About the artist
Chamber's career as an architect paralleled that of his great rival, Robert Adam. He was never as fashionable as Adam but he was the greatest official architect of his day. He made his reputation with his designs for the grounds and buildings at Kew. His pagoda there began the vogue for chinese-style design, known as chinoiserie. Somerset House in London was his most ambitious project; in Edinburgh, he built Dundas House in St Andrew Square, now the headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland.
