This panel talk will explore Vanbrugh’s original design of Blenheim Palace and on-site findings from the current £12m conservation project.
Speakers:
The author & historian Charles Saumarez Smith
The client Kelly O’Driscoll, Head of Built Heritage, Blenheim Palace
The conservation architect Edward Lewis, Practice Director, Donald Insall Associates
Chaired by Tanvir Hasan, Director Emeritus, Donald Insall Associates
Charles, author of John Vanbrugh: The Drama of Architecture, is perhaps the only person to have read the correspondence relating to Blenheim’s design and construction. In contrast, Kelly and Edward, both architects, know the building and its fabric intimately through their respective roles leading the current £12m conservation project – and are more aware than anyone of its design ambition, but also its shortcomings.
Together, Charles, Kelly and Edward will discuss historical records, assumptions, and their on-site findings. This will be explored through chronological themes, starting with Blenheim’s original design and concluding with its future needs:
The changes to Vanbrugh’s original design
The stonework paradoxes; fine craftmanship and compromised construction
19th and 20th century changes, new evidence and institutional memory loss
Running Blenheim as a home & workplace, from the first Duchess to today
Doors open at 4:30, talk at 5:30, closes at 7pm.
Registration
Register via Eventbrite. This is a free event hosted by Donald Insall Associates.
Location
Donald Insall Associates, 12 Devonshire Street, London, W1G 7AB
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