landscape architect Christopher Tunnard.^[3]
• Houses in Frognal Close, Hampstead, London, designed by Ernst L. Freud.
• Kensal House in Ladbroke Grove, London, two low-rise blocks of modernist flats for the working class designed by Maxwell Fry.
• Republic pavilion, Barcelona, and Spanish Republican government pavilion at the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne in Paris, both designed by Josep Lluís Sert.
• Club Moderne, Anaconda, Montana, designed by Fred F. Willson, built.
• Via della Conciliazione in Rome constructed following demolition of the Piazza Scossacavalli.

Awards

• RIBA Royal Gold Medal – Raymond Unwin.
• Grand Prix de Rome, architecture: Paul Jacques Grillo

Births

• February 7 – Daryl Jackson, Australian architect
• April 18 – Jan Kaplický, Czech architect mainly active in UK (died 2009)
• May 9 – Rafael Moneo, Spanish architect
• September 14 – Renzo Piano, Italian Pritzker Prize-winning architect
• October 3 – Richard England, Maltese architect
• October 24 – M. Rosaria Piomelli, born Agrisano, Italian-born American architect^[4]
• December 7 – Ron Labinski, American stadium architect (d. 2023)^[5]
• date unknown
  • Kate Macintosh, Scottish-born architect
  • Georgie Wolton, born Cheesman, English architect
  • Yoshio Taniguchi, Japanese architect active in New York

Deaths

• January 10 – Bertie Crewe, English architect (born 1860)
• January 28 – Anastasios Metaxas, Greek architect and shooting champion (born 1862)
• February 11 – Walter Burley Griffin, US architect and landscape architect, involved in design of Canberra (born 1876)
• May 9 – Harry Barton, US architect from North Carolina (born 1876)
• August 27 – John Russell Pope, US architect known for his work in Washington, DC (born 1874)
• November 23 – Edward Prioleau Warren, English architect (born 1856)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Stately in Abandonment: Witley Court. Sometimes Interesting. August 7, 2014. August 11, 2020.
2. Matthews, Peter (2008). London's Bridges. Oxford: Shire. . . Page 77.
3. Web site: England's Queer History Recognised, Recorded and Celebrated. Historic England. September 23, 2016. October 4, 2016.
4. Web site: M. Rosaria Piomelli Architectural Papers, 1960–1995. Spec.Lib.Vt. February 28, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120412181704/http://spec.lib.vt.edu/iawaspec/piomelli.htm. April 12, 2012. dead.
5. News: Sandomir . Richard . Ron Labinski, Who Designed a Cozier Future for Stadiums, Dies at 85 . 12 February 2023 . New York Times . February 9, 2023 . 12 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230212023126/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/09/sports/ron-labinski-dead.html . live .