Robert Chitham (1935 or 36 – 13 September 2017)[1] was a British architect and writer. He was the author of The Classical Orders of Architecture published in 1985. A revised edition was published in 2005.[2] He drew from the diagramming and harmony of proportions of classical forms starting from Vitruvius, to Palladio, and foremost to James Gibbs. Chitham was the most recent[when?] architect to spell out extensively a more updated, modern, and refined version of classical architecture.[citation needed] Chitham was also the author of Measured drawing for architects, published in 1980.[2]
Chitham was a consultant architect to Chapman Taylor, a London-based architectural practice.[3] In this capacity he was responsible in the early 1980s for a scheme to save a large number of historic buildings in Bloomsbury, near the British Museum.[4] He served as chairman of the Register of Architects Accredited in Building Conservation, and was head of the historic buildings division of English Heritage.[5]
He was the author of "The Classical Orders of Architecture" (Architectural Press, updated 2005) which provided "an accessible introduction" to the basics of Classical architecture.[6]