Close
Professor Murray Fraser Awarded the 2020 Colvin Prize
8 January 2021
The Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain awarded the prestigious prize to Murray as General Editor, and Managing Editor Catherine Gregg, for their work editing Sir Banister Fletcher's Global History of Architecture (21st Edition).
The听prize is named after听Sir Howard Colvin (1919鈥�2007), one of the most eminent and influential British architectural historians of the twentieth century. It has been awarded since 2017听for the year鈥檚 outstanding work of reference in the field. This year, which was its fourth, saw the strongest competition in its history to date, with a record number of submissions.
听
The very first edition of the听Banister Fletcher听book was published in 1896, and this 21st Edition has been totally rewritten by 88 leading scholars from around the world. It offers the most comprehensive and up-to-date survey of the architecture of all regions over the past 5,500 years. It creates what is the most globally balanced and culturally inclusive account of architectural history to date.
听
The chair of the SAHGB's judging panel, President-Elect Professor Elizabeth McKellar, stated:听
鈥�This is a monumental achievement, which deserves to stand alongside other ground-breaking modernisations of Victorian works of reference such as the online听Oxford Dictionary of National Biography鈥μ齌he editors and publishers have ensured its status as the primary reference work for the subject for many years to come, and provided a showcase for architectural history as a vibrant, engaged and forward-looking discipline across the world."
The award of the Colvin Prize is in addition听to the听Honourable Mention that this latest听Banister Fletcher听edition听received in the American Library Association's 2019 Dartmouth Medal Awards for Best Reference Book.
Murray and Catherine will also deliver a lecture on 27 January about their work and process on the five year research project that produced this edition of the book.
More information
听