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Magdalene College
Cambridge
CB3 0AG

Dr Spence

Joint Director of Studies in Architecture and Reader in Architectural Engineering

Background

Dr Robin Spence is a Structural Engineer and a graduate of Magdalene College. After graduation, he joined the London-based consulting engineers Ove Arup & Partners, working on a number of innovative structures, including the Sydney Opera House and the Barbican redevelopment, and becoming professionally qualified as both a Civil Engineer (1967) and a Structural Engineer (1968). In 1969 he was appointed among the first teaching staff at the newly-created University of Zambia in Lusaka. where he became interested in problems of low-cost housing technology. Returning to Cambridge to do research in 1971, he was elected a Research Fellow of Magdalene and completed a PhD on concrete bridge decks in 1973. Between 1973 and 1975 he worked as a researcher for the Intermediate Technology Development Group, documenting indigenous building techniques in Africa and Asia and conducting experiments on small-scale brick and cement production. Dr Spence was appointed University Lecturer in Architecture in 1976 and has been, at various times, Secretary of the Faculty Board, Chairman of Examiners for the Diploma in Architecture and Director of the Martin Centre for Architectural and Urban Studies. In 1993 he was appointed Director of the Master's Course on Interdisciplinary Design of the Built Environment, a joint initiative by the Departments of Architecture and Engineering and the University's first part-time Master's Degree Course, whose first group of 16 students was at Magdalene. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers (1997).

Research Interests

Dr Spence carries out research on earthquakes, windstorms and other natural hazards and their effects on buildings and urban settlements. He has been Co-ordinator of EC-supported collaborative research projects on the earthquake protection of historic town centres in Portugal, Italy and Greece. Using research tools developed in the University, he has developed computer software for risk assessment, which is now marketed through a small consultancy, Cambridge Architectural Research Ltd.

Contact

Dr Spence can be contacted by:

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