Theo Crosby, 1925-1994

Theo Crosby (1925-1994) was an architect, sculptor, writer and designer, who worked collaboratively across many disciplines and a broad range of interests. He is particularly known for his involvement in the design partnership Pentagram and as the architect of Shakespeare"s Globe theatre in London, a reconstruction of the theatre where plays were first shown.

Born in South Africa, Crosby studied architecture at Witwatersrand University, Johannesburg, before moving to Britain in 1948. From 1949, he assisted architects Maxwell Fry, Jane Drew and Denys Lasdun, while studying sculpture at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in the evenings. There he became friends with teachers Richard Hamilton, Eduardo Paolozzi and Edward Wright, bringing him into the Independent Group of artists, designers and writers. It was Crosby who suggested the influential exhibition "This is Tomorrow", which the group organized at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in 1956, and which involved Alison and Peter Smithson, Nigel Henderson, Sir Colin Wilson, Paolozzi and others.

At the same time, Crosby was Technical Editor of "Architectural Design and Construction" magazine, from 1953-1962. Under its editor, Monica Pidgeon, the magazine was a consciously alternative voice to the Architectural Review. Crosby also edited the little magazine "Upper Case", from 1958-60, and of the ICA"s "Living Arts" magazine, and was responsible for the exhibition of the same name, which showcased the Archigram group of experimental architects.

For a brief period, Crosby led the innovative Design Group attached to Taylor Woodrow; though influential, none of its main urban projects were realised. Other architectural projects of this period included buildings for the International Union of Architects" congress in London in 1961. In 1965, at the invitation of Colin Forbes, Crosby joined the design practice of Forbes [Alan] Fletcher [Bob] Gill, leading the architecture team; Gill soon departed, and the firm became Crosby Fletcher Forbes, and then, with the arrival of Mervyn Kurlansky and Kenneth Grange, Pentagram in 1972. Crosby conceived and edited the Pentagram Papers series of publications, of which he also wrote several.

Crosby"s architectural projects include alterations to Chalcot House, Wiltshire; Unilever House interiors, London; NMB Bank interiors, Amsterdam; Battle of Britain Monument (with Michael Sandle) and Pedro Guedes, 1987; not realised) and Shakespeare"s Globe, although he died before its completion in 1997.

Alongside his work at Pentagram, Crosby sustained involvement in a wide range of other projects. In the exhibition "How to play the environment game", held at the Hayward Gallery in 1973, he explored and articulated ideas and arguments about the processes and practices of urban development. In the 1980s he continued this turn away from the modernism of 1960s to promote a greater regard for history, place and anti-materialist interests. He established the Art & Architecture Society in 1982, with the aim of encouraging inter-discplinary collaboration. In his vision for Shakespeare"s Globe, Crosby kick-started the regeneration of this part of the South Bank.

Crosby was Professor of Architecture and Design at the RCA 1990-1993. He was made ARA in 1982, and RA in 1990. He married twice, to Anne Buchanan, with whom he had a daughter; and to Polly Hope. Crosby and Hope, an artist herself, collaborated extensively both on commissions and in the creation of their home in Spitalfields.

From the guide to the Theo Crosby Archive, 1940s-2004, (University of Brighton Design Archives)