Basic Biographical Details | Name: | Robert Russell Prentice | | Designation: | | | Born: | 1883 | | Died: | 28 September 1960 | | Bio Notes: | Robert Russell Prentice was born in Fife in 1883 and educated at Highgate School. He served his articles under George Washington Browne in the firm of Peddie & Washington Browne, Edinburgh, subsequently studying at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris for two years before moving to London in 1907 to join the staff of Mewes & Davis.
In 1910 he emigrated to Buenos Aires where he entered the office of M L Fauré Dujarric, who took him into partnership the following year. The partnership was short-lived, Prentice returning to Britain in 1916 (Prentice with his wife and son arrived on the ship 'Darro' at Liverpool on 18 August of that year) to serve as a technical officer in the RFC and RAF. In 1919 Prentice returned to Buenos Aires to commence independent practice but from his home and head office in Rio de Janeiro. He was elected FRIBA in early 1925, and at some point he took A Spandi into partnership. His principal buildings in South America included the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rio, the Central Cordoba Railway Station in Buenos Aires, and offices for the Sud-America Insurance Company in both cities.
Although his work is little known in the UK, Prentice was one of the finest architects of his generation. In 1938 Prentice was tentatively appointed executant architect for the new British embassy in Rio de Janeiro. A large site was acquired in January 1939 and designs for it were made by the Office of Works architect A J Pitcher. These did not meet with the approval of the ambassador Sir Hugh Gurney who had them radically revised by Prentice. The project was shelved in October 1939 and not resumed until 1944 when the Foreign Service Accommodation Committee and the new ambassador, Sir Noel Charles, instructed Prentice to redesign the project anew so that it would not be overshadowed by the adjoining American embassy. The scheme now formed a great palace block thirteen bays long with a central tetrastyle portico, raised up over a marble base with double stairs which formed a first floor terrace; behind was a quadrangle forming the ambassador’s private apartments, sheltered by colonnades. The whole scheme was of remarkable sophistication with interiors in an Adam-Louis Seize manner. Construction began in 1946 and was completed in 1950 at a cost of £400,000. It became redundant in 1972 after the capital moved to Brasilia and was sold to the municipality as the Palacio da Cidade in 1975.
Prentice retired to Eastbourne in 1952 and died on 28 September 1960
| Private and Business Addresses| The following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes |  | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Business | 1910 | | | | Avenida Branco, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Business | 1925 * | | | | Eastbourne, Sussex, England | Business | 1952 | 1960 | |
* earliest date known from documented sources.
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ReferencesBibliographic References| The following books contain references to this : | | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | Bertram, Mark | 2011 | Britian's Diplomatic Buildings Overseas, 1800-2000 | | Reading: Spire Books | p230, 245-248 |
Periodical References| The following periodicals contain references to this : | | | Periodical Name | Date | Edition | Publisher | Notes | | Builder | 7 October 1960 | v199 | | p660 - obituary |
Archive References| The following archives hold material relating to this : | | | Source | Archive Name | Source Catalogue No. | Notes | | Courtesy of Derek Forrest | Information via'Contact Us' on website | | Sent August 2014. Mr Forrest's great aunt worked as a nurse to the Prentices from 1913-16 and 1922-25. Details from the records of the 'Darro'. | | RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert Museum | RIBA Nomination Papers | | F no2201 (microfilm reel 17) (mostly missing) |
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