TRIBUTES have been paid to a “one of a kind” architect following his sudden death.
The Association of Jersey Architects had been left in shock by the death of Bob Godel at the age of 58, its president Mike Waddington said.
Mr Waddington said: “As architects we are all in competition but we are colleagues as well and we are obviously deeply shocked by Bob’s death. He enjoyed life and could be quite outspoken about some things. He was truly one of a kind and will be very sadly missed.”
Mr Godel, son of the late St Mary Constable Edwin Godel, was educated at Victoria College and the University of Liverpool, graduating with BA and B Arch degrees.
He and his wife, Fiona, worked at architects’ offices in London, Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool, occasionally tutoring architectural students, before taking the decision to return to Mr Godel’s birthplace in 1996.
Three years later, while working for Nigel Biggar and Partners, Mr Godel was instrumental in developing the high-profile scheme for affordable housing on the Albert Pier, securing the prize of £10,000 in a design competition which was shared with members of the team at Nigel Biggar.
Work began on the construction of the 153 units of affordable housing in 2000, the year Mr and Mrs Godel founded their own firm, Godel Architects. Initially, they worked out of a redundant building on the St Mary farm belonging to Mr Godel’s father. It remains the firm’s headquarters following conversion of a farm shed across the yard as business expanded.
Mr Godel was particularly known within the profession for impressive residential buildings which encompassed a range of architectural styles, from the boldly contemporary Zeelandia on Mont à la Brune with its enviable views across to St Ouen’s Bay, to others which demonstrated a deep sympathy with the Island’s vernacular traditions, whether working with existing farm buildings or recreating afresh.
Of one development of three homes in St Ouen – which had been inspired by Jersey’s cod houses – Mr Godel offered a comment which encapsulated the philosophy of profiting from successful examples of the past while capitalising on the possibilities of the modern age.
“The principal aim was to design the new houses to give the impression that the development was perhaps a conversion of an existing Jersey farmstead rather than a modern residential development but at the same time ensuring that all of the needs of modern residential living were met,” he explained.
Unafraid to speak out when the occasion demanded, Mr Godel was a strong critic last year of the ultimately abandoned plan to bring trees within the ambit of development under the Planning Law, something which he warned would result in “swathes of bureaucracy within the Planning Department”.
