Celebrating rainfall through design – an exploration of SuDS
5th April 2023
A public lecture given by Bob Bray (Robert Bray Associates, Bristol Studio)
Tuesday 25th April 2023, 18:45 Room TC001 (FCH campus) University of Gloucestershire
JOHN SIMPSON 1929-2013
The John Simpson memorial lectures are held in honour of a former colleague and friend to the Cheltenham Landscape Architecture Course. In 1965 he was appointed to the Gloucestershire College of Art which was then located in the Pittville Pump Room and he brought his wide-ranging expertise in hydrology, construction and surveying skills to the students of Landscape Architecture as well as aspects of planning law. John eventually took on the role of running the Landscape course, effectively as Head of School for a short while, ensuring the four-year full-time course maintained its cohesion and necessary exemption from the intermediate examination of the Institute of Landscape Architects.
John Simpson retired in 1989 – the year that Her Majesty’s Inspectorate awarded an ‘excellent rating’ on the Landscape course: a fitting conclusion to John’s contribution through the years but arguably, most of all, John will be remembered for the important work of admissions tutor to the course. Over a quarter of a century he was individually responsible for the processing of hundreds of applications and interviews of prospective students. In no small measure was the course in debt to John for this essential but barely acknowledged non-computerised administrative task, and many students no doubt, if asked, would declare that their choice for Landscape Architecture in Cheltenham was influenced by John’s warm and personal welcome.
We are extremely grateful to Catherine, John’s daughter, who has generously agreed to sponsor the lectures allowing us to invite speakers expert in the combined fields of landscape architecture and civil engineering, John’s original qualification. It is with great pleasure that we can announce that Bob Bray of the Robert Bray Partnership, Bristol and Stroud, has accepted our invitation to give the talk this year.
Bob Moore
