Reader event: Why Sir John Soane matters

Almost two centuries after his death, the architect’s work continues to inspire both classic and contemporary designers. At a Country Life event in March, four leading design experts will explore his creative legacy.

Hector and Emma Finch
Hector and Emma Finch’s lighting designs are used in high-profile projects worldwide.
(Image credit: Hector Finch)
Giles Kime
By
published
in Features

Coinciding with an exhibition at the Sir John Soane’s Museum, WC2A, which explores the links between Sir John Soane and Le Corbusier, Wright and Goldfinger, this thought-provoking discussion between Will Gompertz, director of the museum, Maria Speake, co-founder of Retrouvius, lighting designer Hector Finch and company director Emma Finch will focus on Soane’s contribution to design and the reason why it remains as influential to the 21st century as the 19th.

Hector Finch lamp

Hector Finch's Lincoln Lantern

(Image credit: Hector Finch)

Country Life’s Executive Editor, Giles Kime, will host the event at Hector Finch’s showroom, where several Soane-inspired designs are on show, including the Lincoln Lantern, which was created through an ongoing partnership between the lighting studio and the museum.

Will Gompertz, the director of Sir John Soane’s Museum, was previously the BBC’s arts editor. Maria Speake met her husband, Adam Hills, when they were studying architecture in Glasgow, and together they established Retrouvius — an influential design practice that refurbishes domestic interiors with salvaged materials. Beginning his career as an antique dealer, Hector and his wife Emma later established an internationally recognised lighting brand and are today one of the best-known names in decorative lighting in both the UK and the US.

The Event: Why Sir John Soane matters

When: 2pm on Monday, March 10, 2025

Where: Hector Finch, 3rd Floor, Design Centre East, Chelsea Harbour, London SW10 0XE

More details: 020–7731 8886 or hectorfinch.com/contact

Museum director Will Gompertz and Retrouvius’s Maria Speake

Museum director Will Gompertz and Retrouvius’s Maria Speake will give expert insights at the March 10 event.

(Image credit: Sir John Soane's Museum / Retrovius)
Giles Kime
Giles Kime
Giles Kime is Country Life's Executive and Interiors Editor, an expert in interior design with decades of experience since starting his career at The World of Interiors magazine. Giles joined Country Life in 2016, introducing new weekly interiors features, bridging the gap between our coverage of architecture and gardening. He previously launched a design section in The Telegraph and spent over a decade at Homes & Gardens magazine (launched by Country Life's founder Edward Hudson in 1919). A regular host of events at London Craft Week, Focus, Decorex and the V&A, he has interviewed leading design figures, including Kit Kemp, Tricia Guild, Mary Fox Linton, Chester Jones, Barbara Barry and Lord Snowdon. He has written a number of books on interior design, property and wine, the most recent of which is on the legendary interior designer Nina Campbell who last year celebrated her fiftieth year in business. This Autumn sees the publication of his book on the work of the interior designer, Emma Sims-Hilditch. He has also written widely on wine and at 26, was the youngest ever editor of Decanter Magazine. Having spent ten years restoring an Arts & Crafts house on the banks of the Itchen, he and his wife, Kate, are breathing life into a 16th-century cottage near Alresford that has remained untouched for almost half a century.
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