Robert John Lansdown (2 January 1929 Cardiff, Wales - 17 February 1999) was a computer graphics pioneer, polymath and Professor Emeritus at Middlesex University Lansdown Centre for Electronic Arts, which was re-named in his honour in 2000. Events 366 - The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers invading the Roman Empire. Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Cardiff ( 'kɑːdɪf) is the Capital and the largest city and county in Wales. Events 1500 - Battle of Hemmingstedt. 1600 - Philosopher Giordano Bruno is burned alive at Campo de' Fiori Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) A polymath ( Greek polymathēs, πολυμαθής "having learned much" is a person whose knowledge is not restricted to one subject area Middlesex University is a University in north London, England, located in the historic county boundaries of Middlesex (from which The Lansdown Centre for Electronic Arts is a research centre of Middlesex University in the United Kingdom 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar.
As early as 1960, Lansdown, a very successful architect with offices in Russell Square, was a believer in the potential for computers for architecture and other creative activities. Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. An architect is a licensed individual who leads a design team in the Planning and Design of buildings and participates in oversight of Building Construction The term architecture (from Greek αρχιτεκτονικήarchitektoniki) can be used to mean a process a profession or documentation He pioneered the use of computers as an aid to planning; making perspective drawings on an Elliott 803 computer in 1963, modeling a building's lifts and services, plotting the annual fall of daylight across its site, as well as authoring his own computer aided design applications. For the builders merchant see Elliott Brothers (builders merchant. Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
Lansdown joined ACM in 1972 and Eurographics in 1983. Eurographics is a Europe-wide professional Computer Graphics association From the early 1970s to the 1990s, he had influential roles in several professional bodies, and chaired the Science Research Council's Computer Aided Building Design Panel, through which he implemented a world leading strategy for developing computer aided architectural design in British universities. He had enormous influence as one of the founders and as secretary of the Computer Arts Society (1968-1991). The Computer Arts Society (CAS was founded in 1968 in order to encourage the creative use of computers in the arts He was on 10 editorial boards and chaired and organized many international conferences - Event One at the Royal College of Art (1969) and Interact at the Edinburgh Festival (1973) were seminal events in establishing the use of computers for the creation of art works. The Royal College of Art ( RCA) is a University in London, England. Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for several simultaneous arts and cultural Festivals which take place during August each year in Edinburgh,
In 1977 Lansdown became chairman of System Simulation Ltd the software company which, amongst other pioneering activities, had played a key role in the creation and development of the Computer Arts Society. System Simulation ( SSL) is a software engineering company specialising in text and multimedia information systems based in Covent Garden, central London The Computer Arts Society (CAS was founded in 1968 in order to encourage the creative use of computers in the arts System Simulation had been applying computer graphics techniques in TV and film applications following collaborative research work at the Royal College of Art. The Royal College of Art ( RCA) is a University in London, England. At System Simulation Lansdown then played a leading role in several pioneering animation projects, contributing to the flight deck instrumentation readouts on the Nostromo space ship for Ridley Scott's Alien, many advertising sequences and latterly, working with Tony Prichett, producing the 3D wire frame drawings from which Martin Lambie-Nairn's original Channel 4 logo was rendered. Sir Ridley Scott (born November 30 1937 in South Shields, Tyne and Wear) is a British Academy Award Nominated and Golden Globe Emmy Award and BAFTA Award winning Alien is a 1979 science fiction / Horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Sigourney Weaver. Channel 4 is a public-service Television and Radio broadcaster in the United Kingdom centred around a television channel of the same name which began He left the architectural practice in 1992 and split his time between System Simulation and a Senior Research Fellowship at the Royal College of Art before becoming a full time academic in 1988 as Professor and head of the Centre for Computer Aided Art & Design at Middlesex University, then as Dean of the Department of Art, Design and Performing Arts then, finally, as Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University. The Royal College of Art ( RCA) is a University in London, England. Middlesex University is a University in north London, England, located in the historic county boundaries of Middlesex (from which He was also Senior Visiting Fellow at the Department of Architectural Science, University of Sydney from 1983. The University of Sydney (informally Sydney Uni or USyd) is the oldest university in Australia He relinquished these roles on formal retirement in 1995, but continued to be very active and influential as Emeritus Professor in the Centre for Electronic Arts. Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 He continued to advise System Simulation and to work on the development of a digital archive of the Computer Arts Society's history and holdings which the company had initiated. The Computer Arts Society (CAS was founded in 1968 in order to encourage the creative use of computers in the arts This was tragically cut short on his death but has since been brought up-to-date by the CACHe project in the School of Art History at Birkbeck, University of London. Birkbeck University of London, sometimes referred to by its former (and still legal name Birkbeck College or by the abbreviation BBK, is a constituent college
Lansdown's range of publications began to diversify from the early 1970s. He wrote the classic Teach Yourself Computer Graphics (Hodder and Stoughton, 1987), exhibited algorithmically generated images, animations, compositions, conversations, sword fights and choreography, such as the 18 minute dance piece A/C/S/H/O commissioned by the One Extra Dance Company and performed at the Sydney Opera House in 1990. Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) The Sydney Opera House is located in Sydney New South Wales, Australia Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) He contributed as author and/or editor to 34 books and worked on more than 100 conference and journal publications.
Lansdown married Dorothy (Dot) in 1952, and they had two children, Robert and Karen. All survive him.
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