Emanuel Vincent Harris OBE (June 26, 1876 - August 1, 1971) was an English architect who was most notably responsible for the design of several important public buildings.
He was born in Devonport, Devon and educated at Kingsbridge Grammar School. He was articled to the Plymouth architect James Harvey in 1893; in 1897 he moved to London where he assisted E. Keynes Purchase, Leonard Stokes and Sir William Emerson. From 1901 to 1907 he worked for the London County Council before setting up in private practice. He was primarily classicist; A. Stuart Gray wrote "Some of his buildings suggest the influence of Sir Edwin Lutyens, but are bolder, balder, and less subtle or more frank depending on ones point of view". His work was often criticised by Modernist architects. In his acceptance speech when he was awarded the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 1951 Harris is reported to have said "Look, a lot of you here tonight don't like what I do and I don't like what a lot of you do...". He became a Member of the Royal Academy in 1942 and died in Bath.
Important works
- Glamorgan County Hall, Cardiff (competition 1908 opened 1912)
- Board of Trade, Whitehall, London (competition 1914)
- Duke Street art gallery, London (1910-12)
- Sheffield City Hall (competition 1920 opened 1934)
- Nottingham County Hall (competition 1925)
- Atkinson's Scent shop, Old Bond Street, London (1927)
- Braintree Town Hall 1928
- Leeds Civic Hall (competition 1926 built 1931-33)
- Manchester Central Library (competition 1927 built 1930-34)
- University of Exeter Streatham Campus: site plan; Washington Singer Building (1931); Mardon Hall (1933); Roborough Library (1938); Chapel (1958)
- Somerset County Hall, Taunton (1932)
- Manchester Town Hall extension (competition 1927 built 1934-38)
- County Hall, Chelmsford (Council chamber & foyer)
- Bristol Council House (1938-56)
- Central Library, Kensington, London
- Fregusson building, St Mary's College, Durham (1950s)
References
Further reading
- Gray, A. Stewart (1985). Edwardian Architecture: a biographical dictionary. Duckworth.
- Reilly, Charles "E. Vincent Harris". Building 4 (9): 393.
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