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Senate House is the administrative centre of the University of London, situated in the heart of Bloomsbury, London between the School of Oriental and African Studies to the east, with the British Museum to the south. The main building contains the University of London's Central Academic Bodies and activities, including the offices of the Vice-Chancellor of the University, the entire collection of the Senate House Library, and eight of the ten research institutes of the School of Advanced Study (SAS). The Art Deco building was constructed between 1932 and 1937 as the first phase of a large uncompleted scheme designed for the University by Charles Holden. It consists of 19 floors and is high. The building's use by the Ministry of Information during the Second World War inspired Graham Greene's novel ''The Ministry of Fear'' (1943) and its film adaptation ''Ministry of Fear'' by Fritz Lang (1944) set in Bloomsbury, as well as the description of the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell's novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (1949): Orwell's wife Eileen worked in Senate House for the Censorship Department of the Ministry of Information. ==History== After the First World War the University of London, then based at the Imperial Institute in Kensington was in urgent need of new office and teaching space to allow for its growth and expansion. In 1921, the government bought of land in Bloomsbury from the Duke of Bedford to provide a new site for the University. However, many within the university were opposed to a move, and, in 1926, the Duke bought back the land. The election of William Beveridge however to the post of Vice-Chancellor of the University in June 1926 was highly significant as Beveridge supported a move to Bloomsbury. Beveridge persuaded the Rockefeller Foundation to donate £400,000 to the University and the original site was reacquired in 1927. Beveridge saw the university as one "for the nation and the world, drawing from overseas as many students as Oxford and Cambridge and all the other English universities together."〔Beveridge, quoted by 〕 and specified that "the central symbol of the University on the Bloomsbury site can not fittingly look like an imitation of any other University, it must not be a replica from the Middle Ages. It should be something that could not have been built by any earlier generation than this, and can only be at home in London ... (the building) means a chance to enrich London – to give London at its heart not just more streets and shops ... but a great architectural feature ... an academic island in swirling tides of traffic, a world of learning in a world of affairs."〔 The grand art deco design was the work of Charles Holden, who was appointed as architect in March 1931 from a short list which also included Giles Gilbert Scott, Percy Scott Worthington and Arnold Dunbar Smith.〔 In making their choice, Beveridge and the Principal, Edwin Deller, were influenced by the success of Holden's recently completed 55 Broadway, designed as the headquarters for the London Electric Railway and then the tallest office building in London.〔 Holden's original plan for the university building was for a single structure covering the whole site, stretching almost from Montague Place to Torrington Street. It comprised a central spine linked by a series of wings to the perimeter façade and enclosing a series of courtyards. The scheme was to be topped by two towers; the taller Senate House and a smaller one to the north.〔 The design featured elevations of load-bearing brick work faced with Portland stone.〔〔Holden used Portland stone frequently as he considered it "the only stone that washes itself" (Karol), capable of withstanding London's then smoggy atmosphere.〕 Construction began in 1932 and was undertaken by Holland, Hannen & Cubitts.〔Cubitts 1810 – 1975, published 1975〕 King George V laid the ceremonial foundation stone on 26 June 1933 and the first staff moved in during 1936, the University's centenary year. On 28 November 1936, a group of University officials, led by the Principal, Sir Edwin Deller, went out to inspect the work in progress. Suddenly, without warning, a skip being pushed by a workman overhead accidentally fell down and hit them. All were rushed to University College Hospital, where two days later, Deller died of his injuries.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v138/n3503/abs/1381043a0.html )〕 Due to a lack of funds, the full design was gradually cut back, and only the Senate House and Library were completed in 1937,〔 although the external flanking wings of the north-eastern courtyard were not constructed.〔 As he had with his earlier buildings, Holden also prepared the designs for the individual elements of the interior design.〔 The completion of the buildings for the Institute of Education and the School of Oriental Studies followed, but the onset of the Second World War prevented any further progress on the full scheme. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Senate House (University of London)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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