Andrew Devane

Andrew Devane
Andrew Devane
Born	Andrew Devane; 3 November 1917; Limerick, Ireland
Died	15 January 2000 (aged 82); Calcutta
Nationality	Irish
Alma mater	University College Dublin
Occupation	Architect
Practice	Robinson, Keefe & Devane

Andrew Devane (3 November 1917 – 15 January 2000) was an Irish architect, born in Limerick.^[1] He studied architecture at University College Dublin under Rudolf Maximilian Butler where he graduated in 1941.^[2] In 1946 he was awarded the Taliesin Fellowship and he left Ireland for the United States to study under Frank Lloyd Wright until 1948.^[3] In 1948 he re-joined Paddy Robinson and Cyril Keefe of the architectural practice of Robinson & Keefe^[4] as a partner.

Among his best known works were Stephen Court and the Irish Life Centre in Dublin. Stephen Court was highly recommended in the awards for its sympathy with its Georgian surroundings.^[5]

Career[]

After Devane graduated from UCD, he began working in the architecture practice of Robinson & Keefe. After a short time, Devane was offered a partnership with the practice, but decided to postpone any agreement. Around this time Devane made contact with American Architect, Frank Wright Lloyd. In his letter to Wright, Devane said: "I cannot make up my mind whether you are in truth a great architect – or just another phony." to which Wright replied: "Come along and see."^[2]

In 1946 Devane travelled to America to attend the Taliesin Fellowship, a private educational institution in which promising architects were given the opportunity to study under Frank Lloyd Wright in Scottsdale, Arizona. Devane grew to admire Wright greatly. In a tribute to Wright, Devane would say of himself and his fellow apprentices that "Each of us lives inevitably (sometimes painfully) in his (Wright’s) "shadow," because in art and architecture, all of us, including him, live and grow or fade and die, in a light that is god-given."^[6]

On his return to Ireland in 1948 he took up Paddy Robinson and Cyril Keefe of Robinson & Keefe on their partnership offer and formed the Robinson, Keefe & Devane architecture practice (Now known as RKD Architects).^[4]

Personal life[]

Andrew Devane was born on 3 November 1917 in Limerick to a Roman Catholic family. His father, Dr John Devane, worked in St John's Hospital as a physician from 1915 until his retirement in the 1950s.^[7] He was married to Maureen Ashe in 1950^[8] and had three sons, Richard, Martin and Tony. Maureen died in 1977.^[9] Later on in life Devane spent much of his time devoted to charity work, especially for Mother Teresa's cause in Calcutta, India.^[4]

He died on 15 January 2000 in Calcutta.^[9]

Distinctive features[]

Many of his buildings exhibit the following distinctive features:

Low roof pitches often with copper standing seam roofs. (Lucan Technical School, Gonzaga College, Stillorgan College, Balbriggan Technical School.)
Concrete Towers often with sculptural profile at the top. (Dublin City University, St. Patrick's College, St Fintan's Church, St. Lelias Church, Airport Church, Gonzaga College, Divine Word Missionary College, Maynooth.)
Wide roof overhangs at eaves. (Gonzaga College.)
Arches at ground floor level. (Dundrum Technical School, Evora House, Howth, Clogher Road church.)
Wide overhanging concrete canopy at the entrance. (Meath hospital G.U. Unit, Mount Carmel Hospital, Rathgar, Our Lady of Good Council Church Killiney.)
rooflights or openings in the Overhangs to bring more light to ground level. (Stephen's court, Ballynanty School, Meath Hospital, Balbriggan Technical School, Lucan Technical School.)
Extensive rooflighting as ridge to a roof or as a roof pitch on an asymmetrical roof. (Dingle church, Clogher Road Technical school, Emmet Road Technical School.)
Curved or other special treatment of corners of buildings. (Irish life Centre, St. Fintan's Church, St. Lelia's Church, Assisi House.)
Brickwork with three colours of blue and grey smooth face concrete bricks. (St. Patrick's College, Stillorgan College.)
Rough textures beside smooth textures. (Gonzaga College chapel, St. Fintan's Church Sutton, Ballynanty School.)
Buildings designed to a grid which turns through narrow angles on the central axis. (Tallaght Hospital, Cavan General Hospital, Mirafiori House Blessington, Journey's End Howth.)
Raised planting beds around the base of the building. (Meath G.U. Unit, Gonzaga College, Rush Technical School.)
Interesting floor patterns in terrazzo to circulation areas – different on each floor. (Mount Carmel Hospital, Meath Hospital GU Unit.)
Entrances on the north or east side of the building to facilitate the best rooms getting the best sunlight. (Mount Carmel Hospital, Tallaght Hospital.)
Concrete balconies with rounded arrises. ('Journey's End' Howth, 'Santane' Sutton, Meath Hospital G.U. Unit.)
Interesting concrete textures. (St. Fintan's Church with rope marked concrete, Ballynanty School, National Institute for Higher Education (Ballymun) with slip form concrete to tower, Stephen Court and Irish Life Centre bush-hammered concrete.)
Columns or piers tapering in one dimension as they rise. (Stillorgan School, Lucan Technical School.)
White Concrete. (St. Patricks College, Irish Life Centre.)
Strong vertical elements in contrast to horizontal elements. (Balbriggan Technical School.)
22.5 degree angles, 17.5 degree angles both in plan and section. (Emmet Road Technical School.)
Devane designed many building elements which are normally bought from a catalogue, such as door handles, furniture, kitchens, Crucifixes, Baptismal fonts, altars, altar furniture, school desks, Stacking chairs etc. (Tables for his own house, Bentwood stacking chairs in many schools, door handles at St. Fintans Church, Airport Church, etc.)

Selected works[]

Interior of chapel in St Patrick's College, Drumcondra

Journey's End, House, Howth, for Devane family. Curvilinear extension to an earlier bungalow.
St Mary's Girls' School, Bishop Street, King's Island, Limerick.^[10]
St. Patrick's Training College, Drumcondra. Church, gymnasium, dining hall, residential accommodation, library, teaching facilities.
Urological Unit, Meath Hospital, Dublin.^[11]
Stephen Court, Dublin^[5] for Irish life.
A.I.B. Bankcentre, Ballsbridge, Dublin. Office complex and computer centre.
Irish Life Centre, Lower Abbey Street. Includes swimming pool, theatre, and second floor gardens, with later extension onto Talbot Street.
St. Lelia's Church at Killeely Road, Ballynantybeg, Limerick.
St. Fintan's Church, atrium, campanile, parish centre, and parochial house, Sutton, County Dublin.
Irish Pavilion, New York Worlds Fair. Temporary building demolished.

References[]

^ The Architects' Journal. The Architectural Press Ltd. 105. 1947. ISSN 0003-8466.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: untitled periodical (link)
^ ^a ^b Coyle, Jennifer, ed. (2000). In His Own Words Andrew Devane, Architect. . p. 2.
^ Fentress, C. W., ed. (2002). Civic builders. Wiley-Academy. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-471-49876-6.
^ ^a ^b ^c Tafel, Edgar (2001). Frank Lloyd Wright: Recollections by Those Who Knew Him. Courier Dover Publications. p. 116. ISBN 978-0-486-41731-8.
^ ^a ^b Lincoln, Colm (1992). Dublin as a work of art. O'Brien Press. p. 193.
^ Tafel, Edgar, ed. (2001). Frank Lloyd Wright: Recollections by Those Who Knew Him. Courier Corporation. p. 116.
^ "Main Record - Limerick City". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
^ "Ireland Civil Registration Indexes, 1845-1958," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FTTH-KJC : accessed 10 October 2015), MARRIAGES entry for Andrew Devane; citing Kilkenny, Oct - Dec 1950, vol. 3, p. 241, General Registry, Custom House, Dublin; FHL microfilm 257,850.
^ ^a ^b "Huge output mirrored by profoundly spiritual persona". The Irish Times. 29 January 2000.
^ "The vanishing Devane". Village Magazine. 19 September 2016.
^ Stirling, M. W. B. (1963). "The Planning of Urological Departments". Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine. 56 (5): 425–31. doi:10.1177/003591576305600539. PMC 1897475. PMID 13984194.