Thomas S. Tait

Born in 1882 in Paisley, the son of a master stonemason, he was educated at the John Neilson Institution, following which he entered apprenticeship as an architect with James Donald in Paisley. Tait went on to Glasgow School of Art where he studied under the Beaux Arts teacher Eugene Bourdon. He travelled extensively in Europe between 1904 and 1905, before settling in London where he joined the prestigious architectural practice of Sir John James Burnet. In 1910 he married Constance Hardy, the daughter of a London stationmaster, and they set up home at 26 Holyoake Walk in Ealing. ==John Burnet & Sons==

In 1902, Tait was recruited by the architecture firm John Burnet & Son and worked under the founder's son, John James Burnet. In 1905, Burnet was appointed to design new galleries at the British Museum in London. Burnet opened a London office at 1 Montague Place, calling it simply John J Burnet, and took Tait with him as his personal assistant. In 1936 Sir Cecil M Weir, convenor of the Scottish Development Council, appointed him Chief Architect of the Empire Exhibition, Scotland 1938, selecting Bellahouston Park in Glasgow as the site, conceiving the master-plan and designing most of its 100 buildings assisted by a panel of young architects chosen by him. It attracted 12.8 million visitors. ==Later years==

The outbreak of the Second World War cut Tait's career prematurely short. St Andrew's House, Edinburgh, (built for the former Scottish Office and from 1999 the headquarters of the Scottish Government) was completed shortly after the outbreak of war in 1939, leaving much of the proposed interior decoration incomplete. From 1940 to 1942 he worked as Director of Standardisation at the Ministry of Works. He retired from the partnership in 1952, and the practice was taken on by his eldest son, Gordon. Thomas Tait continued in the capacity of consultant to the firm until his death in 1954 at the age of 72. Tait made modifications to the house as his own residence in 1930. ==Notable works==

Tait's architectural works were mostly executed as an employee of John Burnet & Son, or as a partner in Sir John Burnet & Partners, later Burnet, Tait & Lorne. Public buildings Tait is credited with the design of a number of notable buildings in London and internationally, including: Adelaide House (1920–5) on the River Thames, London; the Daily Telegraph Building in Fleet Street office (1927–28), London; later phases of the Selfridges building (1926–29), Oxford Street, London; St Andrew's House in Edinburgh; and the pylons for Sydney Harbour Bridge. Tait collaborated with James Lomax-Simpson (1882–1977) on the design and construction of Unilever House (1930–33) near Blackfriars Bridge, London. and the (now destroyed) Port Tewfik War Memorial near Suez, Egypt. The Moderne style Tait's acclaimed Royal Masonic Hospital at Ravenscourt Park in London (later the Ravenscourt Park Hospital) won him a RIBA award for the best building of 1933. This Moderne brick edifice features nautical-style curved sun porches and balconies, elongated sculpted figures atop the door pilaster. It has been likened to Willem Marinus Dudok's Hilversum Town Hall of 1931. Burnet, Tait & Lorne continued to build in the curved Streamline Moderne style, as evidenced in Tait's whitewashed Hawkhead Hospital for Infectious Diseases in Paisley (1932), which also features curved, nautical balconies and railings, streamlined corners and horizontal bands. Tait's Tower Tait is perhaps best remembered for his contributions to the design and master planning for the Empire Exhibition, Scotland 1938, held in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow. Tait was appointed as head of a team of nine architects, which included Basil Spence and Jack Coia. Tait's vision was of a modernist, utopian future, and the Empire Exhibition was the largest collection of modern architecture built in United Kingdom in the first half of the 20th century. Dominating the whole exhibition was "The Tower of Empire", designed by Tait himself. The 300-feet-high tower was erected on the summit of the hill in the centre of the park and had three observation balconies, each capable of carrying 200 people. Private houses Tait is also credited with the design of Chelsea House, built 1934, in Belgravia. This rotunda-shaped building stands on the corner of Lowndes Street and Cadogan Place on the former site of the 1874 home of the Earl of Cadogan, also called Chelsea House. Besides commissions for individual private dwellings, Tait was also commissioned to design a housing estate at Silver End, Essex, for the industrialist Francis Henry Crittall as part of his model village project in 1928. The houses are white with flat roofs and steel window frames. Evacuation centres In 1939 the British Government passed the Camps Act which established the National Camps Corporation as a body to design and build residential camps for young people that could provide opportunities for outdoor learning and also act as evacuation centres in the event of War. Tait was responsible for the design of the buildings which included accommodation for over 200 children and staff, recreational halls, washblocks and a dining hall/kitchen complex. These Camps were replicated in over 30 different rural locations around the country. During the war years, these acted as safe refuges for city children from Nazi bombing raids. After the war the ownership of the sites was transferred to the local authorities. Over the years most of these sites have been lost, but the best preserved example today is Sayers Croft which is located at Ewhurst, Surrey. The dining hall and kitchen complex is protected as a Grade II listed building because of the importance of Tait's work, and because of the painted murals depicting the life of the evacuees. Gallery Image:British war memorial in Brussels.jpg|The Brussels war memorial Image:Jagger GWR memorial1.jpg|The GWR War Memorial, Paddington Station Image:Jagger GWR memorial6.jpg|The GWR War Memorial, Paddington Station Image:St. Andrew's House Façade.jpg|St Andrew's House, Edinburgh Image:58, Hamilton Terrace.jpg|De Casa Maury house, Maida Vale Image:Wells Rise 1.jpg|Terrace of houses, St John's Wood File:Plymouth , Dingle's Department Store - geograph.org.uk - 1186187.jpg|1949-50 Department Store in Plymouth, Devon File:Silver End House - geograph.org.uk - 321811.jpg|Houses in Silver End Village, Essex ==References==