Basic Biographical Details

Name: (Miss) Margaret Justin Blanco White
Designation:  
Born: 11 December 1911
Died: 1 November 2001
Bio Notes: (Miss) Margaret Justin Blanco White was born on 11 December 1911. She came from an intellectually distinguished family. Her father, George Rivers Blanco White, was a lawyer who defended suffragettes and 'Irish conspirators'. He was called to the Bar in 1936. Her mother was the writer Amber Pember Reeves who had connections with New Zealand.

From September 1929 she studied at the Architectural Association in London. In 1931 she was awarded a travelling scholarship by the AA with which she visited Austria. In 1932 she travelled in Russia and Germany and the following year, 1933, she was Henry Jarvis Student and she made a study tour of France. She sat the RIBA final examination in July 1934. It is not yet clear where she worked from 1934-38 but in 1936 she married Conrad Hal Waddington. He was a lecturer in Genetics and Fellow at Christs College Cambridge. The couple had two daughters. In the period 1938-39 she worked in an office in the United States. She was elected ARIBA in 1939, her proposers being Howard Robertson, E Maxwell Fry and C Dudley Harbron. At the time of her application she was working in an office in Hull. Her home address (perhaps she worked from there as well?) was Morton Hall, near Liberton.

In the late 1940s (?) Margaret took post with the Civil Service post in Edinburgh. She was elected FRIAS in 1964.

In the Queen's Birthday Honours in June 1973 she was awarded the OBE for her work as superintending architect of the Scottish Office. She pioneered development work in standards for low-cost housing and contributed to the design of houses for old people. She wrote what was to become a definitive work on the design of hospital casualty and out-patient departments, a book later used all over the United Kingdom.

By 1987 she had retired and moved to Italy. She died on 1 November 2001 in Cambridge. Her husband had died in 1975. She was survived by her daughters, Dame Caroline Humphrey, an anthropologist and Professor Margaret Dusa Waddington McDuff, a mathematician, both of whom are highly distinguished in their fields.


Publications:

Ekistics: Special issue. Delos 3: report of the third symposium, July 12-19. October 1965
Article by C. A. Doxiadis, R. Buckminster Fuller, S. Giedion, P. Johnson-Marshall, R. Matthew, M. Mead, C. H. Waddington and M. J. Blanco White
Citation: 1965 Oct.
Includes portraits

The casualty department.
Article by M. J. Blanco-White and P. C. Rendle
Architects' Journal 1960 July 7, p. 39-44.

The school looks around : a book for teachers about local surveys / by Elizabeth Layton and Justin Blanco White ; (Association for Education in Citizenship)
London : Longmans, Green : Association for Education in Citizenship, 1948.

System of construction for a house of steel : scheme for 3-bedroom house alternative designs.
Article by Max Lock and Miss Blanco White
Architects' Journal 1945 Oct. 4, p. 245-258

Manchester [District] planning scheme, by R. Nicholas.
Article by J. Blanco White
Architects' Journal
1945 Sept. 6, p. 169-172.
Review.

Housing standards: the requirements of good housing.
Article by J. Blanco White
Keystone 1937 June, p. 11

Industrial housing in wartime : results of a competition organised by the Royal Institute of British Architects.
London : R.I.B.A., [1940].
29 p. : plans ; 26 cm.
Illustrates competition entries from: R.G. Brocklehurst, Rodney Thomas, Mary Crowley, Justin Blanco White, Erno Goldfinger, J.G. Ledeboer George Fairweather, R.A. Horsman, Forbes MacLennan & Partners, Frederick Gibberd, Halliday & Agate, Stella Scott, Ewart Redfern, Alec Bellamy and others.

The design of huts.
Article by Justin Blanco-White
Keystone 1942 Feb., p. 11-13.
Illustrations: Includes sketches

Housing forum. 3, Number on rural housing.
Articles by Edric Neel and J. Blanco-White and by B. S. Townroe
Architectural Design & Construction March 1943
Ministry of Health emergency agricultural programme -- Local authority housing. iii -- Cottage flats in Wales

Physical planning supplement: Manchester and district planning proposals.
Article by Justin Blanco White
Architects' Journal vol. 102, 1945 Sept. 6, p. 169-171.
Contents: Proposals prepared by R. Nicholas, City Surveyor and Engineer

Private and Business Addresses

The following private or business addresses are associated with this :
 AddressTypeDate fromDate toNotes
Item 1 of 844, Downshire Hill, Hampstead, London, EnglandPrivateBefore 1937 *After 1940 
Item 2 of 829, Grove Street, Beverly Road, Hull, EnglandBusiness1939 *  
Item 3 of 88, The Park, Hull, EnglandBusiness1939  
Item 4 of 8Morton Hall, Liberton, Edinburgh, ScotlandPrivate19471952 
Item 5 of 810, Dundonald Street, EdinburghBusinessNovember 1957(?) along with Rachel Wilson and Albert Abbott, per Builder 31 January 1958 p214
Item 6 of 815, Blacket Place, Edinburgh, ScotlandPrivate1964  
Item 7 of 8Newington Cottage/15, Blacket Place, Edinburgh, ScotlandBusinessc. 1964 *After 1970 
Item 8 of 8Villa Gelli/57022, Castagneto-Carducci, Livorno, ItalyPrivate1987 *  

* earliest date known from documented sources.

RIBA

RIBA Proposers

The following individuals proposed this for RIBA membership (click on an item to view details):
 NameDate proposedNotes
Item 1 of 3E Maxwell Fry12 December 1939For Associateship
Item 2 of 3C Dudley Harbron12 December 1939For Associateship
Item 3 of 3(Sir) Howard Morley Robertson12 December 1939For Associateship

RIBA Proposals

This proposed the following individuals for RIBA membership (click on an item to view details):
 NameDate proposedNotes
Item 1 of 2Robert Mather Godfrey7 February 1968for Fellowship
Item 2 of 2Thomas Ronald Wilson7 February 1968for Fellowship

Buildings and Designs

This was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details):
 Date startedBuilding nameTown, district or villageIslandCity or countyCountryNotes
Item 1 of 41938ShawmsCambridge CambridgeshireEngland 
Item 2 of 41939Industrial housing competition entry   England 
Item 3 of 41939School and holiday camp competition entry   England 
Item 4 of 4November 1957(?)Leith Fort HousingLeith EdinburghScotlandwith Rachel Wilson and Albert Abbott - 3rd, per Builder 31 January 1958 pp214, 221-223

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this :
 Author(s)DateTitlePartPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 4RIBA1950The RIBA Kalendar 1950-1951 London: Royal Institute of British Architects 
Item 2 of 4RIBA1964The RIBA Kalendar 1963-64   
Item 3 of 4RIBA1970RIBA Directory 1970   
Item 4 of 4RIBA1979Directory of members   

Periodical References

The following periodicals contain references to this :
 Periodical NameDateEditionPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 8Builder31 January 1958  'Housing Development, Leith Fort, Edinburgh,' pp214, 221-223, includes site plan, plans and elevations
Item 2 of 8Glasgow Herald2 June 1975  p5
Item 3 of 8The Times12 January 1907  p11 Father's Law exams
Item 4 of 8The Times18 February 1936  p4 Father called to Bar as KC
Item 5 of 8The Times14 August 1936  p1 Marriage
Item 6 of 8The Times22 October 1945  p1 Birth of daughter
Item 7 of 8The Times29 March 1966  p12 Death of her father (gives mother's name)
Item 8 of 8The Times29 September 1975  p 14 Death of husband

Archive References

The following archives hold material relating to this :
 SourceArchive NameSource Catalogue No.Notes
Item 1 of 3RIAS, Rutland SquareRecords of membership  
Item 2 of 3RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert MuseumRIBA MSS Collection  
Item 3 of 3RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert MuseumRIBA Nomination Papers A no7285 (Combined Box 182)