{{Short description|British-Italian architect (1931–2013)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2016}} {{Use British English|date=September 2016}} {{Infobox architect | name = Roland Paoletti<br>{{small|[[Order of the British Empire|CBE]]}} | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_name = Romano Roland Paoletti | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1931|4|23}} | birth_place = [[London]], England | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|2013|11|13|1931|4|23}} | death_place = London, England | significant_projects = [[Jubilee Line Extension]] | awards = }}
'''Romano Roland Paoletti''' {{Postnom|country=GBR|CBE}} (23 April 1931 – 13 November 2013) was a British-Italian architect. He was best known for his work on the early stations for [[Hong Kong]]'s [[mtr|Mass Transit Railway]], and for commissioning the award-winning designs of the stations of [[London Underground]]'s [[Jubilee Line Extension]]. He was described by the [[Architectural Review]] as "the Medici of London Transport".
== Early life and career == Paoletti was born in London in 1931, at the City of London Hospital. His father was Italian and his mother French. The name Romano came from a church local to [[Lucca, Italy]], where his father's family are thought to have lived for at least 700 years.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title = All stations lead to Rome|url = https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2000/jan/17/artsfeatures1|website = [[The Guardian]]|access-date = 2015-09-13|date = 2000-01-17|last = Glancey|first = Jonathan}}</ref>
His father was treated as an [[enemy alien]] in the Second World War and the family had to move to Scotland. In 1942, Paoletti was sent to [[Clongowes Wood College]], a Jesuit boarding school in County Kildare, Ireland. From 1948 he studied architecture at the [[University of Manchester]], then moved to London to work with [[Basil Spence]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title = Roland Paoletti obituary|url = https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/dec/15/roland-paoletti|website = [[The Guardian]]|access-date = 2015-09-13|date = 2013-12-15|last = Saint|first = Andrew}}</ref> After this he undertook postgraduate studies at the [[Istituto Universitario di Architettura (Venezia)|Istituto Universitario di Architettura]] in Venice under [[Carlo Scarpa]] and [[Giancarlo De Carlo]].<ref>[http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/daily-news/tributes-paid-to-architect-client-roland-paoletti/8655607.article Tributes paid to 'architect client' Roland Paoletti], Architests Journal, 15 November 2013</ref> He became an assistant to [[Pier Luigi Nervi]] on the building of a new British Embassy in Rome to a design by Spence.<ref name=":0" />
== Hong Kong == [[File:Tsim Sha Tsui Station 2014 03 part1.JPG|thumb|right|[[Tsim Sha Tsui station]] is one of the 37 MTR stations in Hong Kong for which Paoletti was responsible.]] Paoletti later moved to [[British Hong Kong|Hong Kong]], working at [[P&T Group|Palmer and Turner]] before becoming an architect at the rapidly expanding [[MTR|Mass Transit Railway]] (MTR) in 1975.<ref name=":1" /> He became chief architect in the MTR's programme to build a new urban transport system.
Over a period of twelve years, Paoletti led a team that designed 37 stations on the [[Tsuen Wan line|Tsuen Wan]], [[Kwun Tong line|Kwun Tong]] and [[Island line (MTR)|Island]] lines across Hong Kong completing the initial phase of the MTR.<ref name=":0" /> Paoletti was responsible for key design decisions that now form part of the MTR's design identity – the use of a single colour throughout a station, the use of mosaic tiles, and oversized calligraphy of the station name.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|date=2016-12-07|title=The surprising reason Hong Kong's MTR stations are colour coded|url=https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2051751/why-every-hong-kong-mtr-station-different-colour-reason-may|access-date=2021-03-22|website=[[South China Morning Post]]|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|date=2019-08-30|title=How Hong Kong's MTR Stations Got Their Colours|url=https://discovery.cathaypacific.com/mtrs-colourful-stations/|access-date=2021-03-22|website=Discovery|language=en-US}}</ref>
The use of individual colours for each station was thought to give each station a unique identity, as well as assisting illiterate passengers.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> According to MTR's chief architect Andrew Mead, the colours were often chosen based on the [[Cantonese]] names of the station – such as [[Choi Hung station|Choi Hung]] (Rainbow) and [[Lam Tin station|Lam Tin]] (blue).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Art in MTR|url=http://www.artinmtr.com.hk/|access-date=2021-03-22|website=www.artinmtr.com.hk}}</ref><ref name=":3" />
== Jubilee Line Extension == [[File:Waterloo tube stn Jubilee eastbound look west.JPG|thumb|right|Paoletti's own in-house team worked on the Jubilee Line station at [[Waterloo tube station|Waterloo]], where he summarised the aim as "No contrivance – clarity is all".<ref name=":4">Powell, p. 31</ref>]] In 1990, [[Wilfrid Newton|Sir Wilfrid Newton]], chairman of the MTR, left Hong Kong to become chairman of [[London Regional Transport]], which Paoletti joined him in London as commissioning architect for the new stations as part of the {{convert|10|mi}} [[Jubilee Line Extension]].
There had been plans to extend the London Underground's [[Jubilee line]] for many years. The final route for the extension involved eleven stations: [[Westminster tube station|Westminster]], [[Waterloo tube station|Waterloo]], [[Southwark tube station|Southwark]], [[London Bridge station|London Bridge]], [[Bermondsey tube station|Bermondsey]], [[Canada Water station|Canada Water]], [[Canary Wharf tube station|Canary Wharf]], [[North Greenwich tube station|North Greenwich]], [[Canning Town station|Canning Town]], [[West Ham station|West Ham]] and [[Stratford station|Stratford]], plus a new depot at Stratford.
Since the 1930s, London Underground's architects had designed the surface buildings, but the sub-surface spaces were designed by civil engineers and only fitted out by the architects. Paoletti hired different architects to design each station, while maintaining that all should share an "underlying philosophy and essential elements." His own in-house architect team coordinated the work of the various architect teams, as well working on [[Waterloo tube station|Waterloo]] and [[Canada Water station|Canada Water]] stations.<ref name=":4" /> {| class="wikitable" !Station !London borough !Infrastructure !Architects<ref>{{Cite book |author=Bennett, David |title=Architecture of the Jubilee Line Extension |date=2004 |publisher=Thomas Telford |isbn=0727730886 |location=London |oclc=51870430}}</ref> |- |{{stl|London Underground|Westminster}} |[[London Borough of Westminster|Westminster]] |new ticket hall and two additional deep-level platforms |[[Hopkins Architects]] |- |{{stl|London Underground|Waterloo}} |[[London Borough of Lambeth|Lambeth]] |new ticket hall and two additional deep-level platforms |JLE Project Architects |- |{{stl|London Underground|Southwark}} | rowspan="5" |[[London Borough of Southwark|Southwark]] |new station with two deep-level platforms |[[MJP Architects|MacCormac, Jamieson, Prichard]] |- |{{stl|London Underground|London Bridge}} |new ticket hall and two additional deep-level platforms |[[Weston Williamson]] and JLE Project Architects |- |{{stl|London Underground|Bermondsey}} |new station with two deep-level platforms |[[Ian Ritchie (architect)|Ian Ritchie]] |- | rowspan="2" |[[Canada Water station|Canada Water]] |new station with two deep-level platforms and two new sub-surface platforms on [[East London Line]] |JLE Project Architects and Heron Associates |- |new bus station |[[Eva Jiřičná]] |- |{{stl|London Underground|Canary Wharf}} |[[London Borough of Tower Hamlets|Tower Hamlets]] |new station with two deep-level platforms |[[Foster and Partners|Foster + Partners]] |- | rowspan="2" |{{stl|London Underground|North Greenwich}} | rowspan="2" |[[London Borough of Greenwich|Greenwich]] |new station with three deep-level platforms |[[Will Alsop|Alsop, Lyall and Störmer]] |- |new bus station |[[Foster and Partners|Foster + Partners]] |- |{{stl|London Underground|Canning Town}} | rowspan="4" |[[London Borough of Newham|Newham]] |new station with two surface platforms, two new elevated platforms for the [[Docklands Light Railway|DLR]] and two surface platforms for the [[North London line]], new bus station |[[John McAslan|Troughton McAslan]] |- |{{stl|London Underground|West Ham}} |new station building with two additional surface platforms |[[Van Heyningen and Haward Architects]] |- | rowspan="2" |{{stl|London Underground|Stratford}} |New station building and plaza |[[WilkinsonEyre]] |- |Three additional surface platforms and train crew building |[[John McAslan|Troughton McAslan]] |}
== Recognition == Many of the Jubilee line stations received individual awards and commendations for their architecture, including Westminster and Canary Wharf being jointly awarded the 2000 [[Civic Trust Awards|Civic Trust]] Building of the Year. The [[Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment|Royal Fine Art Commission]] named the extension as a whole their Millennium Building of the Year, with the chair of the judging panel calling it "comparable to the achievement of [[Georges-Eugène Haussmann|Haussmann]] when he constructed the great boulevards of Paris".<ref>{{Cite web|title = 'Brilliant' Jubilee Line wins Millennium award|url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1342561/Brilliant-Jubilee-Line-wins-Millennium-award.html|access-date = 2015-09-23|first = Hugh|last = Davies|website = [[The Daily Telegraph]]|date = 2000-06-13}}</ref> Paoletti himself received the [[RIBA]]/[[Arts Council England|Arts Council]] Award for "Client of the Year" 1999.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Jubilee Line Extension: From Concept to Completion|last = Mitchell|first = Bob|publisher = Thomas Telford Publishing|year = 2003|isbn = 0727730282|location = London|pages = 355–356}}</ref>
Paoletti won first [[RIBA Client of the Year]] award in 1998, and was appointed a Commander of the [[Order of the British Empire]] (CBE) in the [[2000 New Year Honours]] for "services to Architecture".<ref>{{Cite news | edition = 55710 (Supplement No. 1) | pages = 10 | title = New Years Honours List — United Kingdom | work = The London Gazette | access-date = 2015-09-13 | date = 1999-12-31 | url = https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/55710/supplement/10 }}</ref> The ''[[Architectural Review]]'' called him "the [[House of Medici|Medici]] of London Transport".<ref>{{Cite web|title = Roland Paoletti – Obituary|url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10460471/Roland-Paoletti-Obituary.html|access-date = 2015-09-23|website = [[The Daily Telegraph]]|date = 2013-11-19}}</ref>
He died in London. He was survived by his wife, Nora. They had no children.
== References == {{reflist|30em}} * {{Cite book|title = The Jubilee Line Extension|last = Powell|first = Kenneth|publisher = Laurence King|year = 2000|isbn = 1856691845|location = London}} * [http://www.bdonline.co.uk/roland-paoletti-dies/5063699.article Roland Paoletti dies], Building Design online, 18 November 2013
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Paoletti, Roland}} [[Category:1931 births]] [[Category:2013 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century English architects]] [[Category:English people of Italian descent]] [[Category:British railway architects]] [[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]] [[Category:Transport design in London]] [[Category:Alumni of the Manchester School of Architecture]] [[Category:MTR Corporation]] [[Category:People associated with transport in London]] [[Category:People educated at Clongowes Wood College]]