Eric Gabriel

Eric Gabriel was client project manager for the building of the Sainsbury Wing at the National Gallery

Eric Gabriel had a distinguished career in the construction industry, both in the UK and other countries. He was involved in the building of two of Britain’s first nuclear power stations – and went on to work on projects at the National Gallery and Glyndebourne. Eric was born in a two-up, two-down in Prosperity Street in Leeds; his father, Louis, was a tailor and his mother, Fanny, a housewife. He attended Cockburn high school in Leeds and graduated from Leeds University in 1947 with a BSc in mechanical engineering, and went on to do his national service with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. After a period in which he oversaw the building of conventional power stations, in 1957 Eric became chief commissioning engineer for the Nuclear Power Group (TNPG) during the construction of the Berkeley and Dungeness power stations. After leaving TNPG he became cost and planning manager for the global engineering company Foster Wheeler, and during this period was president of the International Project Management Association, between 1982 and 1986. In 1987, at an age when many would have been looking forward to retirement, Eric was appointed client project manager for the construction of the Sainsbury Wing at the National Gallery. After completing this contract successfully, he worked in the same capacity for the rebuilding of the opera house at Glyndebourne. His many awards included the Freedom of the City of London and fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts.