Soane, Sir John

(born Sept. 10, 1753, Goring, Oxfordshire, Eng.—died Jan. 20, 1837, London) British architect. He was appointed architect to the Bank of England in 1788. Various government appointments followed, and in 1806 he succeeded his mentor, George Dance (1741–1837), as professor of architecture at the Royal Academy. His work is characterized by a tendency to reduce Classical elements to their structural essentials, to use linear instead of modeled ornamentation, to favour shallow domes and top lighting, and to handle interior spaces in an ingenious manner.

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica