‘CREATIVE Conservation’ will be the topic for the 35th Bromsgrove Lecture by Aidan Ridyard.
Taking place at Bromsgrove School’s Routh Hall at 7.30pm on April 12, it will look at heritage buildings which have been brought back to life for modern society.
Aidan Ridyard graduated from Birmingham School of Architecture with first class honours and a post-graduate diploma distinction – completed in Venice and winning ‘best portfolio of his year’.
He has always worked in and around the Midlands, including a summer job in Bromsgrove.
Aidan was director of a large international practice for eight years, leading its education team and winning prestigious design competitions in the UK and overseas.
In 2014 he joined Burrell Foley Fischer Architects (BFF-Architects.com) as a partner to concentrate on increasingly challenging and rewarding projects.
Aidan has developed a reputation for working with ambitious architectural programmes at historically sensitive locations.
He has led schemes for complex projects, including the regeneration of a highly significant group of listed buildings (Grades I, II* and II).
These were in York, centred on the 1460 Guildhall, a new 1,350-seat theatre in Truro (incorporating two listed buildings) and a phased re-development of the Royal Society of Arts Grade I listed headquarters in central London.
He has helped develop design strategies for Rhodes House (Grade II* listed) in Oxford, Coombe Abbey (Grade I) in Warwickshire, and even a Grade II* listed Victorian Glasshouse, being re-imagined as a zero carbon visitor centre in Great Yarmouth.
Aidan has been working on his first book on the Church Architecture of Wolverhampton Architect Richard Twentyman, due to be published this year.
He led BFF’s redevelopment team on The Roundhouse – a canalside visitor centre in central Birmingham for the National Trust and Canal and River Trust.
And he is helping Bromsgrove District Council develop its Bromsgrove 2040 vision for the town centre.
Aidan and his BFF architects team have developed uniquely-crafted design solutions to unlock the potential of remarkable historic buildings around the UK.
They take a fresh approach to the perennial problems of helping historic structures find contemporary relevance and a meaningful long-term future in an ever-changing world.
During the lecture Aidan will give an overview of recent projects and share his of ‘Creative Conservation’ experiences.
Tickets – which include a drink after the presentation – are £7.50, available online at bromsgrove-school.co.uk/boxoffice.aspx or from FotoFactory, 123 High Street, Bromsgrove.
Visit bsoc.co.uk and the Bromsgrove Society’s social media platforms for more.
