Robert Proctor

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 have recently completed an architectural and social historical account of the most important Welsh architectural practice of the twentieth century, published as a book, Percy Thomas: Modern Architecture as a National Service, by the University of Wales Press in 2025. Percy Thomas designed Swansea Guildhall and other notable civic buildings throughout Britain in the 1930s, and his subsequent practice designed 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 mid-twentieth century Roman Catholic church architecture in Britain, investigating 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.

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 Architecture courses in the Department and supervise MArch Research Paper (dissertation) students. I also teach 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. I am also currently Director of Doctoral Studies for the department.

If you are interested in undertaking a PhD, please get in touch with me at an early stage to discuss your proposed topic.

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 twentieth-century English synagogues and Jewish heritage; mid-twentieth century housing in British new towns; and town halls in Scotland since the early nineteenth century.