Thomas Henney, MBE, architect; born July 18, 1933, died February 17, 1998
TOM Henney, who was born in Kirkcudbright and educated at Kirkcudbright Academy, retained a special loyalty to the Stewartry and talked warmly of his happy childhood ''where his roots were''.
He was apprenticed to local architects G Garden Davidson from 1950-54 and then studied architecture at the Edinburgh
College of Art, graduating DA in 1959. At that time, he held various scholarships and he went on to gain the Archibald Dawnay Scholarship prize of the Royal Institute of British Architects and the
Heriot-Watt College medal for Advanced Architectural Studies.
From 1959-61 he was on the staff of Sir Basil Spence & Partners in Edinburgh, and from
1962-63 he went to the Graduate School of Architecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to gain his Masters degree.
From 1963-76, he was principal architect at Edinburgh Univer-sity's Architecture Research Unit (ARU). Here he developed his flair for laboratory design and he made important links with the Laboratories Investigation Unit of the British Department of Education and Science. He and his colleagues at ARU were responsible for major developments for the University of Edinburgh, for significant local projects funded by the Medical Research Council and other agencies, and for many other assignments across the country. The 1970 Saltire Award for Housing Design and a Civic Trust Commendation were given to the ARU while Henney was in charge.
In 1976, Tom founded a private practice in an office that he designed in the Boroughloch, near the Meadows in Edinburgh, and Ed Taylor and Alan Stevens came from the ARU to work in the same office. Later, William Sutherland and Stephen Murray joined as associates in 1994.
Together, they went on to build a remarkable portfolio of successful projects with their work for Edinburgh and Napier Universities, the Medical Research Council, the Scottish Home and Health Department, and many others. In 1996, the Michael Swann Building at Edinburgh was completed to house the university's Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology in the King's Buildings complex.
Tom Henney wrote and lectured widely on the design of labora-
tory furniture and the design and structure of scientific laboratory buildings. He worked with many professional committees at national and international level, including those of the Royal Incor- poration of Architects in Scotland (RIAS), and he was chairman
of the National House Building Council (NHBC) in Scotland. He had a special link with the Saltire Society and he was a generous adviser to many other voluntary organisations. His services to architecture were recognised with the award of an MBE in 1991.
He is warmly remembered by his many friends as a gentle man with a safe pair of hands, a fine eye for design and finish, a grand sense of humour, and a lovely nature. He was cautious and he had a splendid steadying influence. He believed strongly in good committee work and in encouragement. He generously encouraged young artists and designers.
He is survived by his wife, Hely, his children, Avril and Hugh, and his step-children, Saskia and Nicola.
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