Projects per year
Personal profile
Research interests
I am Senior Lecturer in Architectural History and Theory in the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering. My principal research area is twentieth-century architecture in Britain, in which I take a primarily social historical approach.
I am currently working on an architectural and social historical biography of the important British (and especially Welsh) practice of Sir Percy Thomas from its inception in 1912 until the beginning of the twenty-first century. They were architects of Swansea Guildhall and other notable civic buildings throughout Britain in the 1930s; most campuses of the University of Wales in the 1950s and 60s; and the Birmingham International Convention Centre, amongst many other notable landmarks of modernity in Britain.
My previous project was about post-war British Roman Catholic church architecture, in which I investigated the relationships between architecture (including the development of modernism), the historical changes associated with the liturgy around Vatican II, and the social aspects of parishes and urbanism in the period. The culmination of this work was my book, Building the Modern Church: Roman Catholic Church Architecture in Britain, 1955 to 1975 (Ashgate/Routledge, 2014). This project was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art and Architecture, during my previous post as Lecturer at the Mackintosh School of Architecture, Glasgow School of Art. I continue to publish new research in the subject, as well as working with academic networks to support wider research in the same area.
A second approach in my research is a continuing interest in creative methods in architectural design informed by cultural theory, which I have explored in several other publications.
I have also previously researched and written on late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century French architecture and design, including Art Nouveau, from similar perspectives. This included a British Academy funded project on the relationship between the architect Rene Binet and the evolutionary biologist Ernst Haeckel.
I teach Architectural History and Theory on various Architecture courses in the Department, and run the MArch Research Paper (dissertation) unit. I also supervise dissertations on the MSc course in Conservation of Historic Buildings. I have supervised several PhD students to completion and examined others; see below for further details. Please get in touch with me directly at an early stage if you are interested in beginning a PhD.
Willing to supervise doctoral students
If you are a prospective student, you are welcome to contact me directly to discuss your interests, and if appropriate I can give advice on your application. I am able to supervise PhDs in a broad range of subjects in Architectural History and Theory, but I especially welcome anyone interested in the following subjects:
- twentieth century architecture;
- architecture, religion and society;
- politics, government and state-funded architecture;
- commerce, economics and buildings;
- nineteenth century architecture.
Previous PhD topics supervised to completion include mid-twentieth century housing in British new towns, and Scottish town halls since the early nineteenth century.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
Doctor of Philosophy, The Department Store in Paris, 1855 to 1914: An Architectural History, University of Cambridge
Award Date: 1 Jan 2002
Master of Arts, Architectural History, University of Edinburgh
Award Date: 1 Jan 1998
External positions
Deputy Editor for Journal, 'Architectural History', Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain, Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain
1 Aug 2022 → …
Book Reviews Editor for Journal, 'Architectural History', Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain
19 Mar 2018 → 1 Aug 2022
External Examiner for Architectural History, University of Edinburgh
1 Oct 2017 → 31 Aug 2020
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- 1 Similar Profiles
Projects
- 2 Finished
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Percy Thomas: Modern Architecture as National Service - Paul Mellon Mid-Career Fellowship
Proctor, R. (PI)
27/09/21 → 28/01/22
Project: UK charity
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Percy Thomas: Modern Architecture as National Service - BA/Leverhulme
Proctor, R. (PI)
6/05/19 → 30/09/22
Project: Research council
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Building the Modern Church: Roman Catholic Church Architecture in Britain, 1955 to 1975
Proctor, R. W., 2014, Abingdon: Routledge. 412 p. (Ashgate Studies in Architecture)Research output: Book/Report › Book
22 Citations (SciVal) -
Churches for Towns and Suburbs: Sir Percy Thomas & Son and the Percy Thomas Partnership
Proctor, R., 3 Mar 2023, Holy Houses: Places of Worship in Twentieth-Century Britain: Twentieth Century Architecture 15. Harwood, E. & Powers, A. (eds.). London: The Twentieth Century Society, p. 140 161 p.Research output: Chapter or section in a book/report/conference proceeding › Chapter or section
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The Architecture and Art of the Roman Catholic Church
Proctor, R., 1 Oct 2023, The Oxford History of British and Irish Catholicism, Vol. V: Recapturing the Apostolate of the Laity, 1914-2021. Harris, A. (ed.). Oxford, U. K.: Oxford University Press, p. 165 187 p.Research output: Chapter or section in a book/report/conference proceeding › Chapter or section
1 Citation (SciVal) -
Citizenship: Welfare and the Democratic State in Percy Thomas’s Civic Architecture
Proctor, R., 25 Aug 2022, Reconstruction: Architecture, Society and the Aftermath of the First World War. Shasore, N. & Kelly, J. (eds.). London, U. K.: Bloomsbury Publishing, p. 267-294Research output: Chapter or section in a book/report/conference proceeding › Chapter or section
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‘Both Homogeneous and Broken’: Wales in Britain and the Paradox of the Severn Bridge
Proctor, R., 20 May 2022, (Unpublished).Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper
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Invited Lecture for Seminar Series, Ax:son Johnson Centre for the Study of Classical Architecture, University of Cambridge
Proctor, R. (Speaker)
6 Dec 2024Activity: Academic conferences and events (excluding conference publications) › Keynote presentation or prestigious invited talk
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Member of Casework Committee, Twentieth Century Society
Proctor, R. (No value)
13 May 2024 → …Activity: Knowledge Exchange (Industry, Government, NGOs) › Advisory board membership