Monthly Talk – Art And Design, A Way Of Life.

We welcome back Doug Patterson who last spoke to us in 2024 about Sacred Places and illustrated his talk with his own sketches of those sites.

Doug originally studied at Hornsey College of Art, and the Royal College of Art where he was awarded a Master of Arts Degree. He then studied Architecture at the Architectural Association, graduating with a Diploma in Architecture. The same year he formed his own design practice. During his extensive career Doug has designed a wide variety of projects, ranging from film sets, to designing a private estate inspired by the architecture of the great Mughal Empire in India. This project included creation of a landscaped 35-acre garden the location a private island in the West Indies. The project involved extensive research, design logistics, sourcing materials and master craftsmen to execute the designs. Phase one of this project commenced in 1988 and was completed in 2000 – or so Doug thought.

In 2015 Doug was commissioned by a second client for a phase two of the Mughal project he originally had completed in 2000, so forming a new design practice to design and build the new commissions which included a 75 meter high marble water cascade, an astronomical observatory, a glass cantilevered gymnasium, a new wing to the main villa, and three new guest houses. This was to be the culmination of phase one completed in 2000 for the new clients which would form phase two.

Various materials such as bronze and timber were sourced in southern India, and the marble for both projects was mined in Makrana, northern India. All the components were prefabricated and then transported to Udaipur and Agra where they were inlaid in pietra dura, and finally shipped in containers from Mumbai to the island site in the West Indies.

In tandem, Doug’s career as an artist has carried on. His works were featured in numerous solo and collective exhibitions, while his paintings are in various private collections, galleries and museums worldwide.