NED, ED AND THE WAR DEAD

One of my late father's greatest influences was the Edwardian architect Edwin Lutyens, known to his friends as "Ned." Whenever I think back on him poring over books of Lutyens' greatest works, it seems as if he was returning to the source to remind himself of the true purpose of architecture—an art form that, at its best, combines truth, beauty, and cultural memory. In many ways, I think of his passion for Lutyens as akin to my passion for the music of Sir Edward Elgar. Perhaps it’s no surprise that both men were contemporaries of one another and moved in similar social circles in early 20th-century England. It was, in fact, my father who first introduced me to them both. I distinctly remember him playing Nimrod from Elgar's Enigma Variations on a record—a profound moment made even more so by the fact that my grandparents, who lived in Streatham, lived on Nimrod Road. I innocently believed there was a symbolic connection between them, Elgar's music, and London where they lived.

Two of Lutyens' culturally significant projects that my father would always wax lyrical about were the Viceroy's House (now known as Rashtrapati Bhavan) in New Delhi, where Lutyens incorporated various Indian motifs and symbols—including a Buddhist stupa—set upon the cream and red sandstone structure, and The Cenotaph, the obelisk monument to the war dead that stands on Whitehall in London.

With today being Remembrance Sunday, the significance of the Cenotaph, with its slightly canted sides reflecting reverence, is once again brought into sharp focus. It is the national equivalent of the monolith from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, except it combines Western classical elegance with its universal meaning wrapped in a timeless form. The enduring legacy of what Lutyens created to honor those who sacrificed their lives is a fitting testament to them.

And so, in honour of those who died—the men of war and two British architects, Edwin Lutyens and my father, Peter Waller—I will reflect on my place in history, with some Elgar, a coffee, and a salute to their memory.