Basic Biographical Details

Name:	Law & Dunbar-Nasmith
Designation:
Born:	1 April 1957
Died:	Before 1989
Bio Notes:	Graham Couper Law was born on 28 September 1923, the son of William Couper and his wife Eliza, and lived in Rhu during his early years. He was educated at Glasgow Academy, Ardvreck Preparatory and Merchiston Castle Schools. He studied for the degree of MA at King's College, Cambridge from 1940-41 and from 1947-50, his studies having been interrupted by the Second World War. During the War he served with the Royal Engineers. He was awarded a College Exhibition and distinction in his thesis and was admitted ARIBA in 1951. He worked as an assistant with Adams Holden & Pearson in London and then moved to Glasgow to the practice of Burnet & Boston. He was with the Weir Housing Corporation in Coatbridge for a spell before joining Robert Matthew's newly established private practice in Edinburgh in November 1954. One of his first projects there was Kincardine Power Station. Earlier the same year, in April, another young architect, James Duncan Dunbar-Nasmith, had joined the practice. Dunbar-Nasmith was born on 15 March 1927 in the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, where his father, Admiral Sir Martin Dunbar-Nasmith, was Captain. His mother came from Morayshire, and the family retained a home there, while moving every two years according to his father’s postings which included London and Sri Lanka. His elder brother, David Arthur Dunbar-Nasmith, would follow their father into the Navy. Educated entirely in England, James Dunbar-Nasmith attended Winchester College. On leaving school he served in the army for three years before going up to Cambridge to study architecture. It was there that he first met Law. Having graduated BA, he went on to study for two years at the School of Architecture, Edinburgh College of Art. After passing the qualifying exam, he sought to stay in Edinburgh in order to be near his aging parents, who had by then settled back in Morayshire. He worked for six months in the office of Leslie Grahame Thomson, before he was able to secure a position in Matthew’s burgeoning firm. The young architects developed strong friendships and Dunbar-Nasmith recalls them and their colleagues Tom Spaven, Margaret Little and Margaret Brown (later Richards) thinking, in youthful fashion, that they were ‘going to create a new world through architecture and change people’s lives’ – notions which he would later dismiss as ‘rubbish’. Dunbar-Nasmith was admitted ARIBA in 1957, and he and Law left the Matthew firm (by then Robert Matthew, Johnson-Marshall & Partners – RMJM) to go into partnership on 1 April that year, with an office at 54 Frederick Street, Edinburgh. Their first job in independent practice, begun in the evenings while they were working out their notice period with Matthew, was a pair of farm cottages at Cublington in Buckinghamshire for Dunbar-Nasmith’s schoolfriend Leopold David de Rothschild (‘Leo’), who would go on to commission a number of other buildings from the firm. Law’s previous experience working for the Weir Housing Corporation was instrumental in securing for the new partnership a second project – a contract for 45 houses on the Ochlochy estate in Dunblane. They were given a completely free hand in the design, for which Law was principally responsible. Dunbar-Nasmith recalls that the publicity for this speculative project of elegant single-storey, two-storey and terraced houses ‘made our name’. Further commissions followed, including various alterations to country houses; a new country house in Hampshire for Leo de Rothschild, on seeing which the Queen would later decide to commission the practice to build cottages on the Balmoral Estate; and a series of schools in a patent system of construction. The practice expanded over the years and a branch office was opened in Forres in 1975. It is for its theatre projects that the practice is perhaps best known. It first altered the original Pitlochry Theatre (previously only a tent), and then went on to design the new Eden Court Theatre in Inverness in the mid-1970s, in preparation for which Nasmith toured German opera houses and Law toured those in America and Finland. This was followed by the new Pitlochry Festival Theatre at the end of the decade. Both designs reintroduced the idea of operatic excitement to the auditorium and were important landmarks in post-war theatre design. By that time, most of the architectural work (including all the designs for the theatres) was being carried out by Law, as Dunbar-Nasmith had become increasingly involved with professional bodies and in education. He taught at the Edinburgh College of Art from around 1960, and subsequently joined the RIAS Education Committee, the RIBA Board of Education (of which he was Chairman), the RIBA Visiting Boards, the Commonwealth Board of Architecture Education, the Commonwealth Visiting Boards and the Ancient Monuments Board (which he chaired for a year). He was appointed Chairman of the Joint Building Group in Scotland in 1966, was head of the Edinburgh Architectural Association in the 1960s, and was involved in the Edinburgh New Town survey, as well as serving for some time on the Royal Commission and as a trustee of the Theatres Trust. In 1979 he was appointed Professor of Edinburgh University and Head of the Department of Architecture at Heriot-Watt College, following in the footsteps of Robert Matthew. Later, in 1995, he would become Chairman of the Scottish Civic Trust. Law also took an active interest in matters relating to the profession and served on the Council of the Edinburgh Architectural Association, the RIAS Council and the ARCUK Council and on its professional purposes committee. He undertook some tutorial work at Edinburgh College of Art in the early 1960s, and was elected FRIAS in 1963. From 1980 he was an Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy, to which he was a regular contributor of both painting and architecture and from 1913 an Academician. He was the first chairman from 1977 to 1981 of an organisation dedicated to providing studio accommodation for artists and craftsmen, Workshops and Artists' Studio Provision (WASPS). In addition to a large portion of the practice’s architectural work, Law was responsible for the design of a number of exhibitions for the Edinburgh Festival, some of which were carried out in association with Richard Buckle. Among others were the Jacob Epstein, Barbara Hepworth, ‘Indian Art and Dance’, and ‘Treasures from Scottish Country Houses’ exhibitions. He was very clear-minded and applied this to any problems that arose during a job and ensured that the first concept of a design was not lost until the building was completed. As a person Law was very modest despite his prodigious talents, and hated publicity. He delighted in the company of close friends and his large family, to whom he was devoted. The practice first became involved in conservation architecture through a commission to alter a castle near Lake Menteith, for which they secured a Historic Buildings Council grant. It was to develop a strong reputation for work in this field. Dunbar-Nasmith cites the choice of materials as a key consideration in his work, particularly from the perspective of the way people come into contact with the fabric of buildings. ‘I cannot see concrete as a suitable material to lean against,’ he confesses; and he pays particular attention to the creation of elements such as door handles and balustrades that are ‘nice to feel’, stating: ‘The first job of a building is to give pleasure; unless people love their buildings, they won’t look after them.’ On the subject of style, despite the heady atmosphere of modernism that infused his early years, in later life he was of the opinion that ‘there’s just good architecture and bad architecture. Style is completely irrelevant.’ Dunbar-Nasmith was made a CBE in 1976. In 1983, the practice made moves to expand into Germany by acquiring a practice in Wiesbaden; this was to be closed after five or six years. Law retired in 1984 and Dunbar-Nasmith, who had shared a partners' desk with him since the beginning, continued the practice. Law died from cancer on 13 September 1996, survived by his wife Isobel Evelyn Alexander Drysdale and their four children and ten grandchildren. Dunbar-Nasmith was knighted in 1996. He retired c.2001. The practice remained at 16 Dublin Street, having moved there c.1967, and did not move again until early 2009.

Private and Business Addresses

The following private or business addresses are associated with this :
	Address	Type	Date from	Date to	Notes
	54, Frederick Street, Edinburgh, Scotland	Business	1957	1967
	16, Dublin Street, Edinburgh, Scotland	Business	1967	Early 2009
	130, High Street, Forres, Morayshire, Scotland	Business	1975	After 1981	Branch office
	St Leonard's Road, Forres, Morayshire, Scotland	Business	1991 *		Branch office

* earliest date known from documented sources.

Employment and Training

Employees or Pupils

The following individuals were employed or trained by this (click on an item to view details):
	Name	Date from	Date to	Position	Notes
	Robert Watt Young Dobie	1957	1958
	Graham Couper Law	1 April 1957	After 1979	Partner
	(Professor Sir) James Duncan Dunbar-Nasmith	1 April 1957	c. 2001	Partner
	(Miss) Margaret McLaurin Little (Mrs McDiarmid)	1959 *		Architect
	Robert Watt Young Dobie	1959	1963
	Jack Buchanan	1970s		Architect
	Maurice Batten	1970s	1980s	Architect
	Andrew P K Wright	1978		Architect
	Andrew P K Wright	1983	2001	Partner

* earliest date known from documented sources.

Buildings and Designs

This was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details):
	Date started	Building name	Town, district or village	Island	City or county	Country	Notes
	1957	Ochlochy Village Housing	Dunblane		Perthshire	Scotland	per Builder p1152
	1957	Pair of farm cottages	Cublington		Buckinghamshire	England
	1959	Private house	Rhu		Dunbartonshire	Scotland
	1959	Scottish Churches House	Dunblane		Perthshire	Scotland	Conversion
	1960s(?)	BEA sales office			Glasgow	Scotland
	1960s(?)	Ferry terminal	Ardrossan		Ayrshire	Scotland
	1960s(?)	House for Leopold David de Rothschild	Exbury		Hampshire	England
	1960s	St Mary's School	Haddington		East Lothian	Scotland
	1960s	St Ninian's High School	Kirkintilloch		Dunbartonshire	Scotland	Extension on CLASP system
	1960s	Villa, Rhu Road Lower	Helensburgh		Dunbartonshire/Argyll	Scotland
	1960s(?)	Wullie Muir Inn			Edinburgh	Scotland
	1960	Dunbartonshire County Council Offices	Dumbarton		Dunbartonshire	Scotland	Placed second in the competition for redevelopment of central Dumbarton which included new County Offices.
	1960	Kingsway Technical College			Dundee	Scotland	Two blocks added - in conjunction with the SED
	1960	Leuchie House			East Lothian	Scotland
	8 July 1960	Dumbarton Central Area Development	Dumbarton		Dunbartonshire	Scotland	awarded 2nd prize in competition £900 per Builder p47
	1961	Edinburgh Festival Society Exhibitions			Edinburgh	Scotland
	1962	BEA ticket office			Edinburgh	Scotland
	1962	Clermiston Inn			Edinburgh	Scotland
	1962	Leuchie House, walled garden	North Berwick		East Lothian	Scotland	House in corner of walled garden. Extension 1964.
	1963	Cramond Brig Cottages			Edinburgh	Scotland
	1963	St Crispin's Special School	West Mains		Edinburgh, Midlothian	Scotland
	1966	St Columba's Ecumenical Church, Craigshill	Livingston		West Lothian	Scotland
	1968	Kingsinch School	Inch		Edinburgh	Scotland
	c. 196	Pitlochry Festival Theatre	Pitlochry		Perthshire	Scotland	Alterations to temporary tent structure
	1970s	CLASP school buildings for SED and NBA				Scotland
	1970s	Conservation projects			Edinburgh	Scotland	Conservation
	1970s	Dervaig Arts Theatre	Dervaig	Mull	Argyll	Scotland
	1970s	Loretto School, theatre	Musselburgh		Midlothian	Scotland
	1970s	Offices for Clydesdale Bank			Edinburgh	Scotland	Reconstruction
	1970s(?)	Television studios for STV			Edinburgh	Scotland
	1970s	TV transmitter stations for ITA				Scotland
	1970	Glen Tanar House (new)	Glen Tanar		Aberdeenshire	Scotland
	1970	Milnwood Housing Estate	Bellshill		Lanarkshire	Scotland	Phase I
	1971	St Margaret's School			Edinburgh	Scotland	2 storey addition
	1973	Bishop's Palace	Inverness		Inverness-shire	Scotland	Theatre
	1973	Eden Court Theatre	Inverness		Inverness-shire	Scotland
	Before 1975	Willie Muir Inn			Edinburgh	Scotland
	1976	St Machar's Cathedral	Old Aberdeen		Aberdeen	Scotland	Restoration with fabric fully conserved
	1978	Darnaway Castle			Morayshire	Scotland	Restoration.
	1978	Gordonstoun, house and lodge			Morayshire	Scotland	Repairs
	1978	Logie House	Forres		Morayshire	Scotland	Repairs and extension
	1979	Pitlochry Festival Theatre	Pitlochry		Perthshire	Scotland	New permanent building
	1980	Birkhall			Aberdeenshire	Scotland	Alterations and additions
	1980	Gordonstoun, house and lodge			Morayshire	Scotland	Repairs
	1983	Fort George Prison	Fort George		Inverness-shire	Scotland	Restoration
	1986	20 SSHA houses	Findhorn		Morayshire	Scotland	Completion of scheme
	1987	Milton Brodie House			Morayshire	Scotland	Alterations
	1988	40-44 Elm Row			Edinburgh	Scotland
	1995	Dollar Academy, Iona Building	Dollar		Clackmannanshire	Scotland
	1995	Dollar Academy, Younger Building	Dollar		Clackmannanshire	Scotland
	2000	Birmingham Hippodrome			Birmingham	England	Complete refurbishment, including creation of second theatre space and construction of new facade

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this :
	Author(s)	Date	Title	Part	Publisher	Notes
	Bailey, Rebecca M	1996	Scottish architects' papers: a source book		Edinburgh: The Rutland Press	p129
	Glendinning, Miles	2008	Modern architect: the life and times of Robert Matthew		RIBA Publishing	p163
	RIBA	1981	Directory of Practices 1981
	Willis, Peter	1977	New architecture in Scotland			p80-3 Eden Court Theatre

Archive References

The following archives hold material relating to this :
	Source	Archive Name	Source Catalogue No.	Notes
	Courtesy of James Dunbar-Nasmith	Interview of James Dunbar-Nasmith by Jessica Taylor, 15 April 2009