Obituary: Ian Appleton, globally renowned architect who specialised in theatre design

Ian Appleton was a gifted architect with an expertise in theatre design, and a greatly respected teacher whose students found him very intelligent, sensitive and approachable.

He was born in London in 1939, but was evacuated during the war to County Durham, where he enjoyed an idyllic early childhood.

On returning to London he went to Kingston Grammar School, and then studied architecture at Kingston College of Art, (now Kingston University).

He was then employed by some of the most important architects in London at the time, Chamberlin Powell and Bon, working on the radical new Barbican development in the City of London, and later joining Peter Moro and partners to work on the Nottingham Playhouse.

He continued to work on theatre projects, being project architect for the interior of the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, and also project architect for the design of the (recently listed) Gulbenkian Theatre in Hull.

In 1964 he came north to Edinburgh, to take the Civic Design Course at the Department of Urban Studies and Regional Planning headed by Percy Johnson-Marshall.

He came to love the city and eventually made his home in Edinburgh’s New Town. By now he was developing his interest in theatres, in particular their specific problems and opportunities in planning and design.

He took up the position of project architect in the office of Rowand Anderson, Kinninmonth & Paul for the briefing and design of Brunton Hall, Musselborough, and for other successful projects that worked well for audiences and actors alike. This consolidated his love of theatre and architecture which would last his entire life.

In 1969 he married Marjorie (Niddy) Eunson, an accomplished architect in her own right. This was a “marriage of true minds” which along with 50 years of domestic happiness was to lead to a working partnership for 37 years.

In 1974 the couple set up The Appleton Partnership which was to be responsible for a wide range of award- winning arts, conservation and new build projects, including a pioneering Community Design Unit at Wester Hailes in Edinburgh. In 1985 the practice won the national competition for a new theatre in Leeds, which was opened in 1990 as The West Yorkshire Playhouse (now known as the Leeds Playhouse).

This was very highly thought of, and the critic Michael Billington wrote: “What really matters is that Leeds has gained a superlative playhouse that is friendly, spacious, and free of the antiseptic coldness of much modern architecture.”

It was the last big theatre of the nation’s “Housing the Arts” programme, and the lighting designer Francis Reid remarked: “Perhaps the greatest compliment I can offer to all concerned is to suggest that the West Yorkshire Playhouse is the National Theatre that we failed to build on the South Bank.”

The practice went on to successfully work on other theatres including the Macrobert Arts Centre at the University of Stirling, and the design and production facilities for Scottish Opera in Glasgow, as well as other projects. Ian Appleton’s book “Buildings for the Performing Arts: a Design and Development Guide” (first published in 1996, and republished in 2008) became the textbook for those embarking on this discipline.

He also contributed to Theatre Planning for the Architects Journal, and wrote the chapter on Auditoria for the authoritative Metric Handbook.

Ian’s creative ability also entailed a love of teaching, and in 1967 he took up a lectureship at the Department of Architecture at the University of Edinburgh, eventually teaching at all levels and completing his PhD in 1980. He was Director of Studies from 1982-86, and ultimately became an Honorary Fellow.

He also was a visiting Fellow at the John Hopkins University in Baltimore, and a visiting design tutor and examiner at a number of different schools of architecture in the UK.

He was greatly admired by his students, one of whom, Robin Watson, wrote “... he had a beautiful touch with a pencil, and was capable of crafting really beautiful designs, which seemed rooted in deeper meaning... Ian had a peerless reputation as an architect and as an educator of developing minds.”

In 2007 the Appletons organised and hosted the 37th International Urban Fellows Conference which took place in Edinburgh and Glasgow. This annual conference had been a highlight of their calendar since the early 1970s, when they spent time in Baltimore where Ian has a visiting Professorship at John Hopkins University.

Their joint creativity was not confined to their Edinburgh office and public projects. In 1987 the Appletons bought a plot of 13 acres of heather and larch covered hillside, and there Ian designed a wonderful log house with a turf roof which they built together: a perfect example of sustainable design, before the word became fashionable.

It proved a perfect retreat from their busy life in Edinburgh, and they treasured the fellowship and community spirit of this highland glen, to which they would head most weekends in the summer.

In addition to his practice and teaching, Ian was a great supporter of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS). He edited the Prospect magazine in the 1980s, and chaired the Education Committee for many years, on which he continued to serve until 2017.

He spoke at several RIAS Conventions, and set up the Design Tutor’s Award for excellence in teaching design in architectural education in 2011.

He was the first chairman of the Little Sparta Trust to support Little Sparta, Ian Hamilton Finlay’s greatest work of art set in the Pentland Hills.

Ian also was the driving force behind the erection of a Monument to Patrick Geddes in Sandeman House, off the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, sculpted by Kenny Hunter.

It is the only public work of art commemorating Geddes in Edinburgh and Ian’s lasting legacy.

Ian will be remembered for his skill as a designer, his immense talent as an architect, and his commitment to teaching and to the profession. He was a gentle and sensitive man, with a quick wit and deep intellect, while modest and unassuming in spite of his considerable knowledge and experience.

He was always creative, and enjoyed company although he was also rather shy, which set him apart from some of the louder voices in teaching and the profession. Ian Appleton was greatly loved.

He is survived by Niddy.

ROBIN WEBSTER

Obituary: Ian Appleton, globally renowned architect who specialised in theatre design

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