Ralph Tubbs

Ralph Sydney Tubbs OBE FRIBA (9 January 1912 – 24 November 1996) was a British architect. Well known amongst the buildings he designed was the Dome of Discovery at the successful Festival of Britain on the South Bank in London in 1951.

Background Ralph Sydney Tubbs was born in Hadley Wood, Hertfordshire, in 1912. He was educated at Mill Hill School and then the Architectural Association, which is highly regarded in Modern architecture and engineering.

Buildings designed by Tubbs include (dates shown for design to building) 1935–1938 only working drawings for 2 Willow Road, Hampstead, London (designed by Erno Goldfinger) 1948–1951 Dome of Discovery, South Bank, London 1952–1953 YMCA Indian Student Hostel, Fitzrovia, London 1956–1961 Baden-Powell House, Kensington, London 1960 Granada House, Manchester 1959-1973 Charing Cross Hospital, Hammersmith, London (constructed 1969–73)

Ralph Tubbs's Dome of Discovery project was given tribute at the Millennium Dome. In 1951, The Dome of Discovery was not only the largest diameter dome in the world, 365 feet across, but was totally unsupported except around the perimeter.

Personal life In 1946, Tubbs married Mary Taberner. They were longtime residents of Wimbledon Village, and had two sons and a daughter.

On 24 November 1996, Tubbs died from complications of sepsis and subacute bacterial endocarditis at St George's Hospital in London, aged 84.

Publications