Houses for Visiting Mathematicians

The Houses for Visiting Mathematicians (also known as the Mathematics Research Centre houses) are a set of five houses and two flats,[1] built for academics attending mathematical conferences at the University of Warwick.

Houses for Visiting Mathematicians
One of the houses, located on Warwick University's Gibbet Hill campus
General information
Location	Warwick University, Gibbet Hill Campus
Town or city	Coventry
Country	England
Coordinates	52.375426°N 1.550506°W / 52.375426; -1.550506
Construction started	1968
Completed	1969
Opened	June 1969 (1969-06)
Design and construction
Architect	Bill Howell
Architecture firm	Howell, Killick, Partridge and Amis
Awards and prizes	RIBA Architecture Award (1970)

The buildings are Grade II* listed[2] and were built between 1968 and 1969 to the design of architect Bill Howell[2] and were opened in June of that year by then Vice-Chancellor Jack Butterworth, Sir Christopher Zeeman and Bill Howell.[1] Their construction was supported by a £50,000 grant from the Nuffield Foundation.[3] In 1970, they received the RIBA Architecture Award.[1]

Blackboard in main study bedroom.

The houses comprise a combined living room/kitchen and large study bedroom on the ground floor, and smaller study bedrooms and a bathroom on the first floor. The curved walls of the downstairs study are lined with blackboards, built to the specification that they should be high enough for the mathematician to work but also "low enough for small children to use the bottom bit."[4]

See also

• Grade II* listed buildings in Coventry

References

1. "Maths Houses' Listed Status". CommUnicate. University of Warwick. 27 November 2007. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
2. Historic England. "Houses for Visiting Mathematicians, University of Warwick (1392017)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
3. Zeeman, Christopher; Harrison, Jeff; Smith, Jill (2004). "The Histories of Mathematics & Statistics at Warwick" (PDF). Warwick Mathematics Institute. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
4. Shalgosky, Sarah (10 December 2012). "Emma McNally's drawings in the Maths Houses". Warwick Arts Centre. Archived from the original on 24 July 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2012.