Remembering Tony Burns, ARIBA FRSA 1936-2011

Tony Burns was the Arts Centre’s architect for 20 years, and one of its most devoted supporters. He came on board when the project was still no more than a loose collection of ideas about what to do with the semi-derelict Old Meeting House, and his patience in drawing and re-drawing endless versions of what we might build was remarkable — but he loved the design process itself just as much as he loved eventually seeing the building come to life. He even forgave us when opted to keep the stage at the west end, rather than turning the building round and putting the stage where the garden is, which was his preference. His patience in waiting for years before we were able to pay him was also exemplary, and a hugely valuable contribution in kind.

Tony was a modernist at heart — as a student he once hitchhiked to Finland to meet one of his architectural heroes, Alvar Aalto. But like most British architects he was rarely given the opportunity to design anything that approached the avant-garde. So it is good that the Arts Centre shows off some characteristically bold Burns design touches — the roof shape at the east end, the round window from the office to the foyer, the strongly contemporary west frontage. He was very proud of the Arts Centre, both as a building and as a living institution, and I personally felt privileged to have worked closely with a professional who was so tolerant and encouraging of an opinionated amateur architect like me. I miss the Sunday afternoons when he would call in, en route home to Castle Eden in County Durham from his (very contemporary) weekend hideaway in Sproxton, for a session of scribbling on tracing paper to see how we could improve on the latest plans.

Tony had been unwell for some years but was working almost to the end, and had recently received a Gold Medal from the RIBA and been appointed a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. The Arts Centre was well represented at his funeral in Castle Eden on 27 May. All our condolences go to his widow Maureen and their children and grandchildren.

MVW