Richard Clipston Sturgis (December 24, 1860 – May 8, 1951), generally known as R. Clipston Sturgis, was an American architect based in Boston, Massachusetts.
In May 1887, John Hubbard Sturgis returned to his native England to manage his father's affairs, with the younger Sturgis left in charge in Boston. In February 1888, his uncle died in England, and the younger Sturgis succeeded to the practice.[1] He was responsible for completing his uncle's unfinished works, including the Church of the Advent and the new building of the Boston Athletic Association. In May, he formed a partnership with William Robinson Cabot, son of architect Edward Clarke Cabot, known as Sturgis & Cabot.[2][3] This continued until it was dissolved in May 1895, after which Sturgis continued alone.[4]
In July 1902, he formed a new partnership with George Edward Barton, known as Sturgis & Barton.[5] In addition to a Boston office this firm also had a New York office at Tuxedo Park. This partnership was dissolved after a period of six years. He again was sole proprietor of his firm until 1922, when he reorganized his firm as The Office of R. Clipston Sturgis, with William Stanley Parker, William B. Coffin, William Adams, S. Winthrop St. Clair, and Alanson Hall Sturgis, his nephew, as associates.[6]
Ten years later, in 1932, Sturgis retired. The firm was then reorganized as Sturgis Associates Inc. Parker was head of the new firm, though Sturgis remained associated as a consultant.[7]
From 1902 until 1909, Sturgis was a member of the Board of School-house Commissioners of the School-house Department, a department of the Boston city government that had charge of the selection of sites, appointment of architects and supervision of construction of new schools throughout Boston.[1][9]
Personal life
Sturgis married in 1882 to Esther Mary Ogden of Troy, New York.[1] They had two sons, one of whom died in infancy, and one daughter. His surviving son, Richard Clipston Sturgis Jr., was born March 17, 1884, at Canterbury in Kent, England.[1] He followed in his father's footsteps, attending Harvard College after which he worked for Parker & Thomas in Boston and Howard & Galloway in San Francisco before joining his father's office in 1907. He died October 18, 1913, at his parents' home in Boston following a sudden illness.[11] Their daughter, Dorothy Margaret (Sturgis) Harding was born July 28, 1891.[1] She was also a designer and was noted in particular for her bookplates.
After retiring from active practice, Sturgis moved to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where the family had formerly spent only their summers. The family home, known as Martine Cottage, was bought by Sturgis in 1890. He died there on May 8, 1951, at the age of 90.[12] His wife, Esther Mary, had died November 23, 1935, at Winsley in Wiltshire, England, while traveling abroad.[13]
Sturgis was asked to design the campus when third director of the school Edward Allen[15] found its current home in Watertown, Massachusetts. Sturgis chose the popular style of the time called English Collegiate Gothic when designing the campus. Allen required Sturgis to incorporate a "family-style" cottage system implemented by Samuel Gridley Howe. This cottage system was meant to replicate the idea of a family setting and help teach student independent living skills (Activities of Daily Life). This cottage style included students of all ages living together in a family like unit with "four teachers, a cook, and a household assistant oversaw 20 students in each cottage[16]". While the structure of cottage style living has somewhat changed from its first implementation at the school, this cottage style of living still exists at Perkins.
Sturgis also considered the unique mobility needs of students with visual impairments and designed the building to reflect this.
He used many right angles to help with orientation. Right angles help students more easily understand cardinal direction at any given time.[16]
Equidistant corridors: Each side of the building mirrors the other meaning the student can cognitively map one side of the building and then because of their mirroring know the other side of the building as well.
Stairs on the sides of corridors: To help predictability of where a student can find stairs.
Sightly tilted walkways: To help the student understand if their straight line of travel has been affected.
Animal tiles on columns: To serve as a tactile marker of a space aiding in orientation (knowing where one is). Think of it like a sign for someone who is visually impaired- braille was not used at Perkins at this time)
Rosettes carved into the wood of the seats in the chapel: To again be used as a tactile marker
^"QUI.466." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed June 25, 2021.
^"BKL.2335." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed June 25, 2021.
^ ab"Sturgis, Richard Clipston," dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org, Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950, n. d. Accessed June 25, 2021.
^"GRO.E." mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed June 25, 2021.
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