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Robert Proctor

@rproctor.bsky.social
1.3K followers 442 following 1.1K posts

Architectural historian of the twentieth century.

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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Reading student reviews of my university, and the most frequent complaint is overcrowded, infrequent and overpriced buses to campus. Pretty much been the case for a decade at least. You'd think someone would look into that.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Idea for a work of fiction: Gertrude Jekyll's cloying and smug Home and Garden about Munstead Wood, but with demonic ghosts, or murders. archive.org/details/home...
archive.org
Home and Garden: Notes and Thoughts, Practical and Critical, of a Worker in Both
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Short trip to Coventry, where I saw some wonders I remember and others I didn't.
Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, 1950s building with Portland stone cladding, mosaic and large windows, a coat of arms at centre top on projecting auditorium wall.Wall of angled lead panels, tree; leisure centre building of 1960s, Coventry.Chapel, looking up, circular space with plain thin cross hanging in the centre, slot windows with coloured glass in deep angled fins around the edges; in Coventry Cathedral.Entrance to Coventry Cathedral, a sort of giant porte cochere with crosses suspended between red sandstone columns, and concrete roof over the top; red sandstone wall to left, similar stone walls to right.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Have always suspected this, that the curves are to give a definite character rather than to appear straight.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Muppet Crime and Punishment.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
On BBC iPlayer, I see. Recommend it.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Found a good CFP. Can't decide which of three possible proposals to put in. Writing them all out to see which looks best. Not sure this is the most fruitful use of my time.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Bradford-on-Avon bank holiday wander.
Marble monument detail, a carved skull with cherub's foot on it, classical mouldings around it.A Renaissance virgin and child painting in a gold frame on a wall below windows.A medieval stone barn, pedimented porch with doors open looking right through it, a person silhouetted beyond, stone-tiled roof.Detail of a green and grey barge on overgrown canalside with plants in pots on the roof.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
You know when you think you've found a really good building and then you look it up and find that of course it was by such-and-such? Postmodern theatre and media complex at Chambéry by Mario Botta, 1982-87, extended by Aurelio Galfetti, 1992.
Detail of a stripy building with grey lines interspersed with yellow sandstone, diagonal shadow, unusual gaps between corners, small cut-out windows.Big outdoor flight of steps up to a partly circular drum of a building, stripy details of yellow sandstone. A temporary tent to one side, hints of a larger auditorium building to left.A big stripy drum of a modern building, next to an older plain 3-storey building with rectangular windows and dormers; the drum has a stepped cut out section below it with entrances and a colonnade, and there's a glazed link between the new and old buildings.Cars parked in front of large theatre building, big flight of steps up to a drum shaped building on the right, the steps flying over a cut-out arch, to the left a massive cubic structure with no windows except at the base, all with stripy lines of yellow sandstone.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Anyway, this year I'm taking all my annual leave whether I have anything fancy to do or not. So hello from a marsh in Gloucestershire, where there's a spoonbill looking as relaxed as me.
Marsh, very flat but some distant hills, some clouds in the sky.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Hard drive on the blink. The eyewatering price of new computers now! Another AI benefit ... Bought an old fashioned replacement hard drive and a cable instead. Fingers crossed I don't break something.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
St Bernadette, Annecy, by Maurice Novarina and Claude Fay, 1963-67.
A concrete church with white cylindrical tower (slightly spiralled at the top) and metal cross, body made up of planes of concrete wall staggered slightly with full-height windows between, roof in a V shape projected out on deep doubled timber beams.Detail of modern church entrance with deep concrete-walled recess and lower projecting wall inside it with rows of small windows in projecting frames, offset with each other to make a regular pattern. Weeds on one edge.Interior of modern church viewed across the nave; rows of timber pews, raised sanctuary steps to right, timber ceiling supported on doubled timber beams, a series of concrete planes at far end slightly staggered with full-height glazing between them, a plain cross on one section of wall.View of modern church interior, timber pews on paved floor, concrete wall sections all set at a slight angle and the gaps filled with glazing, timber roof supported by deep doubled timber beams; green garden just visible through the windows.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
The perfect provincial French mairie doesn't exi ... At least Duingt, near Annecy, has a very cute one, doesn't it.
A little 'mairie' or village hall, a simple but charming box-like two-storey building with tall hipped tiled roof, symmetrical windows (3 above, 2 below surrounding a central door), and attached to the building on the right a small stair tower with pointed roof. Mountain ridge in the background; flower beds and potted flowers in the foreground, with a memorial on the right flanked by French and EU flagpoles.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Palais de Justice, Annecy, by Maurice Novarina with Patrice Novarina and others, 1972-8.
Part of a modern movement building, patterned concrete section protruding from glazed facade, all cantilevered over a recessed podium.Modern movement building, a glass box with outward leaning facades, protruding central concrete elements that lean back slightly, all cantilevered over a recessed podium, on a large expanse of concrete paving.Modern movement building, a glass box with outward leaning facades, protruding central concrete element that leans back slightly, all cantilevered over a recessed podium, on a large expanse of concrete paving. Lettering, 'Palais de Justice', attached at bottom of central concrete section.Detail of modern building, glazed facade behind patterned concrete panel, on which letters are attached at the bottom reading 'Palais de Justice'.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Modernist Annecy. Lake-frontage apartment blocks.
A curved-plan 4-storey modernist apartment block with sloped fins dividing the building vertically, cars parked diagonally in front of a hedge, blue sky.A 7-storey concrete apartment block with balconies across flat frontages, and a form that steps back from right to left, lush landscaping around the edges.A tall modernist apartment block with yellow awnings projecting on one side, smaller rectangular windows in a grid on the other, and panels of beige stone cladding. Blue sky, curved lamp post, a bit of tree.6-storey apartment building with projecting side wings forming a front courtyard, viewed from under a walkway canopy that leads to the entrance, mauve paving in the courtyard and raised beds with drought-stricken grass on them, yellow awnings projecting from some of the flats, recessed balconies forming a repetitive rhythm on the building, blue-tiled flanking sections to windows.
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C20 Society @c20society.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
NEWS: Yes, Prime Minister? The RC Church of St Oswald & St Edmund Arrowsmith (J Sydney Brocklesby, 1925-30) in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, has been upgraded from Grade II to Grade II* by DCMS. The French Romanesque church contains an unrivalled collection of stained glass by artist Harry Clarke.
Roman Catholic Church of St Oswald & St Edmund Arrowsmith, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan - J Sydney Brocklesby, 1925-30.

Image credit: Historic England.Roman Catholic Church of St Oswald & St Edmund Arrowsmith, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan - J Sydney Brocklesby, 1925-30.

Image credit: Historic England.Roman Catholic Church of St Oswald & St Edmund Arrowsmith, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan - J Sydney Brocklesby, 1925-30.

Image credit: Historic England.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Basilican panopticon.
Orange printed sign saying "LA BASILIQUE EST SOUS SURVEILLANCE VIDEO" on a grey and white veined marble pilaster.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Well anyway, props to these balconies for not collapsing on me during my dinner.
Old stone balconies on a building with an arcade running under it, the balconies propped up with poles and wrapped with green netting, viewed between orange brasserie umbrellas in the street.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Sad to find that FNAC is like WH Smiths now, books and films in a corner of a store full of electro-junk.
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Dónal Hassett @donalh.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Ps Bobigny Town Hall has to be one of the most beautiful in the world.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Tourist tat fridge magnets are all AI slop now.
A display of colourful fridge magnets representing Annecy.
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University of Wales Press @uniwalespress.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Congratulations to @rproctor.bsky.social whose book 'Percy Thomas: Modern Architecture as a National Service' has been shortlisted for the @thesahgb.bsky.social Alice Davis Hitchcock Medallion! Discover more about this fascinating book and read the full shortlist: www.sahgb.org.uk/features/202...
Book cover which features a photo of the Temple of peace in Cardiff.
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Matthew Whitfield @matthewwhitfield.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
very pleased to be shortlisted for the @thesahgb.bsky.social Alice Davis Hitchcock Medallion in a very strong year for 20th Century architectural history titles, with fantastic books from @alistairfair.bsky.social @holsmith.bsky.social @rproctor.bsky.social & others www.sahgb.org.uk/features/202...
sahgb.org.uk
Shortlists revealed for the 2026 Alice Davis Hitchcock Medallion and the Colvin Prize - SAHGB
The shortlists for two of the most important prizes in architectural history – the Alice Davis Hitchcock Medallion and the Colvin Prize – have been revealed.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
save-gsa.uk Keeping an eye on this, late though it is; petition setting up shortly, apparently.
save-gsa.uk
Save the Mack
Stop the betrayal of Mackintosh's art school. Act before Wednesday.
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Alistair Fair @alistairfair.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Very exciting news that 'Building Modern Scotland' has been shortlisted for the @thesahgb.bsky.social's Alice Davis Hitchcock award alongside excellent titles by @holsmith.bsky.social @matthewwhitfield.bsky.social @rproctor.bsky.social and others! www.sahgb.org.uk/features/202...
A small tortoiseshell cat and a copy of the book 'Building Modern Scotland'
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
The SAHGB Alice Davis Hitchcock Medallion book shortlist has been announced, and I'm delighted to find that my book on Percy Thomas is included, alongside brilliant new books by @alistairfair.bsky.social @holsmith.bsky.social @matthewwhitfield.bsky.social and others. www.sahgb.org.uk/features/202...
sahgb.org.uk
Shortlists revealed for the 2026 Alice Davis Hitchcock Medallion and the Colvin Prize - SAHGB
The shortlists for two of the most important prizes in architectural history – the Alice Davis Hitchcock Medallion and the Colvin Prize – have been revealed.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Struggling to read a poorly written and badly edited academic book from a while ago, had to laugh when the last sentence just cuts off halfway through, 2/3 the way down a page, like the author reached a deadline at 5.00 so just stopped work and sent it in.
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Katrina Navickas @katrinanavickas.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Entering l'Antigone. It's a pomo new town. Odd atmosphere though pedestrianised, so that's one up on Poundbury.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Park the bus now, yes?
Reinforced concrete vaults and lines of skylights roofing a bus depot with red London buses in it. Photo of Stockwell bus garage of 1952 by John East.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
QAA benchmark statements blatantly written with AI, advocating use of AI, I see. Classy.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Spent most of the day working in an archive in the basement of a historic building in Bath 15C lower than the outdoor temperature with no air conditioning, walked outside and ... quite like it actually.
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cy / sal sun 🐚 @cyhsal.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Jože’s Bizarre Adventure: Jože Plečnik’s Church of the Holy Spirit in Vienna (1911-13), surreal spatial moments and strange columns that are at once Doric and Cubist:
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
And the brick buildings on the right are by Leslie Martin.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Love a potentially infinite building with interesting section, teak window frames, and flat concrete plane at apparently arbitrary end slice. (Royal Berks Hospital, Reading).
A long modern building with concrete projecting linear elements into which brick walls have been built with vertical windows with teak frames.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Everybody stop sending me emails at the same time challenge.
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Elizabeth Darling @archhistdarling.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Palace of the Ether is out (and about). Thanks to the team @lhartbooks.bsky.social for producing such a lovely artefact & to the many archivists, librarians, colleagues and friends who got me to this point.
Holding up the book Palace of the Ether against the backdrop of BBC Broadcasting House.
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University of Wales Press @uniwalespress.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
'Meticulously researched, erudite, and with a compelling thesis.' An interesting review of @rproctor.bsky.social's 'Percy Thomas: Modern Architecture as a National Service' in the latest C20 Magazine @c20society.bsky.social Read more about this 'indispensable volume': www.uwp.co.uk/book/percy-t...
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
New article idea brewing but I have to write the other one first conundrum.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Got my reserved seat on a CrossCountry train: no window, filth on seat, sewage stench, as usual.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Join the C20 Society. Not that there was anything more we could have done to prevent this shameful waste.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Well good to know that a plus side to deciding not to submit a paper proposal to the Society of Architectural Historians Annual Conference in Mexico this year was that I didn't get caught up in a mass shooting at an ancient pyramid, but rather shocked and sorry for anyone who was there.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Mildly amused by news story about Duncan Sandys, later of Civic Trust and sponsor of Conservation Area legislation, visiting a city as minister in 1956, ceremonially sitting in a bulldozer and demolishing a house in a slum clearance scheme.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Ugh, Outlook changing all the calendar colours from boring to bright and saturated, not what I needed on migraine Friday.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
I know we all hate AI writing but I just asked the copilot button to turn all my underlined headings in a Word doc into proper headings so I could navigate around them more easily because I was too lazy to remind myself how to do it, and it did it. More of *that* kind of AI would really be useful.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Bath at the wrong end of the scale.
A tiny stone houses surrounded by larger houses of c. 1820. It has a central door, two small uPVC sash windows either side, and an off-centre window above, and a there's what looks like timber door in the top left hand corner; the roof slopes down from back to front and the facade is painted white.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Bath, the Golden Plaice.
An old-fashioned fish and chop with plate-glass windows and blue and yellow sign saying 'Golden Plaice' at the bottom of a 3-storey terraced building of c. 1820s with sash windows.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Reading Alison Ravetz, 'Remaking Cities', 1980, and although in many ways it's been superseded, it really is wonderfully rich and prescient. Some points I've been impressed by so far. ->
Cover of Alison Ravetz, 'Remaking Cities', book, dark green with diagonal text in mid green and white.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Looking up some buildings on Google Streetview, found the view blocked by a covid-era bus.
A big blue double-decker bus viewed side-on showing advert pasted across it saying 'Play your part to STOP the spread' depicting a man with a face mask holding a sign saying 'Remember - only get tested if you have Covid symptoms'.
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Isokon Gallery @isokongallery.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Santo Volto church, Turin (Mario Botta, 2006), which we visited with a group from @c20society.bsky.social. Located in a regenerated former industrial area, this centralised church is beautifully illuminated from above by natural light. A repurposed chimney serves as a bell tower.
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Victorian Grunge Gloucester.
A tiny red-brick late-19th-century (possibly very early twentieth-century) pub with decorative tiled frontage in brown and green, and green-painted door and window frames, called 'Imperial Inn'.Two old fairly derelict buildings, one small with blue window frames, a convenience store, one mid-19th century of three storeys with big sash windows and some decorative surrounds, a lesser black-backed gull perched on top.A very large red brick warehouse of 6-7 storeys, c. 1820s (probably Regency rather than strictly Victorian therefore) with a wrought iron blue-painted bridge in front, water below.A Victorian furniture shop, still a furniture shop today, a 4-storey fairly elegant Italianate building, cast iron frame visible through ground floor shop windows, big red letters saying 'FURNITURE' hung across some upper windows. String course and cornice painted dark purple.
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