Editing Basil Spence (section)

==Postwar career==

Spence returned to Rowand Anderson & Paul & Partners briefly, before setting up his own practice, Basil Spence & Partners, with Bruce Robertson. He was awarded an [[Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire|OBE]] in 1948 for his work in exhibition design, work which he continued with the Sea and Ships Pavilion for the 1951 [[Festival of Britain]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://canmore.org.uk/collection/1028251|title=Festival of Britain, Sea and Ships pavilion.Floating dock.}}</ref> That year he opened a London office, moving there permanently from 1953. A second office was opened in 1956 at Canonbury, which became the creative hub of the practice.  Spence was External [[Professor]] of Architecture at the [[University of Leeds]] from 1955 to 1957 and from 1958 to 1960 he was the President of the [[Royal Institute of British Architects]].

Basil Spence & Partners were responsible for the redevelopment and extension of the [[University of Glasgow]]'s Kelvin Building, which houses its School of Physics and Astronomy. The project was carried out in three phases. The first, 1947–1952, added a new lecture theatre and housed a synchrotron. Teaching laboratories and another lecture theatre were added in the second phase, which was finished in 1959. A third phase was completed in 1966 and included a museum to showcase [[Lord Kelvin]]'s old experimental apparatus.<ref>{{cite web |title=University of Glasgow School of Physics and Astronomy |url=https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/physics/theschool/kelvinbuilding/}}</ref> Some of this is still on display in the Kelvin Building today, with other items having been moved to form part of an exhibit at the [[Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery]]. 

=== Coventry Cathedral ===

[[File:Coventry Cathedral -exterior-5July2008.jpg|[[Coventry Cathedral]] (1956–1962)|thumb|upright=1.3|right]]

On 14 November 1940, [[Coventry Cathedral|Coventry's Anglican Cathedral]] was extensively damaged by German bombing, a year into [[World War II]].

In 1944, Sir [[Giles Gilbert Scott]] submitted a design proposal to rebuild the cathedral but this was rejected by the [[Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment|Royal Fine Arts Commission]]. In 1950, a competition was launched to find the most suitable design from a [[Commonwealth of Nations]] architect. Over 200 entries were received, and Spence's radical design was chosen. Work began in 1956 and the structure was completed in 1962.<ref>[http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=1068 Coventry Cathedral]. ''Engineering Timelines''. Retrieved: 10 October 2021.</ref> Spence was [[knight Bachelor|knighted]] in 1960 for his work at Coventry,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.basilspence.org.uk/worship|title=Sir Basil Spence Archive Project|website=www.basilspence.org.uk}}</ref> while the cathedral was still being built.

On 23 February 2012 the [[Royal Mail]] released a stamp featuring Coventry Cathedral as part of its "Britons of Distinction" series.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-17138106 |title=Coventry Cathedral architect in Royal Mail stamp set |publisher=BBC  |date= 23 February 2012|access-date=2012-01-02}}</ref>

===Later work===

[[File:SIF-Beehive-3-Cropped.jpg|right|thumbnail|upright|The [[New Zealand Parliament Buildings|New Zealand Parliament's]] executive wing, the [[Beehive (New Zealand)|Beehive]]]]

In 1959, Spence secured two important commissions, for the [[Embassy of the United Kingdom, Rome|British Embassy in Rome]] (completed 1971), and for the [[Hyde Park Cavalry Barracks]] in London (completed 1970). He designed the high-rise [[Hutchesontown C]] social housing in Glasgow. These replaced notorious slum [[tenement]]s in the [[Gorbals]] area of the city.  A dense concentration of social deprivation in the area, coupled to poor execution meant these developments developed many problems, and they were demolished by explosives in 1993, with the accidental loss of one life.<ref name="english-heritage.org.uk"/>

Spence was responsible for contextual modernist buildings on [[The Canongate]] in Edinburgh, near the new Scottish Parliament and in view of [[Holyrood Palace]], named [[Brown's Close]] and listed in 2008. Other work in the 1960s included the concept design for the [[Beehive (building)|executive wing]] of the [[New Zealand Parliament Buildings]] in [[Wellington]], nicknamed "The Beehive", and [[Glasgow International Airport|Abbotsinch Airport]] (now Glasgow Airport).

In 1960, Spence designed [[Mortonhall Crematorium]] in Edinburgh's Braid Hills area (based on the same angled fin concept as found at Coventry Cathedral). He provided architectural treatments for the elevations of [[Trawsfynydd]] nuclear power station, inaugurated in [[Snowdonia]], north [[Wales]], in 1968.<ref>Hirst, Clayton. [https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2009/dec/21/snowdonia-nuclear-power-station-wales-architecture Pulling down Snowdonia's power station would be a nuclear waste]. ''The Guardian'' (21 December 2009). Retrieved: 10 October 2021.</ref>

Also in 1964, with support from the Nuffield Foundation, the [[University of Southampton]] built a theatre on its campus. Spence worked closely with Sir [[Richard Southern]] as consultant for the interior design and layout of the theatre.

The Spence practice was rearranged in 1964, with the Canonbury office being renamed Sir Basil Spence OM RA, and the second London office Spence Bonnington & Collins. The Edinburgh office was also renamed for its partners, Spence Glover & Ferguson. From 1961 to 1968, Spence was Professor of Architecture at the [[Royal Academy]].

Through the 1970s, Spence continued to work on public and private commissions, universities and offices including [[Aston University]] Library and Management Centre. His last work was for an unexecuted cultural centre for [[Bahrain]], which he worked on during illness in 1976.  Some of his final commissions were built after his death; for example, his design for the new [[Glasgow Royal Infirmary]] was completed in 1981.<ref>[http://www.glasgowarchitecture.co.uk/glasgow-royal-infirmary Glasgow Royal Infirmary: Building], ''Glasgow Architecture''. Retrieved: 10 October 2021.</ref>

Spence died in November 1976 at his home at [[Yaxley, Suffolk]] and was buried at nearby [[Thornham Parva]].<ref name="english-heritage">{{cite web|url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/BasilSpence|title=SPENCE, Sir Basil (1907–1976)|website=English Heritage|access-date=2017-11-03}}</ref>

His practice, Spence, Ferguson and Glover, continued until 1992 when it was disbanded.