An architect's legacy

Attended by family members only, the funeral of the man who designed the Brian Lara Promenade and Queen’s Hall took place yesterday at the St James Crematorium.

Revered architect Colin Laird would have been 94 tomorrow and his son, TV and film producer Christopher Laird, told Sunday Newsday his father “had a good innings.”

Christopher said his father, a sailor and a very quiet person, did not want an elaborate ceremony or confusion around his funeral, and specifically requested that he be cremated and his ashes spread in the sea.

Laird, who passed away last Wednesday, designed many notable buildings and spaces throughout the Caribbean. In TT, his list of accomplishments included, Lion House, House of Mr Biswas, the Holy Trinity Cathedral, the Hasely Crawford Stadium, the Jean Pierre Complex, the National Library, and Bishop’s High School, Tobago.

“What people need to realise is that, this was a man who designed our most memorable buildings... those places where people spend time in and kids visit. We have lived in these spaces and very few people realise they have all been designed by the same man. As an architect he tried to help an independent nation forge it’s own identity and architecture. I think that is where he put a lot of his energy.”

Minister of Community Development, Culture and the Arts Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly agreed saying that a country’s built heritage was a vital aspect of its culture.

“Edifices such as Queen's Hall, the Hasely Crawford Stadium and the National Library inspire patriotism in the hearts of many and are synonymous with the pulse and vibe of our national ethos. We join the national community in mourning the loss of Colin Laird, the England born architect responsible for designing those national treasures and the space that changed the face of Port of Spain – the Brian Lara Promenade.

She also expressed condolences to Laird’s family, friends and colleagues.

One of Laird’s colleagues, land surveyor Ivan Laughlin, described the architect as an elder of the fraternity that everyone respected highly. He said Laird was very easy to talk to as, not only did he express himself well, but he always listed to others’ points of view, willing to consider other people’s opinion and take advice.

He said although he was originally British, Laird became a Trinidadian and even a Caribbean man. “I say that because of the way in which he was able to talk about local issues and the way in which he could express his views of these in his architecture....”.

Laughlin used the Brian Lara Promenade as an example. He said it was able to show the easy connection between the Waterfront and the outlying areas of Laventille. “I always felt that sort of physical journey he created with his architecture needed to be explored further. He developed an easy understanding of the rhythms of Port of Spain and TT generally.”

He said with architecture, the images created should be compatible with the sense of a history of a place and how the area was developed. He believed Laird had that in his work, and that the physical features of his designs reflected the type of person he was.

He said Laird was an important person in the development of TT and the wider Caribbean, and that he learned a lot from the architect.