Alexander Nelson Hansell

British architect From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alexander Nelson Hansell (6 October 1857[1]: 103–104 [note 1] – 1940) was a British architect known primarily for his activities in Kobe, Japan. In 1891 he became a fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects[2][note 2] He had an apprentice named Yokoyama Eikichi.[4]: 178 

The Choueke House [ja], built as Hansell's personal residence

Life

The Harris Science Hall at Doshisha University, the first building in Japan that Hansell was involved in building

Hansell was born on 6 October 1857 in Caen in Normandy, France.[1]: 103–104 His father Peter Hansell was a British[4]: 173  pastor,[1]: 103–104  who had been rector of Kingsdon, Somerset before being appointed as Consular Chaplain of Caen on 11 October 1853.[5] Father and son later returned together to Somerset, England.[4]: 173 

At some point Alexander moved from Somerset to Winchester, where he studied architecture,[4]: 173  and in 1888 he moved to Japan. He worked teaching English at a seminary on Lot 18 of the Kawaguchi foreign settlement in Osaka[1]: 105  before beginning his activities as an architect. His first job was the planning of the Harris Science Hall at Doshisha University.[1]: 105  He continued on to design the clubhouse of the newly renamed Kobe Club at the Kobe foreign settlement, and was thereafter involved in the planning of many more structures both inside the foreign settlement and in the surrounding mixed residential zone.[1]: 105–106 

During the First World War, Alexander's only son Kenneth was killed in battle.[6] Alexander mourned his loss greatly, and in 1920 he moved to Hankou in China, and then later to Monaco, where he died.[4]: 178–179 

Hansell's personal residence, known as the Choueke House, is now run as a tourist attraction, located on Yamamoto-dōri in Chūō-ku, Kobe.

Important works

In and around the foreign concession
  • Original Kobe Club [ja] clubhouse: 1890 (in Higashi Yuenchi Park [ja], destroyed by the war in 1945)[1]: 105–106 [3]: 114–115 
  • Delacamp & Co. [ja] office at Lot 122 in the concession:[3]: 115–116  1893[4]: 177 
  • Choueke House [ja]: 1896, Hansell's own residence[1]: 105 
  • Club Concordia clubhouse at Lot 126 in the concession:[3]: 115–116  1896[4]: 177 
  • German consulate at Lot 115 in the concession:[3]: 115–116  1901[4]: 177 
  • HSBC at Lot 2 in the concession:[3]: 115–116  1902[4]: 177 
  • Jardine Matheson at Lot 67 in the concession:[3]: 115–116  1905[4]: 177 
  • Guggenheim House [ja]: 1912, currently owned by the stained glass artist Michiyo Durt-Morimoto
  • Standard Chartered bank at Lot 67 in the concession[3]: 115–116 
  • Sharp House [ja] (assumed): 1903,[4]: 177  Important Cultural Property
  • Former Hassam House [ja] (assumed[4]: 178 ): 1902,[4]: 177  Important Cultural Property
Elsewhere
  • The first clubhouse of the Kobe Club
    The first clubhouse of the Kobe Club
  • The Guggenheim house
    The Guggenheim house

Notes

  1. [1]
    Or 1856 according to Arthur Charles Fox-Davies (1929). Armorial Families: A Directory of Gentlemen of Coat-Armour. Hurst & Blackett, Ltd. p. 870.
  2. [2]
    The only other fellow of the RIBA in Japan at the same period was Josiah Conder.[3]: 115 

References

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