Hector Corfiato 'Extraordinary Man'
Image courtesy of Dr Philip Whitbourn - The Bartlett School of Architecture school photo 1950-1951
Hector Othon Corfiato, Professor of Architecture at The Bartlett between 1946-1959, cuts an enigmatic figure through this project. Little biographical information exists about him, even the matter of his nationality remains a contested subject. Some alumni claim he was Greek, others Egyptian, while an Architects' Journal article describes him as a 'relatively unknown French architect'. Whatever his provenance, he was certainly memorable.
Corfiato trained at the Beaux Arts in Paris and joined The Bartlett in 1922 under Sir Albert Richardson, whom he succeeded as head in 1946. His stubborn dedication to the neo-classical produced an atmosphere of frustration amongst many of his students, which comes across in their recollections. Bartlett alumnus, Louis Hellman, noted that 'History according to Corf, stopped in 1908.'
Image courtesy of Peter Campbell - Professor Corfiato's retirement party
Other alumni memories paint him as a cartoonish figure, distinguished by his clothing and strange habits:
‘The oddest character was Professor Corfiato with a thick accent and an equally thick cigar who would walk past our pinned-up efforts on a Crit muttering incomprehensibly.’ - Mary Calwell
‘Professor Corfiato, at the end of his career, memorable for the three piece suits, the miasma of cigar smoke and ash, the gravelly, heavily accented voice and the repeated,”wrong slide, Mr Casey”, or, “upside down, Mr Casey”. The last two directed at the Bartlett Beadle, showing Bannister Fletcher’s original glass slides in a magic lantern in the lecture theatre.’ - John Pountney
‘Prof Corfiato would famously come and lean on our boards, scattering cigar ash. He would also draw on our actual drawings which annoyed us intensely.’ - Alison Curtis
'The smoke from his cigar always preceded him and was the signal for the Modern Architecture students to grab up their drawings and flee before he could draw all over their precious work with his fat black pencil discovering symmetries out of thin air.’ - Anthony Vogt
However other conversations with alumni have made it clear that, while students didn't necessarily enjoy his lectures, he was a somewhat endearing character. He stood up for Bartlett students in front of University College elders when they were caught graffitiing university property, and didn't seem to take it too personally when they petitioned for his early retirement.
He retired in 1959 and a new era of architectural training was ushered in with the arrival of his successor, Richard Llewelyn-Davies, the next academic year.