page_title: John James Burnet
section_title: The inter-war years
hierarchical_section_title: John James Burnet / Biography / The inter-war years
caption_attribution_description: English: Sydney Harbour Bridge from Circular Quay, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Français&#160;: Le Harbour Bridge, à Sydney. Photo prise depuis Circular Quay, à Sydney, en Nouvelle Galles du Sud (Australie).
context_page_description: Sir John James Burnet FRSE FRIBA RSA RA was a Scottish Edwardian architect who was noted for a number of prominent buildings in Glasgow and London. He was the son of the architect John Burnet, and later went into partnership with his father, joining an architectural firm which would become an influential force in British Modern architecture in the 20th century.
context_section_description: The advent of the First World War brought a time of hardship for Burnet's practice, and during this period a disagreement resulted in Tait leaving the practice to work in America. After the war, the London office began to receive commissions once more, including work on completing the Selfridges department store on Oxford Street. The Imperial War Graves Commission also commissioned war memorials from Burnet's firm in Gallipoli, Palestine and Suez (1919). Burnet took a leading role in the design of the memorials and in the work on Adelaide House, London Bridge. His health was deteriorating, however; stress-related eczema, brought on by wartime hardship, professional disagreements and financial scandals in the Glasgow office, made it hard for him to work. Thomas Tait had returned to the practice after a reconciliation, and he began to take a leading role in the practice, working on the Daily Telegraph Building and Lloyds Bank on Cornhill. Burnet himself dealt with the redesign on Lomax Simpson's Unilever House project, but otherwise acted as a consultant and went into semi-retirement.
  Burnet received the Royal Gold Medal in 1923 and was elected RA in 1925.
caption: Sydney Harbour Bridge from Circular Quay
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