Robin Snell and Garsington Opera House

Attended an interesting lecture yesterday evening as part of the 'Inspire' series of lectures hosted by the University of Brighton (http://arts.brighton.ac.uk/whats-on/gallery-theatre/public-lectures). The speaker was Robin Snell who was project architect for Glyndebourne Opera House prior to setting up his own architectural practice.

Topics covered included man-made versus natural, Cedric Price and Fun Palaces, how buildings sit in the landscape and how the way a building is constructed can profoundly influence the design. 

A  key early influence was Joseph Paxton, famous for Crystal Palace (currently very much in the news - (http://www.bdonline.co.uk/news/chinese-developer-plans-to-rebuild-crystal-palace/5058418.article) which employed a revolutionary, modular, prefabricated system and glass. 

A recent project is Garsington Opera Pavilion at Wormsley which was designed to be de-mountable due to planning constraints although the planning authorities have subsequently decided they are happy for the building remain standing throughout the year -  interesting to see how lifelong influences and concerns manifest themselves in a modern building which nevertheless sits comfortably in a very traditional English landscape.