BLAST FROM THE PAST / What’s in a Picture?

This article has been written as part of the AIA Newsletter’s commitment to member news.  If you are aware of UK Chapter members’ involvement in newsworthy projects, research or events, please bring them to our attention via chapterexecutive@aiauk.org and we will publish the story.  We will not know what has been achieved (or – as in this case – what has been remembered) unless someone tells us!  We welcome pictures as well as stories…

You might have asked yourself at some point in the last 9 months: is there anything GOOD to come out of enforced lockdowns?  Well, if you stretch the definition of ‘good’ a bit, perhaps one might consider ‘increased opportunity to declutter one’s office’ as being on the positive side.  But assuredly it is the ‘incentive to reconnect with long lost friends’ (if only electronically) that really takes the edge off social distancing.

I found the above picture randomly inserted between old papers I was recycling and paused to consider its provenance.  I quickly recognised the man on the far right as Stephan Reinke, 1st President of the AIA UK Chapter.  He has certainly changed very little over the years and is still an active member.  And who can forget the second man from the left as Roger Kallman, formerly head of London SOM, but now retired and back in the US.  Although he never served on the AIA UK Chapter Board, he established the steering committee that was instrumental in setting up the Chapter and participated in many of its initial events, including at least one tour of a nascent Canary Wharf.   

But who were the other two in the picture and where was it taken?  Out of curiosity, I started a dialogue with Stephan Reinke and Michael Lischer, 3rd President of AIA UK, that took the three of us back to 1994 and the earliest days of the Chapter.  Nostalgia, it turns out, is another one of those enjoyable lockdown indulgences. 

Michael was first to recognise ‘Robin’ as the woman on the far left and suggest the location might be the 1st AIA Summer Party at Syon House – the first AIA event he ever attended – or maybe the next one at Holland Park?   ‘No’, replied Stephan, ‘it was Syon Lodge.  Only a Jeff Bezos could afford Syon House’…

Syon Lodge was then the premises of Crowther of Syon Lodge, the well-known architectural and garden antique dealers that  closed down in 2002.  Unfortunately, there is no better picture showing sculptures and the extent of the gardens.

As Stephan and Michael started to reminisce about the party, ‘Robin’ was further identified by Stephan as Robin McMahon – ‘a true friend, number one non-member supporter’ of the Chapter in the early days.  Well - of course - he would say that as it turns out later in the dialogue chain that the mysterious ‘Robin’ is actually Stephan’s wife of 31 years – something neither Stephan nor Michael bothered to remind me of before I embarrassingly asked, ‘why have I never heard of her?’.  It should be a fundamental rule that before one attempts reconnection with old friends, one must be able to recognise them…

In 1994, the Chapter’s finances were still at best touch and go, and there was simply ‘zero dough’ for a truly grand affair.  So it seemed Robin bought the flowers and vases on her own.  Together, Stephan and Robin scrounged up Crowther’s modest rental charge and organised basic California wine, soft drinks and finger food.  Various friends and chapter members were quickly invited – not that easy in the days before emails - to wander about the lovely gardens in unnaturally warm weather; to enjoy the amazing tours of the ancient Lodge and to hear Stephan tell ‘well-worn jokes and set out a vision for the embryonic Chapter while jets landing at Heathrow roared overhead’.  An annual AIA UK tradition lasting decades was in the making.

Thomas Vonier – who was at the time organising the 2nd AIA International Chapter for Continental Europe – and his wife Francois travelled from Paris to join the party, but ‘they did not twig the location and walked all the way from Chiswick Tube in suits and heels, arriving late, very hot and foot weary, finally to be rescued by Robin with sparkling water and chilled white wine’.  Thomas, of course, recovered and later spearheaded the establishment of the International Region and eventually became AIA National President in 2017. 

Excerpt from the 1994 Newsletter (the full issue can be found on the AIA Website) and a far better picture of Robin McMahon.

For good measure, the Orangery at Holland Park served as the venue for the 1995 AIA Summer Party. There are some who still insist the main picture dates from outside this venue, not Syon Lodge, but who can tell for sure at this late date?

Responding to Stephan’s and Michael’s comments, I realised that I, too, had attended the same party.  It was also my first AIA event and my first meeting with many of the attendees, including Tom Vonier.  I remember having trouble finding the Lodge (wasn’t it awkwardly situated somewhere off the dreaded Hogarth roundabout?); I vaguely remember admiring the sculpture garden; and I distinctly remember the roar of the jets interrupting a serious presentation (or did the sound of jets simply add light relief to Stephan’s jokes?).  Alas – I do not remember the fourth person in the discovered picture.  Does anyone know who he is?

Finally, Stephan brought Robin herself - currently ‘enjoying’ lockdown in faraway Ft Lauderdale - into the chain.  She quickly wrote back, ‘Awwww!  Can’t wait till we can all TRAVEL again and have a party!!!’.  Her plaintive cry to reconnect with old friends is one that resonates with us all.  2020’s Summer Party we understand has been postponed again until … hmmm … when will the next one be?  Michael has secret plans but they cannot yet be confirmed.

So the lesson of this story is that a simple picture – and not even a very good one at that – can engender an onslaught of good memories - particularly those rare pictures from the days before we all carried high quality cameras in our everyday pockets.  Please do let us know if you have any other lost AIA pictures to share, and – if there is a story attached – we will gladly publish it. 

Written by: Lorraine King, AIA