When I completed my Honours Degree in Architecture with Languages in 2001, it allowed me to combine two subject areas that I would otherwise have been forced to choose between. This gave me an important opportunity to study and work in an architectural setting in France, as an integral part of my degree.
From this initial dual focus on architecture and language, I have since realised my fascination with uncommon or incongruous connections in architecture; sometimes the unlikeliest partnerships can yield unexpected outcomes. My stay at the British School at Rome in 2009 tested an aspect of my PhD thesis on the practice of Gillespie, Kidd & Coia, where I resolved to place the firm within an international frame of reference through analysis of their oeuvre of ecclesiastical work. This also provided a springboard for my teaching career, giving my first lecture to a group of students visiting from the UK on a study trip.
Following Rome, I was fortunate enough to be offered a teaching post at Manchester School of Architecture, where in the ensuing years, I amassed a wide range of teaching and leadership experience, from module leader of the architectural humanities, to Level 5 year leader, to programme leader for an MA course. Through my experience as scholar and teacher so far, I would say that my values centre on innovation through careful appreciation of historic settings and landscapes, working to lessen unnecessary demolition wherever possible, and perhaps most of all, to be curious and actively seek out new learning through experiencing new architectural contexts.
Professional memberships and activities
RIBA Chartered Member Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)
Academic qualifications
PhD: Manchester Metropolitan University
RIBA Advanced Diploma in Professional Practice in Architecture (Part 3): RIBA North West PgDip Advanced Architectural Studies: Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen
BSc (Hons) Architecture with Languages: Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen
Expertise
I have taught a wide range of academic levels on courses including Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Architecture, Master of Arts and Master of Architecture, and subject areas including design, history & theory and architecture & urbanism. I have also supervised students undertaking research degrees in architecture and related fields, including Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy.
Research interests
Gillespie, Kidd & Coia, the Roman Catholic Church and architectural change in the 20th Century Industrial and Romantic Landscapes Industrial heritage and making Gothic Pasts and Futures Typography
Publications
Robertson, J. (2020) ‘Choreographing the liturgy: exploring continuity, change and the liturgy in the ecclesiastical buildings of Gillespie, Kidd & Coia’, The Innes Review, Volume 71, Issue 2, pp. 237-269.
Robertson, J.D. (2019). Tradition & Transition: Gillespie, Kidd & Coia. The Modernist, Issue 31, pp. 16-19.
Robertson, J. (2019) ‘The Victorian school and Manchester’, in Manchester School of Architecture, a short history.
Robertson, J. (2013) ‘Ecclesiastical icons: defining Rome through architectural exchange’, in Holdaway, D. and Trentin, F.
(Eds.) (2013), Rome, postmodern narratives of a cityscape (Warwick series in the humanities). London: Pickering & Chatto.
Robertson, J.D. (2009). Our lives are full of remarkable coincidences [Exhibition contributor]. British School at Rome.