Gabriel Epstein

Gabriel Epstein (25 October 1918 in Duisburg, Germany – 25 July 2017 in Paris), often known as Gabi Epstein, was a British architect and urban planner, particularly noted for his master plan of the University of Lancaster, as well as several other major development plans and social housing plans.

Gabriel Epstein was born on 25 October 1918 in Duisburg (Germany), an industrial city in the lower Rhine, a region where his ancestors lived for centuries. Epstein's father Harry was an influential attorney, and was strongly committed to Zionism. In the mid-1930s the family fled Nazi Germany. After a brief stay in Brussels (Belgium), Gabriel Epstein left for British Mandatory Palestine. Beginning in 1937 Epstein became an apprentice to Erich Mendelsohn in Jerusalem. As a child, in 1925–1927, he had seen Mendelsohn sketch the extension of the family department store in Duisburg, Cohen & Epstein. Later, Epstein came to admire Mendelsohn's creativeness and energy even though he never considered himself a true disciple.

In 1938 Epstein left for London to study at the Architectural Association School of Architecture. When World War II broke out, Epstein happened to be in Jerusalem, and for several months he worked for Heinz Heinrich Rau, whom he always thought of as his master. In 1942, he joined the Palestine Regiment and was later commissioned in the Royal Engineers and stationed in North Africa. Epstein was demobilised in 1946, and returned to the United Kingdom where he graduated with honours at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in 1949.

Initially German, Epstein then held a Mandatory Palestine passport, and was stateless in 1948 until he became a British citizen in the early 1950s.

After graduation, Gabriel Epstein went into practice with Derek Bridgwater and Peter Shepheard. The firm was first known as Bridgwater and Shepheard, later Shepheard and Epstein and later still Shepheard Epstein and Hunter. Until his departure from the practice in 1986, Epstein designed social housing in London, colleges of education and schools. Epstein's master plan for the University of Lancaster was made up of buildings of a modest scale that were arranged around a central walkway known as "The Spine", which ran from north to south and was covered for most of its length. The campus design was described by Sir Charles Frederick Carter, the founding vice-chairman, as "one of the major achievements of British architecture", which "set new standards and precepts for all University and Urban Plans".

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