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Practices

Basic Biographic Details

Philip Cocker & Partners
Architectural practice
Year Only
1971
Year Only
1992
Philip Stanley Cocker was born on 29 May 1928 in Bolton, Lancashire, and was educated at the County Grammar School from 1939. On completion of his schooling in 1944 he was articled to T E Smith & Son of Bolton, and while serving his articles he studied part-time at Manchester School of Art. In Smith’s office he was involved in projects for factories, public houses, private houses, surveying and drafting.

On completion of his apprenticeship in 1948 he secured an appointment as an assistant in Manchester City Architects Office, where he worked on a residence for unmarried pregnant girls and also saw the construction of the first building to his own designs - a block of public toilets with a tapered concrete flat roof. After two years in that office he was appointed Assistant Architect to the Housing Architects Office in the same city, where he was personally responsible for the design of flats, sheltered cottages and groups of shops with maisonettes above, as well as being involved in the planning and layout for the main programme of 3000 dwellings per year.

Cocker was admitted ARIBA in 1952. The following year he secured the post of Senior Architect in Middlesbrough Town Council’s Chief Architects Office. While in this post he was lead architect for a programme of some 1000 houses per annum, and carried out personal design work on three small district shopping centres with housing above. At the same time, he was studying Town and Country Planning as an external student at Manchester University, where he received his diploma in 1955; he became an Associate of the MTPI in the same year.

He moved to Scotland in 1956 to join the Chief Architects Office at Glenrothes New Town Development Corporation as an architect/planner. Here he focused on the design of residential districts, green landscaping and exhibitions, while spending his evenings working on architectural competitions and furniture construction. In 1960 he won the competition for the District Shopping Centre and adjacent housing at Grangemouth, as a result of which he set up his own practice there in the same year under the practice title Philip Cocker & Associates. It was also in 1960 that he became an Associate of the RIAS.

He was admitted FRIAS in 1966 and FRIBA in 1968. In 1971 he took John McLachlan and Kenneth Donald into partnership, the firm being known thereafter as Philip Cocker & Partners. Peter McAlister joined the partnership in 1979 and Fred Gibson in 1987. Supporting staff architects within the practice included Colin Forest, Denholm Christie, Nick Curry, Michael Good, Thomas Bryan Michie, Howard Fox, Laurence Robertson, Brian McAlister, Gordon Fraser and John Shaw, Alan McLay, Alan Scott and Graham Ross.

Cocker retired and resigned his RIBA membership in 1992, and the practice closed; of the partners, only Kenneth Donald had left the firm prior to that date, in 1987. However the practice did continue with other partners under the same name until the jobs in hand were completed. This information has been contradicted by Mr Cocker as Donald was involved in the completion of a couple of 1990s jobs.

NB The conversion work of the church in Plockton is dated 1993 but the bulk of the work may have been carried out prior to closure of practice in 1992.

Addresses

The following private or business addresses are associated with this architectural practice:

Business Addresses

Business Addresses2

AddressTypeDate FromDate ToNotes
66 Lumley Street Grangemouth Stirlingshire ScotlandBusinessIn year 1971After 1975branch office
4 Park Terrace Glasgow ScotlandBusinessIn year 1971In year 1992branch office
11 Wemyss Place Edinburgh ScotlandBusinessIn year 1971In year 1992main office
64 La Porte Precinct Grangemouth Stirlingshire ScotlandBusinessIn year 1979

Partners, Employees and Pupils

The following individuals were employed or trained by this architectural practice (click on an item to view details):

Employees or Pupils2

NamePositionDate FromDate ToNotes
John ShawPartner
Graham RossArchitect
Alan ScottPartner
Alan McLayPartner
Kenneth DonaldPartnerIn year 1971In year 1987
Philip Stanley CockerSenior PartnerIn year 1971In year 1992
John McLachlanPartnerIn year 1971In year 1992
Nicholas CurryArchitectAfter 1971Before 1983
Brian McAlisterArchitectAfter 1971Before 1992
Laurence RobertsonArchitectAfter 1971Before 1992
Thomas Denholm ChristieArchitectAfter 1971Before 1992
Colin Graham ForrestArchitectAfter 1971Before 1992
Colin ForrestArchitectc. 1971c. 1992
Howard FoxArchitectc. 1977
Peter McAlisterPartnerIn year 1979In year 1992

Buildings and Designs

This architectural practice was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details):

Buildings and Designs

BuildingPartnership GPRoleDate FromDate ToTown DistrictIslandCity CountyCountryNotes
Housing for SSHAAArchitectural practice1970sErskineRenfrewshireScotland
West Mill, Dean VillageBArchitectural practiceIn year 1971In year 1973Dean VillageEdinburghScotlandRestoration and conversion into modern flats
Fair-A-Far HousingAArchitectural practiceIn year 1971In year 1973CramondEdinburghScotland
11 Buckingham TerraceAArchitectural practiceIn year 1972EdinburghScotlandSubdivision of terraced house into 8 flats.
Carron Company showroomAArchitectural practiceIn year 1972FalkirkStirlingshireScotland
61 detached houses, InveralmondAArchitectural practiceIn year 1972CramondEdinburghScotland
14 flats, Whittinghame DriveAArchitectural practiceIn year 1972GlasgowScotland
University Settlement, Cameron HouseAArchitectural practiceIn year 1973EdinburghScotlandSubdivision and addition of new block to provide 27 flats.
Retraining centreAArchitectural practiceIn year 1973GrantonEdinburghScotland
57 houses, CramondvaleAArchitectural practiceIn year 1973CramondEdinburghScotland
3 shops and 32 flats, Cumbernauld VillageAArchitectural practiceIn year 1973CumbernauldLanarkshireScotlandReconstruction
20 flats, Linkfield RoadAArchitectural practiceIn year 1973MusselburghMidlothianScotland
Canon Street and Eyre Place tenementsAArchitectural practiceIn year 1973In year 1977EdinburghScotlandRestoration and division into 30 flats.
The Wynd HousingAArchitectIn year 1973CumbernauldLanarkshireScotland
6-8 Northumberland StreetAArchitectIn year 1974EdinburghScotlandSubdivision of 2 houses into 8 (or 6?) flats.

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this architectural practice:

Bib ref

AuthorTitleDatePublisherPartNotes
RIBARIBA Directory of practices1975
Willis, PeterNew architecture in Scotland1977p14-15 Fair-a-Far, Cramond

Archive References

The following archives hold material relating to this architectural practice:

Arc ref

Archive NameSourceSource Cat NoBuildingItem NameNotes
Information sent via DSA website, November 2009Courtesy of Philip CockerBiography and job list.