John Braithwaite AA Dipl., RIBA, FRSA, FIOA

John has a particular interest in buildings related to music, having been principal oboist with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain for several years, for which he was awarded the Bulgin Medal from the Worshipful Company of Musicians for the most promising musician in the orchestra. (He was until recently also a Governor of the Orchestra.)

In the seven years that he spent with Arup Associates, John was Project Architect for several notable music buildings. These projects included the rebuilding for Benjamin Britten of the Snape Maltings after the fire; the conversion of the Theatre Royal in Glasgow for Scottish Opera; the new Music Faculty at the University of East Anglia; and the conversion of a redundant church in Southwark into a rehearsal and recording venue for the London Symphony and London Philharmonic Orchestras, the building now known as Henry Wood Hall.

After his time with Arup, John spent a year working with RHWL Partnership as Project Architect for the refurbishment of the Theatre Royal in Nottingham. In 1977 he was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Acoustics in recognition of his contribution in the field of music buildings.

John was also a partner with the SKF Partnership for three years, and supervised the design and construction of several large London commercial projects. During this time, he spent several months in Dubai running the practice’s overseas office. John also was a senior visiting Tutor and Lecturer at the Canterbury School of Architecture during the period 1977-1983, during which time he organised several trips abroad with architect students. The Braithwaite Partnership was formed in 1980.