Basic Biographical Details

Name: Alexander (Sandy) Lawrence Black
Designation:  
Born: 20 May 1937
Died: 25 March 2001
Bio Notes: Alexander (Sandy) L awrence Black was born in Aberdeen in 1937. Both his father, Stanley Alfred Briscol Black, and his mother, Marjory Irene Lawrence, were doctors. His family moved to Shetland when he was young and he was sent to boarding school on Durham, St Andrews and Hedensford where he did well academically but also enjoyed sport. He spent his period of National Service with the RAF before studying architecture at the Scott Sutherland School in Aberdeen.

His first post was with Perth & Kinross Council moving later to Forfar. He married Janette Anne Chalmers in 1962 and they emigrated to Canada where they had two daughters. He was elected ARIBA in 1965. They spent six years in Ottawa, Sandy working for a large firm, Messrs R Ogilvie, on multi-million dollar projects including banks, offices, hotels and university buildings. He gained expertise in the construction of large-scale steel and concrete structures.

The family returned to Aberdeen and Sandy took a post in the City Architects's Department. After several years they moved to Ross-shire where Sandy started his own practice and Janette, a teacher, became Assistant Rector of Dingwall Academy. Sandy enjoyed working as sole practitioner and took on a wide variety of projects. He enjoyed small scale projects and the one-to-one relationship with clients demonstrated his design flair, appreciation of simple materials and attention to detail.

In his private life Sandy was very fond of the outdoors and gave freely of his time as an assessor of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. He enjoyed swimming, rowing and car rallying as well as fishing, walking and camping. he also built his own boats and canoes and was an enthusiastic sailor. The family spent sailing holidays at Tighnabruach. He was a very private man with a small but close circle of friends and was devoted to his family.

He was diagnosed with cancer in 1999 and underwent surgery. He died on 25 March 2001.

Private and Business Addresses

The following private or business addresses are associated with this :
 AddressTypeDate fromDate toNotes
Item 1 of 3Tullich Wood, Balnakyle Road, Munlochy, Ross & Cromarty, ScotlandBusiness 2001 
Item 2 of 3Room 300/287, MacLaren Street, Ottawa, CanadaBusiness1970s  
Item 3 of 327, Castle Street, Dingwall, Ross & Cromarty, ScotlandBusinessBefore 2001  

Employment and Training

Employers

The following individuals or organisations employed or trained this (click on an item to view details):
 NameDate fromDate toPositionNotes
Item 1 of 4Perth & Kinross County Council Architects' DepartmentLate 1950s Architect 
Item 2 of 4Angus County Council Architect's Department (later Angus Council Architects' Department)Late 1950s(?)Early 1960sArchitect 
Item 3 of 4Aberdeen City Architect's Department (later City of Aberdeen District Council Architects Division)Late 1960s Architect 
Item 4 of 4Messrs R Ogilvie1970s Architect 

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this :
 Author(s)DateTitlePartPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 1RIBA1970RIBA Directory 1970   

Periodical References

The following periodicals contain references to this :
 Periodical NameDateEditionPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 1RIAS Chartered ArchitectJuly 2001v12, no5 Obituary

Archive References

The following archives hold material relating to this :
 SourceArchive NameSource Catalogue No.Notes
Item 1 of 3H M Register HouseDeath Register  
Item 2 of 3RIAS, Rutland SquareRecords of membership  
Item 3 of 3School of Architecture, Garthdee, Aberdeen, RGIT: former pupils, 1937-1970Galletly, James