This talk celebrates one of the finest building materials of the Victorian and Edwardian period. Glazed terracotta or faience was an ideal facing material for Britain’s smoky and sooty cities. The ambitious and inventive Doulton’s Pottery developed terracotta cladding, including Carraraware, which is seriously robust, more weather resistant than stone, and can be moulded into the complex shapes that the period demanded.
This talk looks at the restoration of the Beaux Arts shop at Findlater’s Corner, an eye catching wine merchant, at the south end of London Bridge.
Through this work, Benedict has discovered and researched other buildings using Carrara ware, designed by Britain’s leading architects. This talk tells this story too.
Benedict O’Looney runs an architecture practice in south London, working on new build and conservation projects, particularly in Southwark, including the renovation of the Grade ll listed Peckham Rye Station for Network Rail and Southwark Council. Other recent work includes the new Purley Mosque, a new Women’s and Children’s Wing for the Croydon Mosque, the restoration of the Grade l listed Victorian Royal Bell Hotel in Bromley, and the restoration & re-opening of four railway arches at Findlater’s Corner, London Bridge Station for the Arches Company.
Since obtaining his Master of Architecture degree from Yale University, Benedict worked with Grimshaw and Alsop Architects, where his interest in new architecture in historic settings developed. He taught architecture history and sketching for 11 years at the Architectural Association, the Kent School of Architecture, the Canterbury School of Architecture, and New York University’s London program. He is chairman of Southwark’s Conservation Areas Advisory Group, on the Victorian Society’s Southern Building Committee and a past president of the London Sketch Club.
All attendees will be sent a recording of the talk.