A Cambridge Modernist: The Architecture of David Wyn Roberts

This book takes as its primary subject the modern architecture of David Wyn Roberts, particularly the college residential buildings of the 1950s through 1970s, located in Cambridge England, and throughout the United Kingdom. Roberts, a professor of architecture at Cambridge School of Architecture and a fellow of Magdalene College, designed more college residences in Cambridge than any prior architect in the history of the city.

Modernism was marginal at Cambridge before the Second World War. Roberts arrived in 1946, and while he was not the first modernist in Cambridge, he was crucial in efforts to open the school to the modern movement and to attract the likes of Leslie Martin, Colin (Sandy) St. Wilson, and an array of world-renowned lecturers.

Roberts took for granted that lecturers would build as well as teach. He ran his own design practice for many years until 1966, when he partnered with a former student and employee, Geoffrey Clarke. The architects employed a constant stream of Cambridge students, giving them wide-ranging responsibilities for project design and supervision.

The work of David Roberts demonstrates his experimental approach to modern architecture and his interest in user experience, sensitivity to the layers of historical context, and thoughtful use of materials. The practice specialized in college residential buildings, housing developments, schools, and museums; all blending the materials of vernacular contexts with modernist geometries.