Laing, David

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Laing, David (1774–1856). London-born architect. He was articled to Soane before publishing Hints for Dwellings (1800) that contained original designs for various types of house, and in 1810 became Surveyor to the Customs, designing the Custom House, Plymouth, Devon (1810), a refined Neo-Classical building clearly derived from a study of French architecture. His vast London Custom House (1813–17), on the bank of the Thames, was also Neo-Classical, but the collapse of the central portion in 1825 ruined him, and R. Smirke was called in to reconstruct the building.

Bibliography

AH, vi (1963), 91–101;
Colvin (1995)