Geoffrey Paulson Townsend
| Geoffrey Paulson Townsend | |
|---|---|
| Born |
11 May 1911 Twickenham, Middlesex |
| Died | 1 August 2002 (aged 91) Worthing, West Sussex |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Regent Street Polytechnic |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Spouse(s) | Winifred Walbanck |
| Children | one daughter |
| Practice | Modern Homes |
Geoffrey Paulson Townsend (11 May 1911 – 1 August 2002) was an English architect and developer, noted for his company, Span Developments, and long association with architect, Eric Lyons.
Geoffrey Paulson Townsend was born in Twickenham, Middlesex in 1911 to an artistic family. His mother, Jessie Beatrice née Jones, was an art-teacher and his father, William George Paulson Townsend, a writer and designer, was master of design at the Royal School of Needlework. His uncle, Ernest Townsend, trained as an architect but pursued a career in art.
Geoffrey Townsend left school aged 16, working initially as a joiner.
By 1931 Townsend was designing small terraced houses in Whitton and Twickenham. He worked as a draughtsman for Robert Lutyens, son of Edwin Lutyens and trained as an architect by attending evening-classes at the Regent Street Polytechnic which was where he first met Eric Lyons. In 1937 Townsend formed his own architectural practice, Modern Homes, in Richmond, London and Lyons worked there, the pair designing small housing schemes until the outbreak of war. During the war, in 1944, he married Winifred Walbanck (1914–1992).
Townsend and Lyons restarted their partnership after the war working mostly on war-damage restoration and house alterations. In 1948 they completed Oaklands, a small housing development of four, two-storey, six-apartment blocks set in landscaped grounds in Whitton that was the prototype of their future success.
In 1953, frustrated with a lack of support from developers and funders for their ideas for modern economic housing, Townsend established Bargood Estates, a development company of his own in conjunction with Henry Cushman, an agent for the Alliance Building Society.
Townsend resigned from RIBA due to their conflict of interest rules of the time. Although the partnership with Lyons was legally ended, they continued to share the same business premises, the studio offices at Lyons' home, Mill House, East Molesey, maintaining their close collaboration.
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