Left Brunelleschi’s dome on Florence Cathedral is considered a masterpiece of the Renaissance
FX TALKS
RADICAL THINKING
FX’s Theresa Dowling on her admiration for the Renaissance, an inspirational horse whisperer, and the thought that keeps her awake at night…
Theresa Dowling Editor,
FX magazine
Having been FX’s editor for 19 years, Teresa Dowling is not only the longest- serving editor in its history, but a figurehead who has brought together some of the biggest names in architecture and design for debate and annual celebrations in the shape of the FX Awards
Can you pinpoint the thought, whether yours or someone else’s that led you to a career in design? I had finished art school and couldn’t get a job anywhere. I tried everything. Tis was the 1980s – with mass unemployment – and after gaining fine art degrees I had no commercial skills. I couldn’t type, a prerequisite for the female labour force, but I got a job from the job centre with Hille (thanks to Cherrill Scheer) for a few days to sort out its design library [with] millions of transparencies and prints documenting post-war industrial design. I stayed there ten years. Robin Day and Fred Scott were regular visitors as were the leading architects of the day for not just offices but for public institutions, healthcare and civic buildings worldwide. I could see the evolution of furniture designed with compassion for the public in the volume sales of contract design. Tey were cheap as chips. But then good design seemed a philanthropic profession by today’s standards. It was for the good of the people; the everyday. Designers were part of a shared vision to build a better world for everyone. Nothing Need be Ugly was the book title for the Design and Industries Association by Raymond Plummer. It was an age of recycling, sustainability, utility, and experimentation with materials, when there was a new era and imagination of manufacturing – very different from now, when a design label can mean an extra nought on the price. Manufacturers are the forgotten relation of contract design success, who invest so very much in new designs. And take the risk. It is a huge commitment for them. Where would we be without the scientist Mr Goodyear of yesteryear who brought vulcanised rubber through manufacturing to the masses.
In terms of the design and architecture industry, what do you consider the most radical era or pivotal moment? Te Renaissance, with the freedom to be an architect, inventor, interior designer, product designer and artist. Te polymaths of the day are staggering – so many skills to make them masters of all trades.
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