Over the past 30 years Craig Hamilton has produced many buildings which were designed to house statues of Deities of one kind or another. This follows the Classical tradition in Antiquity of temples designed to house statues of Gods and Goddesses. In this talk Hamilton will illustrate his continuing collaboration over many years with the sculptor Alexander Stoddart, Sculptor in Ordinary to His Majesty The King in Scotland, and draw parallels with the way in which architects in the past worked in close collaboration with sculptors. Examples include Ictinus and Phidias, Schinkel and Christian Daniel Rauch, and M.G Bindesbøll and Bertel Thorvaldsen. In Bindesbøll Hamilton finds the closest of parallels where his life's work seems in many ways to be in service of the genius of the sculptor and in worship of the redeeming power of Art.

Hamilton is dedicated to a modern Classical architecture which is informed by a broad and deep understanding of the Classical tradition. In the words of the late Professor Gavin Stamp: “In the superficial, polarised debate about architecture today, Hamilton would have to be labelled as a ‘traditionalist’ as he is one of those who believes that something useful and beautiful can still be said in the language of the Greeks and Romans. But, unlike many in his camp, he is not in thrall to the cult of Palladio … Hamilton is so much wider and more intelligent in his outlook, for he is acutely aware of so many more architects in the past who have demonstrated how it is possible to be expressive, original and yes, truly modern in Classical terms”. He has a special interest in sacred and monumental architecture and has completed three new chapels and is working on a fourth. He has also completed two mausoleums and is working on a third.

In 2018, Hamilton was honoured by the Institute of Classical Art and Architecture in America as the 37th recipient of the Arthur Ross Award for a lifetime achievement in Classical Architecture.

To view the recording of this talk, click here.