DONALD BUTTRESS - JOINT PROJECT WINNER
About the team
Dr. Donald Buttress RIBA operates in architectural practice from St. Albans, Hertfordshire.
He has been senior partner in Buttress Fuller Alsop Williams, a general practice in Manchester, since 1982. From 1988-1999, Donald Buttress was Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey; he is now Surveyor Emeritus.
He was responsible for the completion of the external restoration of the Abbey (1973-1995), in particular, the repair of the West Front and the Henry VII Chapel.
He has 47 years' experience of the restoration of historic buildings, four cathedrals and several important country houses, and the design of memorials in Westminster Abbey and other places.
Web site: www.bfaw.co.uk
Statement of approach
Donald Buttress proposed a subtle redesign of the site, relocating the statue and plinth of George VI to the forward face of the top landing, carefully altering the existing balustrade. A bronze relief or bust of Queen Elizabeth is suggested in a niche above the intermediate landing, with inscribed panels to each side.
The lower landing would also be altered, with the solid stone balustrade replaced by a decorative ironwork to match the upper level, containing a Royal coat of arms at its centre. To each side, new stone pillars would be capped with decorative lighting, which would be repeated at the edges of the upper level.
The paved area between the steps and The Mall would be re-worked, while new lamp standards would highlight the memorial site.
Relevant experience
* Work on Westminster Abbey and the cathedrals of Chichester, Llandaff, Bangor, Sheffield and Leeds (RC).
* Memorials include those of John Betjeman, the Old Contemptibles and Mary de Pol in Westminster Abbey, and a current project for an RAF memorial in Chichester Cathedral.
* Plinth, steps and base for a bronze equestrian statue of Her Majesty The Queen in Windsor Great Park, completed in 2004, using Portland limestone and granite.
* Reconstruction of the fire-damaged Chapel of St. Augustine at Tonbridge School Kent to a new design, with related fittings, woodwork, organ case and stained glass.
* Stained glass in the Henry VII Chapel, Westminster Abbey, including the great west window to commemorate the completion of 25 years of restoration, unveiled by Her Majesty The Queen in 1995.
