Brian O'Rorke

Brian O'Rorke RA (1901–1974) was an architect and interior designer born in Wellington, New Zealand.

Educated in engineering and architecture at Cambridge University, O'Rorke did the acclaimed design of a music parlor and London's Mayor Gallery. This caught the eye of Colin Anderson, director of Orient Steam Navigation Company, who offered him the job of outfitting the interior of their new liner, RMS Orion, in 1934.

O'Rorke knew what talent lay unused in Australasia and hired many Australians and New Zealanders to help with his design. He also may have seen the advantage of employing designers who intimately knew the tropical conditions in which the ship would need to carry people comfortably.

The result was an open air layout, making use of removable and folding walls, sliding glass doors, and relatively enormous promenade decks to keep cooling breezes flowing through spaces passengers could relax in. Rooms without access to the deck of the ship were also made to feel breezy by being as light and uncluttered as possible. Furnishings were chosen for their clean lines, wood given matte finishes, and columns left unadorned. Moreover, the chromium and bakelite used extensively throughout the ship meant surfaces were more resistant to the wearing effects of sea air, a first in liners. This was a new type of functional interior that could be linked to the functionality of a shipʼs exterior.

Orion proved so successful, O'Rorke designed interiors for many more of Orient's ships. One of these was SS Orcades.

His buildings include the Berkeley Hotel, London; The New Royal Observatory (now Herstmonceux Science Centre) at Herstmonceux in Sussex (1951-2, built 1955); a country house, Ashcombe Tower (1935) on Haldon, near Dawlish, Devon; and halls of residence at Nottingham University. All are in an abstracted traditional style which is reminiscent of the work of his near-contemporary, Donald McMorran. Unbuilt designs included one for the National Theatre in London.

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