(b Melbourne, Australia, 1 May 1914; d London, 16 Dec 1983). English architect and sculptor. He studied at the University of Oxford (1932-5) and the Architectural Association, London (1935-40), and then served with the Royal Engineers in West Africa and Asia. In 1948 he set up in practice in London with Fello Atkinson (1919-82), Dick Maitland (1918-69) and Stefan Buzas (b 1913). From the outset Cubitt drew on his acquired knowledge of tropical countries, designing several schools and colleges in Ghana between 1951 and 1954. The practice rapidly gained a pioneering reputation in this field and, after designing some schools in Sowerby Bridge and Pontefract, Yorkshire (1954-7), it was appointed to plan the University of Nigeria at Nsukka, a project that was not completed until 1971. Other work in the 1950s and 1960s included a factory in Rangoon, office buildings in Sierra Leone and Nigeria and the Faculty of Medicine and Teaching Hospital (1961-7) at the University of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. Cubitt's major university buildings in developing countries are landmark schemes demonstrating a detailed understanding and selective use of traditional local materials. He is best known for the University of Garyounis (1966-77) at Benghazi, Libya, which at its inception was one of the largest single contracts for a building of its type, catering for 22,000 students on a 400-ha site. The design combined a bold formalism, using marble, ceramic tiles and mosaics in strong colours, and a sensitivity towards clients and users that was consistent in all his buildings. Modern in style, it incorporated traditional arid-climate design features such as protective, inward-looking courtyards and was the first project of its kind to fit physically and psychologically into the desert landscape. Cubitt was also a practising sculptor, holding exhibitions of his work in London and New York. He was President of the Architectural Association from 1965 to 1966.
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