Donald Insall Associates Explained

Architects:	Sir Donald Insall
Founded:	1958
City:	London, Bath, Birmingham, Cambridge, Chester, Conwy, Manchester, Oxford, York
Significant Buildings:	Windsor Castle post-fire restoration Palace of Westminster Westminster Hall Chester Cathedral Cardiff Castle Hotel Café Royal Regent Street Conservation Plan Trinity College, Cambridge Hampton Court Palace
Awards:	Over 200, notably: The RIBA Building of the Year, Wales (2014) The RIBA Award for Architecture for Windsor Castle (1998) Europa Nostra Medals of Honour (in 1983, 1989, 1999, 2000 and 2006)

Donald Insall Associates is a firm of architects, designers and historic building consultants in the United Kingdom.

They have worked on contemporary and historic listed buildings, monuments and sites throughout Britain, and at UNESCO World Heritage Sites including The Palace of Westminster, Cross Bath,^[1] the Tower of London, Kew Gardens and Caernarfon Castle.^[2] They were involved in the restoration of Windsor Castle following the 1992 fire.^[3] They have worked extensively in the adaptive re-use of historic buildings, contemporary interventions and new design.

Sir Donald Insall founded the company during 1958 and was chairman until 1998.^[4] He continues to act as a consultant. They continue to operate according to the methodology and philosophy established by Insall, as outlined in his 2008 book, Living Buildings.^[5]

They have won over 200 awards^[6] for their work, including twice-winning the Europa Nostra UK Medal of Honour, as well as the 2014 RIBA Building of the Year, Wales, for the Copper Kingdom project at Amlwch, Anglesey.^[7]

Donald Insall Associates are now majority employee-owned^[8] and work from seven UK locations, as well as working internationally as both architects and consultants. Their principal office is at 12 Devonshire Street, London. They currently have branches in Bath, Birmingham, Cambridge, Chester, Manchester, Oxford and Conwy. In 2015 they were ranked number 39 in the Architects' Journal AJ120 list of largest practices in the UK.^[9]

Major projects

Major projects include:

Public and Institutional

• The Palace of Westminster, London
  • • • Westminster Hall House of Lords Chamber
  • Cloister Court and the Pugin-designed Courtyards
  • The Encaustic tile floors
  • Sovereign's Robing Room
  • The Pugin Room
• The Tower of London, London
• Hampton Court Palace, London
• Goldsmiths' Hall, London
• The Banqueting House, Whitehall
• Cross Bath Spa, Bath
• Lincoln's Inn Great Hall
• Mansion House, London
• Liverpool Town Hall
• Lord's Cricket Ground, London
• Cardiff Castle, South Wales
• Caernarfon Castle, Gwynedd, North Wales
• Hotel Café Royal, Regent Street, London
• The former Regent Palace Hotel, Regent Street, London
• Kew Palace, London

Arts: Museums, Galleries and Libraries

• Somerset House, London
  • Major refurbishment of the South Building, incorporating a new gallery and restored Seamen's Hall, and repaving and fountains in the courtyard.
• Staircase House, Stockport
• Battle Abbey Gatehouse, Kent
• The Kew Pagoda, Temperate House and the Marianne North Gallery, Kew Gardens, London
• Kew Palace, Kew, London
• Bluecoat School, Liverpool

Religious Buildings and Sites

• Chester Cathedral, Cheshire
• Bangor Cathedral, Bangor, North Wales
• Pembroke College Chapel, Cambridge University, Cambridge

Educational

• Wren Library, Trinity College, Cambridge
  • • Stephen Hawking Building, Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Performing Arts Centre, Woldingham School Codrington Library, New College, Oxford
• Cockerell Building, Cambridge:
• Bangor University Arts Building, North Wales

Research and Education

Publications

Donald Insall Associates' members publish regularly. Major publications by the firm include:

• The Care of Old Buildings Today
• Living Buildings – Architectural Conservation: Philosophy, Principles and Practice.^[5]
• Chester: A Study in Conservation^[10]

Academic Activities

Donald Insall Associates lecture at specialist conferences in Europe, the Americas and Far East. They have lectured regularly at^[11]

• Royal College of Arts
• International Centre for Conservation, Rome University
• Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium
• College d'Europe in Bruges.
• Canterbury University

Notes and References

1. Web site: Carey. Peter. Reviving the Cross Bath. Building Conservation Online. 7 July 2015. 2007.
2. Web site: Archaeological Discoveries Uncovered at Caernarfon Castle . CADW. CADW. 2015-08-11.
3. Book: Nicolson. Adam. Restoration: the rebuilding of Windsor Castle. Google Books. 7 July 2015. 7 July 2015. Michael Joseph . 9780718141929.
4. Web site: Donald Insall: Doctor of Laws . . Public and Ceremonial Events Office . 18 February 2004 . 11 August 2015 . Horton, Mark.
5. Book: Insall. Donald. Living Buildings: Architectural Conservation : Philosophy, Principles and Practice. Google Books. 7 July 2015. 7 July 2015. Images . 9781864701920.
6. Web site: Donald Insall Associates Awards List. Donald Insall Associates. Donald Insall Associates. 2015-07-07.
7. Web site: RIBA Awards Page: Amlwch Copper Kingdom. RIBA. 2015-07-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20151002194655/https://www.architecture.com/StirlingPrize/Awards2014/Wales/CopperKingdom.aspx. 2015-10-02. dead.
8. Web site: Nuttall. Graeme. Tried and tested: Employee-Ownership Trusts. Field Fisher. 11 August 2015. 3 October 2014.
9. Web site: AJ 120 (2015) Practice Summary: Donald Insall Associates. Architects Journal. 2015-07-07.
10. Web site: Chester architect Donald Insall knighted in Queen's Birthday Honours . Chester Chronicle . 2015-08-11.
11. Web site: Academicians Listing: Sir Donald Insall CBE FRIBA RWA. Royal West of England Academy. 2015-07-07. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150924093017/http://www.rwa.org.uk/rwa-artists/academicians-listings/i/insall-donald-cbe-friba-rwa/. 2015-09-24.