Brian Shawcroft oral history, 7 March 2016

Item information

Title:

Brian Shawcroft oral history, 7 March 2016

Description:

This interview was conducted in the home of Brian Shawcroft in Raleigh, North Carolina. In the interview, Brian Shawcroft discusses: his childhood and early education in England during World War II; early jobs working with surveyors and city planners on projects to rebuild areas of London destroyed in the war; serving in the British Army stationed in Germany in the artillery division; discovering a love for ballet while serving in the army; studying architecture at the Southwest Essex Technical College and School of Art; developing an interest in photography; emigrating to Toronto in the mid-1950s; coming to NC State University due to the influence of Henry Kamphoefner and Eduardo Catalano; working with Henry Kamphoefner and early faculty in the School of Design, including George Matsumoto and Roy Gussow; teaching at NC State while practicing architecture with the firm of Holloway-Reeves; controversy surrounding Shawcroft’s relationship with African American opera singer Barbara Conrad and her visit to campus in 1964; witnessing discrimination and prejudice against women and African Americans; developing his teaching philosophy and emphasis on hand drawing; the value of architectural photography; his work with the Raleigh Little Theatre; the evolution of the College of Design through the leadership of different Deans; increasing numbers of women in the profession of architecture; the current state of architecture in the Triangle; his appreciation for the James B. Hunt Jr. Library; Claude McKinney and Centennial Campus; Edward D. Stone and the design of the North Carolina State Legislative Building; the visiting lecturer program and the student publication in the early years of the School of Design; and the challenges of entering the United States during the era of McCarthyism.

Topics:

Architecture
People
University History

Subjects:

Architects

Original Format:

Digital video recording, sound, color

Extent:

2:37:46

Item identifier:

mc00449-oh-shawcroft-20160307

Interviewee:

Shawcroft, Brian, 1929-2017 more info on Shawcroft, Brian, 1929-2017 

Interviewer:

Ferris, Virginia L. more info on Ferris, Virginia L. 

Created Date:

2016-03-07

Genre:

Interviews
Oral histories (Document genres)

Names:

Shawcroft, Brian, 1929-2017 more info on Shawcroft, Brian, 1929-2017 
North Carolina State University. College of Design more info on North Carolina State University. College of Design 

Location:

Raleigh (N.C.)

Digital Project:

NC State Institutional Histories