Olivia Jane Horsfall Turner (born January 1980) is a British architectural historian, author and broadcaster. In 2013, she was the writer and presenter of the television series Dreaming the Impossible: Unbuilt Britain for BBC Four.
Olivia Horsfall Turner | |
|---|---|
| Born | Olivia Jane Horsfall Turner January 1980 |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Cambridge University, Yale University, University College London |
| Occupation | Architectural historian |
| Website | http://www.oliviahorsfallturner.com |
Early life and education edit
Olivia Horsfall Turner was born in January 1980. She was brought up in Greenwich, south London, where she became interested in architecture through the influence of her father,[1] Jonathan Horsfall Turner, who had been involved in archaeological recording while a schoolboy at Canterbury.[2] She studied history and history of art at Cambridge University, graduating with first class honours in 2002, and then completed an MA at Yale University. She received her PhD from University College London.[3]
Career edit
Horsfall Turner worked at Trinity College Dublin, followed by a position with English Heritage as an architectural investigator and secondment to the Survey of London as an historian.[3]
In September 2013, Horsfall Turner was appointed a director of The Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain, which position she held until September 2015.
She joined the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2014 as Curator, Designs and Lead Curator for the V&A + RIBA Architecture Partnership.[3]
Broadcasting edit
In 2013, Horsfall Turner was the writer and presenter of the television series Dreaming the Impossible: Unbuilt Britain for BBC Four, produced by Timeline Films.[4] The three-part series looked at plans for ambitious buildings that were never built.[5] Horsfall Turner has been described as having "a delicately old-fashioned manner"[6] and "the flamboyancy of the school swot's big sister".[7]
Selected publications edit
- "The Mirror of Great Britain": National identity in seventeenth-century British architecture. Spire, 2012. (Editor) ISBN 978-1-904965-38-1
References edit
- ^ Olivia Horsfall Turner. BBC4. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
- ^ Sarah Turner; Philippa Mesiano (April 2020). "The Graffiti Research Project". Canterbury Cathedral Chronicle 2020. No. 114. p. 28 – via Calamēo.
- ^ a b c About. Olivia Horsfall Turner. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
- ^ TV. Olivia Horsfall Turner. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ Olivia Horsfall Turner presents 'Unbuilt Britain' on BBC4. Department of History of Art, University of Cambridge. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ The best and worst of British television: Benefits Britain; Fightback Britain; Unbuilt Britain. Rachel Cooke, NewStatesman, 22 August 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ Dreaming the Impossible: Unbuilt Britain, Episode one, review. Jake Wallis Simons, The Telegraph, 13 August 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2015.