The UK is GREAT at Grand Designs

Over this past weekend Royal fanfare and celebrations in the UK mark the 60^th Anniversary of the reign of Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee offers us a chance to reflect on days gone by, on an era that has taken us from the insides of a telephone booth requiring pockets full of quarters to the mobile upload phenomenon, where we rely on orbiting satellites to beam us instant information.

Speed, change, movement, newness, forward motion – these are many of the words that describe our current time in history. I find myself asking what endures? What’s lasting? What stands the test of time?

To answer this question, simply stroll around Washington visiting museums and national heritage sites, where tourists and locals alike admire GREAT British innovation and design, without necessarily recognizing it as such.  Whether walking the halls of Whitehall in London or stepping across the threshold of the United States Supreme Court on Capitol Hill for your noon-time tour, I guarantee you are admiring the craftsmanship and artistry of the rare Scagliola and plasterwork master craftsmen, who ensure our encounter with tradition stands the test of time and delivers the experience we crave when visiting these historic sites.

It is at these historic landmarks, like the US Capitol, the US Supreme Court, the Library of Congress and the like, that we encounter our American tradition and experience our national heritage, which ultimately harkens back across the pond both historically as well as in the appearance of the physical built environment.

I had the good fortune to visit these Scagliola artisans in one of America’s oldest Eastern cities – Baltimore – where the workshop and offices of Hayles and Howe sit just miles from the Inner Harbor, and where, coincidentally, Francis Scott Key is memorialised for his writing of the Star Spangled Banner at nearby Fort McHenry.

This is the same area where skilled American and British craftsmen together quietly work to restore and refurbish some of America’s most treasured landmarks and historic buildings – courtesy of British know-how and innovation in plasterwork.  The primary medium is known as Scagliola, and it’s found ornamenting buildings from Buckingham Palace in London to the columns that typify Union Station in Washington, DC.

David Halyes of Hayles & Howe in Baltimore recently offered me and colleagues a tour of their Baltimore-based workshop and studios, describing how they bring techniques from England and their studios in Bristol to the US, renovating state houses, national theatres and capitol landmarks that showcase this artistry.

Building on this topic of design and the built environment, the British Ambassador to the US, Sir Peter Westmacott, recently hosted the Royal Institute of British Architects to his Residence in Washington, promoting British excellence in design and recognizing the extensive partnerships between British and American architects on countless projects, including high-profile design competitions like The World Trade Center rebuilding in New York, where British architects Lord Foster and Lord Rogers have contributed designs.

Returning to the theme of our national landmarks, the British firm Space Syntax has just won the prestigious competition to redesign the National Mall in Washington, DC, working with US-based architects to deploy their expertise in creating increased pedestrian access to the Mall and improved security around the Capitol area.

I can’t say exactly why, but just knowing these guys exist, that they will continue to preserve a world that never knew cell phones and i-pads (even if we now check them as we enter these great buildings and landmarks) makes me feel sentimental this weekend, and grateful to them and those who preserve our traditions and heritage.

The Diamond Jubilee celebrates the hard work and art of supporting and developing a society and its foundations.  I’m grateful that companies like Hayles and Howe endure, on both sides of the Atlantic, creating new masterpieces and keeping our favorite, most treasured ones intact.