Sir Bernard Feilden, British architect, has over forty years of architectural experience covering a wide range of buildings. He built up an award-winning provincial practice based on a philosophy of design in context and respect for the environment, believing that architecture is a social art and should be humane. The successful conservation of Norwich Cathedral spire led to major works preventing the collapse of the central tower of York Minster and more involvement with the conservation of historic buildings. From 1977 to 1981, he was Director of the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property in Rome (ICCROM), when he initiated the restoration of the dome of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, which received an Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1986. Subsequently, he has made several missions on behalf of UNESCO, which included work on Taj Mahal. Recently, he has trained architects in conservation methods, giving courses in China, India, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, as well as lecturing in Rome.
(Source: Architecture Beyond Architecture: Creativity and Social Transformations in Islamic Cultures: The 1995 Aga Khan Award for Architecture. London, Lanham, MD: Academy Editions. 1995)