Tubbs, Ralph 1912 - 1996

Ralph Tubbs was born in Hadley Wood, Hertfordshire, England, on 9 January 1912. [This is the date given in his entry in 'Who's Who', however, other sources give the date as 12 January 1912]. After studying at the Architectural Association School in London, he worked for a year unpaid with Erno Goldfinger, and then for three years with Maxwell Fry, then in partnership with Walter Gropius. Tubbs subsequently returned to Goldfinger and prepared all the working drawings for a terrace of three houses in Willow Road, Hampstead, London. In 1939 he became honorary secretary of the MARS. Modern Architectural Research Group.

During World War Two he designed factories and served as a fire watcher on St. Paul's Cathedral in London by night.

In 1948 he set up an independent architectural office. He was a member of the Presentation Panel and Design Group for the 1951 Festival of Britain, and architect of the Dome of Discovery built on the Festival’s South Bank site. Other architectural projects by Tubbs included the YMCA Indian Student Hostel in London (1952), Baden Powell House for the Boy Scout's Association in London (1959-61), Granada House in Atherton Street, Manchester (1960-62), and housing in Hounslow and Harlow New Towns. Tubbs designed a nursery for the ‘Britain Can Make It’ exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London in 1946.

He was the author of two books - ‘Living in Cities’ (Harmondsworth, England: Penguin, 1942) and ‘The Englishman Builds’ (Harmondsworth, England: Penguin, 1945). Tubbs was an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA). He was President of the British Entomological and Natural History Society (1982-84)  He died in London on 24 November 1996.