The Royal Fine Art Commission and 75 years of English design review: the first 60 years, 1924–1984

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis paper is the first of two linked papers that focus on the work of the Royal Fine Art Commission (RFAC), which, for three quarters of a century, held the mantel of the UK Government’s advisor on design in the built environment for England and Wales. The paper draws on archival and documentary evidence to explore the important work and concerns of the RFAC from its creation in 1924 and its early years, through to the post-war construction boom and into the 1980s and a new less paternalistic era of government. Analysis of the archives is supplemented by what the limited available literature tells us about the RFAC. As the instigator of a national design review service covering England and Wales, the work of the RFAC forms an important context for understanding more recent approaches to design review, both in the UK and internationally, that today form a critical component of contemporary planning practices.