"Pioneering conservationist" Donald Insall dies aged 100
Architect Donald Insall, founder of Donald Insall Associates and known for his conservation and renovation work, including on Windsor Castle, has died at the age of 100.
Insall, whose death was announced in a statement from his studio, was best known for his work in conservation, which he saw as different to preservation.
"Preservation he said is 'what you do for marmalade'," Donald Insall Associates said in a statement. "In the case of buildings, this means keeping them in their original state for posterity."
Instead, Insall, whom his studio described as a "pioneering conservationist", aimed to conserve buildings for their continued use.
"Conservation means working with old buildings, streets and towns in ways that allow them to live on usefully and delightfully for new uses when and where appropriate and for future generations," his studio said.
Born in Bristol on 7 February 1926, Insall founded his studio, Donald Insall Associates, in 1958 and served as its chairman until 1998.
The many projects that Insall worked on include the 18th-century baroque Wotton House, Buckinghamshire, which was saved from demolition in 1957, the renovation of William Morris's Kelmscott Manor in Oxfordshire and the conservation of the historic city centre in Chester.
After a fire devastated Windsor Castle, the royal residence in Berkshire, in 1992, Insall led the teams that restored the building.
His book Living Buildings, first printed in 2008, was reprinted in 2018 with a foreword by King Charles (then Prince of Wales) in 2018.
In it, the King stated that Insall had been "deeply involved, not just as a tireless practitioner, but in mentoring and inspiring others" in the realm of heritage and architectural conservation.
Insall started his architectural studies in 1942 at the Royal West of England Academy School of Architecture and then studied civic design at the Royal Academy Schools and later at the School of Planning in London.
After his studies, he worked for London practice Phillimore and Jenkins, which restored and designed country houses.
In 1958, he founded his own studio together with Peter Locke. Among the projects it worked on was a study of Chester, which involved visiting more than four hundred buildings in the city and led to the creation of conservation officers by local councils across England.
Insall is also known for his role in creating the English Heritage charity, for which he was a founding commissioner.
The architect believed that to get the best results when it came to conserving historic buildings, it was important was to "try to make friends" with them.
"I think that as a result of our experience over the years", he said, "we have developed a method that we feel is a wise one. We always try to make friends with the building itself, but also with its current users, so that both their respective needs can be met."
"We prepare a life story of the building, and from there we assess the building's positive aspects," Insall continued. "We also take a look at its less successful features and see how these can be helped. However, the important thing is to take a positive approach to the project."
Recent projects by his studio include the renovation of a Grade II-listed Oxford college library and the renovation of the "deconstructed" Hardwick Old Hall ruin.
The images are courtesy of Donald Insall Associates.
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