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Article: The second greatest Briton? The celebrations of Brunel's bicentenary ignore his dark side, but he has much to teach today's architects.(ARCHITECTURE)(Isambard Kingdom Brunel)
- Article from:
- Apollo
- Article date:
- September 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Apollo Magazine Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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This year sees not only the centenary of the birth of Sir John Betjeman (discussed in this column in January) but also the bicentenary of a very different individual, the great engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel (Fig. 1). The lives of both are being celebrated with some fanfare. Both perhaps represent different aspects of Britain's self-image (however false): Betjeman, the avuncular, cuddly poet and preserver of things and places beautiful; Brunel, the dynamic, inventive and individualist creator of the new who died, worn out, at the age of 53. In 2003 BBC television viewers voted him second only to Winston Churchill as the 'Greatest Briton' (although he was, of course, ...