The Master's Reception was held in McMorran and Whitby's celebrated 1963-66 Wood Street Police Station in the City of London and was attended by over 40 members of the Company and guests.
The 'modernist' building with distinct stylistic references to the work of Louis Khan was not, it is understood, much loved in the City when it was completed but found itself listed in relatively short time. It was a strange visit taking the form of a talk on police firearms and body protection, a visit to the Police Museum (a facility in need of some expansion space) and an inspection of the stable block from which most of the horses were absent - presumably on active service or rehearsing their roles in the forthcoming Lord Mayor's Show. There was also a talk on the interesting if ever so sordid exploits of Jack the Ripper.
The cultural content took a turn for the better with a couple of short talks from Mark Whitby - the engineer son of one of the original architects and Edward Dennison - an architectural historian McMorran grandson and author of a recent book on the practice. These gave an interesting insight into the relations between client (The City Corporation) and the architects - particularly in respect of the later addition of the tower block.
On completion of the visit the group repaired to the nearby City Pipe wine bar for drinks, food and further chat. The Master expressed his gratitude to Mark Whitby and Edward Dennison for their contributions. He also thanked stdent member Alex Scott-Whitby (son of Mark) for arranging for them both to be present.
No comments:
Post a Comment