Basic Biographical Details | Name: | Gerard Johannes Bakker | | Designation: | | | Born: | 1939 | | Died: | | | Bio Notes: | Gerard Johannes Bakker was born in 1939 to parents who lived near Watford in North London, and had his sights set on a career in architecture from an early age. A cousin who was staying with his family in 1957 was married to an Architectural Association student, and from that year Bakker attended the same institution, where he was fortunate to be taught by some of the most celebrated architects of the day. On completion of his studies he was, as he recalls, ‘headhunted’ by the AA’s principal, William Allan, to join the London practice he ran in partnership with John Bickerdike. Bakker worked on a series of small projects under Bickerdike at the start, but remembers that the work became more interesting when the firm was commissioned to design the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. It was at this point that his interest in the technical side of building – acoustics, the integration of structures and building services – began to come to fruition, and throughout his career he particularly enjoyed working alongside engineers in a culture of mutual respect.
In 1965 he was elected ARIBA. By 1966 Bakker had married, and he and his wife were tiring of London life, unable to afford to live in town and unwilling to commute from the suburbs. They considered moving to Manchester, Norwich and Edinburgh, and were won over by friends in the Scottish capital. Bakker secured a post in the practice of Robert Matthew, Johnson-Marshall & Partners (RMJM), and the couple settled in a New Town flat. At RMJM, Bakker worked under John Richards, his first project being the Pathfoot Building at the University of Stirling, which had been planned in outline but required detail work and which he remembers as ‘one of the best buildings we produced’. He became involved in other parts of the Stirling project including the overall development plan, the library and the MacRobert centre, and he recalls that ‘there was a tremendous feeling that we were at the beginning of something big’. The work was carried out in a ‘very cosy’ attic office at 30 Hill Street, with Richards – ‘extremely clear thinking’ and with ‘great vision’ – constantly present.
He was involved with Edinburgh Airport, and was project architect for Aberdeen Airport, which was closely based on its Edinburgh counterpart. In the early 1980s he worked on two unexecuted projects in Libya, making four or five fortnight-long visits to the RMJM team that was based in that country. He worked on the Motorola electronics factory in Bathgate, and from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s he was involved in producing strategic development plans for several Scottish universities. He went on to become project director for Keadby Power Station in Yorkshire, and just before his retirement in April 2000 he set up a project team for Hull General Hospital. Throughout his professional life, he had deliberately avoided working on housing, and had also avoided hospital work as much as possible, not wishing to become trapped in either field.
Soon after retiring, he became involved in the Peebles Civic Society, latterly becoming its secretary. He has also embraced the opportunity offered by retirement to travel, visiting Australia (including the Sydney Opera House), New Zealand and the USA (with a focus on Mies van der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright buildings). | Private and Business Addresses| The following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes |  | London, England | Private | 1939 | 1966 | | | 22, India Street, Edinburgh, Scotland | Private | 1970 * | | | | 30, Hill Street, Edinburgh, Scotland | Business | Early 1970s | | with John Richards, at RMJM |
* earliest date known from documented sources.
Employment and TrainingEmployers* earliest date known from documented sources.
Buildings and Designs
ReferencesBibliographic References| The following books contain references to this : | | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | McKean, John | 1973 | RMJM at Stirling | | Architectual Review, June 1973, pp348-366 | | | Willis, Peter | 1977 | New architecture in Scotland | | | p52-55 University of Stirling |
Archive References| The following archives hold material relating to this : | | | Source | Archive Name | Source Catalogue No. | Notes | | Courtesy of Euan Colam | Interview of Euan Colam by Kirsten McKee | | 3 December 2008 | | Courtesy of Gerard Bakker | Interview of Gerard Bakker by Kirsten McKee, December 2008 | | |
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